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Chapter 12: Develop the Assessment Protocol

• How We Fool Ourselves

  • Focusing on one or a few metrics

  • Neglecting to identify underlying actionable issues

  • Failing to take the situation into account

• Purpose of Assessments

  • Setting benchmarks

  • Orienting management processes

  • Identifying continuous improvement opportunities

• Developing a Social Media Assessment Tool

  • Coordinates

    • Our social media efforts help us meet our business goals

    • We have the proper communication goals to support our business goals

    • We are meeting our communication goals

    • We have the right measures for our goals

    • Our goals are aligned with one another

• Channels

  • We have selected the proper platforms to meet our goals

  • We have clearly defined roles for our different platforms

  • Our core audiences consistently use our selected platforms

  • We share the right type of content on our platforms

  • We properly manage the logistics of our platforms

• Content

  • Our content resonates with our core audiences

  • We have the right mix of different types of content

  • Our content creates a consistent brand image

  • We have the right mix of in-house-created, user-generated and curated content

  • Our content syncs with our goals

• Connections

  • Our social media platforms logically link to one another

  • Users can easily connect to our target site

  • We have the right internal organizational relationships to properly manage our platforms and related content

  • Our social media platforms properly link to our other communication tools

  • We are connected to the right communities to achieve our goals

• Corrections

  • We have in place mechanisms to quickly detect social media gaffes and identify emerging opportunities

  • We avoid making the same kinds of mistakes

  • We consistently and quickly correct errors

  • We have informal protocols in place to regularly review performance and detect trends

  • We have a formal process in place to review our strategy and performance on a quarterly or semi-annual basis

• So What?

  • Do your homework by collecting relevant metrics and holding discussions with a wide range of people

  • Embrace the debate

  • Acknowledge the relationships between the 5 Cs.

• Conclusion

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Chapter 13: Measuring Social Media Effectiveness

• Step 1: Master Metric Language

  • Audience composition

  • Traffic patterns

  • Engagement measures

  • Community sentiment

• Step 2: Dive Deeper into the Measures and Analytics

  • Platform-specific measures

  • Non-platform-specific measures

• Step 3: Avoid the Metrics Minefield

  • Resist being seduced by the glamour metrics

  • Don’t assume that metric language transfers across platforms

  • Watch out for comparisons across organizations and time

• Step 4: Match Metrics with Your Assessment Plan

• Conclusion

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Chapter 14: Crafting the Social Media Assessment Report

• Key Principles

  • Analyze your audiences

  • Establish the right comparison points

  • Spotlight the return on investment

  • Highlight connections between social media platforms, other communication tools, and events

  • Focus on continuous improvement

• Main Sections of the Assessment Report

  • Introduction

  • Limitations

  • Comparative framework

  • Data and analysis

  • Success stories

  • Conclusions and recommendations

  • Appendices

• Conclusion

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Chapter 15: The Mindset of a Strategist, the Sensibilities of a Professional and the Zeal of an Enthusiast

• Strategic Mindset

  • Strategists are always grounded by the current reality even as they envision the next steps forward

  • Strategists focus on making the right tradeoffs

  • Strategists cultivate synergies

• Professional Sensibilities

  • Professionals are committed to a core set of values and related ethical standards

  • Professionals cultivate collaborative, respectful relationships with others in their organization

  • Professionals exercise good judgment

• Enthusiasts’ Zeal

  • Enthusiasts have fun, within limits

  • Enthusiasts devour the latest news and trends in their field

  • Enthusiasts experiment

• Conclusion

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Glossary of Terms