My slides from the #BreakingNewsConf conference in Dublin - Sept 10th 2014 Why do we prioritise digital metrics such as likes, or followers above brand objectives? Does optimising towards these metrics actually benefit a brand or is it all just one big waste of time?

1. Rethinking Digital Metrics
@BarryHand from @HandmadeMKTG
#BreakingNewsConf
This presentation was delivered live, and I have added additional notes as a guide.

2. Over the past decade, I’ve helped companies rapidly grow through effective
measurement. Typically I work directly with the business or marketing leader.

3. Rethink: Why Do We Use Current Metrics?
Now is a great time to rethink your metrics, either planning for future or reviewing
current position.

4. Rethink: Why Do We Trust These Metrics?
Do you know why you are trusting these metrics?

5. Rethink: Are These Metrics Shaping Our
Strategy?
Are you optimising towards these metrics? thereby dictating your strategy.

6. Let’s look at a common metrics that brands use – Facebook Likes.

7. “We Have To Get MORE LIKES!”
As this is a visible (and vanity) metric, typically management focus will be to increase
the number of Facebook Likes.

8. MORE LIKES = BETTER
Because as we all know, more likes is better – right?

9. LIKES = GROWTH
But let’s say that we’re increasing our likes to achieve business growth. If we
doubled our likes, would we double our business?

10. UPS Pulse of Online Shopper – Europe. Sept
2013
RESEARCH
Research study to help understand behavior of people who like brand pages –
research across Europe and updated annually.

11. HEAVY USERS
The research found that brand likers fall into two disproportionate groups – 1) Heavy
users – who interact with lots of brands and often.

12. DEAL SEEKERS
…and 2) Deal seekers who have low loyalty and primarily interested in freebies.

13. Likers Are Not A Diverse Group
What this research shows is that likes are not – as often assumed to be – a diverse
group who have warm feelings towards a brand.

14. This is a risk for a growth strategy, as growth generally comes from lots of light
users.

15. Rethink: Does More Likes Help Growth?
Brands should consider this, and understand their own strategy if focused on
increased Facebook Likes.

16. ENGAGEMENT?
Recent marketing focus has been on engagement, so how does this metric stack
up?

17. People Talking About This
Facebook have developed a metric (PTAT) to help marketers, it is available on all
brand pages and visible to everyone.

18. Example of People Talking About This metric available on page.

19. Also applies at Facebook post level.

20. MORE!
As a vanity metric, often brands will optimise towards increasing it.

21. RSVP to a page’s
event
claim an offer
Like a page
Post on the page
wall
Like a post
Comment on a post
Share a post
Answer a question
Mention the page in a post
Tag the page in a photo
Check in at a place
Share/like a check-in deal Write a recommendation
Looking closer at what makes up this metric indicates that quite a lot of touch points
increase the PTAT metric.

22. Dr. Karen Nelson-Field – Facebook fans: A fan for
life.
Research
• Took 200 top brands
Research: Large Scale Study into Social Media
Research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute in Australia set about to understand
engagement in social media.

23. Top 200 Brands on Facebook
They used 200 of the top brands on Facebook, including many which people would
consider as passion brands.

24. Bulk of "talking"
is actually once off "joining”
By reviewing the publically available metrics of Total Likes and PTAT – were able to
understand impact of new page likes on PTAT – as new likes is a factor in calculated
PTAT.

25. Research
Only 0.45% of fan base engage
• In any given week < half of one percent
(0.45%) of a brand's fan base bother with
the brand
This then showed that engagement for these top brands is generally low, across all
categories with no brand achieving more than 1% engagement once new page likes
was removed from PTAT.

26. Genius Metric:
People Talking About This
Let’s stop for a minute and congratulate the Facebook marketing team for creating a
metric called ‘People Talking About This’ when it is not the case.

27. Genius Metric: Fans
Also, another stroke of genius is called page likers ‘fans’ – this gives an impression
of a diverse group of people that are desirable.

28. Brands focus on their page likes and celebrate these milestones.

29. And will tell the world…

30. Create campaigns…

31. Do it in their own unique style (Top Gear)

32. Create advertising (Cadburys)

33. Lots of brands are doing this…

34. Creating press releases with their management teams smiling proudly…

35. Rethink: Are We Obsessing with Vanity
Metrics?
Is that your objective?

36. Burger King Norway had 38,000 fans at the end of 2013 but struggled with low
engagement…

37. But many of them were Deal Seekers and undesirable.

38. They created a campaign to appeal to true fans – offering a free Big Mac to any fan
who wanted one – but with the catch of being permanently banned.

39. 30,000 ‘Fans’ Lost
30,000 took up this offer and were subsequently removed.

40. 5x Engagement
Within days, the remaining fans who did not avail of the offer engaged more often
and helped increase the pages engagement metrics…

41. 9 Months On: Less than 1% Engagement
Looking how this has played out 9 months on, shows that engagement is back to
previous levels – albeit with a significantly smaller audience. Was this a good idea?

42. Rethinking Digital Metrics
Supplier metrics
are based on their
business models
Fans aren’t talking
about your brand
Develop your own
theory on how
digital supports
your objectives
Overall, here are 3 key takeaways on rethinking Dig@ital BMaetrrircys.Hand

43. Rethinking Digital Metrics
@BarryHand
Need some help? Shoot me a message!