Critical Mass has taken the plunge and is exploring the topic of Social CRM.  I am moderating, Hurdles Along the Path to Measurable Social Marketing Programs (bit.ly/PY1kjc) this afternoon in Los Angeles, CA for SMWLA.  It’s a panel discussion with an innovative talent mix.  Shaina Boone, flew in from Chicago to join us, Taro Ramberg helped with planning, and as analytics geek, I am excited.

As we know, social measurement is the one subject marketers have been muddling over in their conference rooms for quite some time now.  We are still attempting to figure it all out.  For years, I’ve raised my flag on how social is only a small piece of a large puzzle and rushing all marketing efforts towards it, would probably lead to disappointment.  It’s really about listening and using what you learned.  Experience and research have also shown us that the interaction is mostly personal.   Unless consumers are already advocates, their time on social networks, is not focused on Brands.

Now, we are finally seeing a shift in companies wanting to build strategies around customer service and combine their effort with the other channels to understand the consumer.  This brings me joy because though I am not extremely fond of the name chosen by the industry, perhaps SCRM can be the catalyst for building concrete strategies and truly listening to consumers.   If done right in coming years, we may finally capitalize on multi-channel insights and get corporations to leverage attribution models to really see where they can meet the needs of consumers, while profiting from the effort.  In the end, that’s what SCRM is all about, right?  Well, that’s what we want to figure out!

There are oh, so many questions and oh so many factors to solve for so we’ve taken the plunge and starting the conversation.  I’m looking forward to listening!  Join us! bit.ly/PY1kjc

Is Social Media the new church?

I am far from being into organized religion but I have complete faith in the divine and how we are all connected.
I was invited to my first 'Fall' BBQ by a new group of acquaintances. Their invites included members of the non-denomination church they attend. While I sat around and ate my delicious turkey burger I overheard them speak of their church community and church family and how they met, giving a status on how important it was for them to share their stories. They detailed the people who were involved, versus not...and even discussed the attendees that do not participate at particular times during the week, etc.
I never thought of social media as a religion until that very moment. I mean I look at consumer behavior all day long. It is part of the reason why I think I sometimes feel immune. But it did make me think.

I mean churches are community based just as social and we are gauged by our participation but don't we 'follow' a certain path and stick to a certain group and constantly keep up philosophies and participate in rituals. Instead of waking up on Sat, Sunday or whenever your religion attends services...Do more people now just 'post?'.....is service attendance on a downward trend. hmmm..

Unique Visitors...A new definition?

I WISH!
Well, if the goal was to spark a discussion and fuel up the fireplace...mission accomplished.
Eric Peterson's post last week on "Unique Visitors Only Come In One Size has has done just that...
(http://blog.webanalyticsdemystified.com/weblog/2009/03/unique-visitors-only-come-in-one-size.html)
It's needless to say that Unique Visitors has been a top subject matter on many posts.

Over the years we have all discussed its drawbacks, using a weighted average, how to improve it, and in some ways have found ways around the metric. Plus personally, how many unique visitors I get adds no value to my ongoing analysis. I'm interested in behavior or better yet, whether they are going to accomplish what I desire and/or what the user wants...I know I am the first to use authenticated users and visits before visitors.

But this is not about me...

As someone who participates in the process, fact still remains that the individuals of the Standards Committee have taken these and a bunch of other scenarios into account.
Though I clearly see the IAB's point, a new term is in order. But to say that we are going to deny the definition that we've all used and 'grown' to know, is not going to happen.
I think that we need to validate any new proposal.
It’s not that I disagree with the IAB, it's just unrealistic at this point and at this time we are attempting to establish a common language for 'right now.'
I think its good to expect more and move the industry forward.
Do I think the two should be named differently, of course. Do I believe the industry deserves better measurement, YEP! Is it a good debate, no doubt. But boy do I have bigger fish to fry.
When we get a better metric we will use it and guess what? We would call it something else!
Why? Because even before this, the reality is that it was already confusing...

Among many parts within the post, I found the following to be interesting...
And Joe did clarify for me what a “measurement organization” is … he just didn't directly clarify the impact on web analytics vendors.

HMMM...I recall a conversation between the IAB and the Standards Committee where it was stated by the IAB that it would affect analytics vendors....perhaps I completely misunderstood.

Also, last time I checked the word Panel (used in the IAB definition) in 'our' world, it did not mean population. So...there are negatives on both ends...Plus, where's the algorithm? Let's get that going before we start calling things out. Or perhaps it exists? Be sure to let us all know. Perhaps this may be in the works?

Oh and as someone who worked for DoubleClick, Inc during the early days, I can add the important issues we have with privacy behind identity but I won't...
However, somehow it was forgotten!

There's so much work that goes into all of this and unfortunately this all has spilled over to becoming personal. I am glad to see it has tapered off, because this is all far from personal.
All I can say is, let's embrace what we do have, strive for better, enhance relationships, lead and honor those who volunteer their time just for the love of it.



This is also posted on: http://blogs.zaaz.com/zaaz/

Rate It Now To Move Forward

Nowadays. like many in the web analysis world, I can't seem to hear enough about social networking and engagement measurement. People are attempting to put it all into one neat
package, and boy won't we be lucky when this happens. Though fascinating and extremely important topics, for a while nowmy thoughts have shifted towards weighted rating/indexing
and internal persuasion campaigns. You know, assigning appropriate values to what's important to 'you.' Yes, I'm talking about different areas in your site, offline activities, your KPIs, etc. Would it not be great to really focus on what type of social network is most valuable to the company, the brand?
Or how about the ability to assign a weighted engagement value to fit the needs of your specific site type. Without going into the different types - remember -not all sites out there are eCommerce - the purpose varies and many measure success differently.
I find indexing extremely valuable not only when attempting to prioritize but when I'm deciding on what to test and integrating actionable web data with other data sources.

I consider myself privileged to have worked for someone years ago who believed in its value and advocated its use. Now that I work at ZAAZ, I'm surrounded by advocates which is nice. ZAAZ addresses this with both their clients and the performance marketing community!
The subject makes it' way to the WAA Standards Committee meetings time and time again!

However, I find that though many companies think it's valuable, they are just not doing it!
So why are they not...The time is not taken to really work through the details and socialize it within the organization's culture.
These are one of the items I find myself struggling with when dealing with clients day to day.
There's a sense of no desire to take on this important responsibility. I think that stakeholders get so wrapped up with perfection, focusing on quick wins and the risk of being
held accountable that many organizations ultimately do nothing.
I suggest starting out small.
Begin with:

• One specific project
• Use what you know to guide
• Use and outline what you know to determine how the rating scale will work
• promote it within throughout the process

Avoid:

• the need for perfection
• paralysis

Basic - you may say?...then do it! Let me know how it goes.

Time to Share...

Okay, so I'm giving this blogging thing a try. I like to talk and I pretty much question everything. But I admit it, over the years I have felt more comfortable with a simple journal entry where I still use a pen and will never be questioned on what I wrote.
I will not to get caught up with any egos out there AND my thoughts need not be taken to a literal extreme. That would give me a yucky feeling inside.
My mind is usually a conglomerate of different topics bundled up and bursting out in chunks like the recent swedish big bang experiment.
Like many, I like to look around and see what's sparking interest and think about how it fits into my world. Sometimes, I look at what is not interesting just to see if something is there for me.
This is all about things that run thru my head and experiences that help me with questions along the way...
Thank you to all who have encouraged me along the way! I am fortunate to have you in my life.