Better Measurement Standards On Social Media

So many self-proclaimed "social media gurus" do little to advance the platform because they get so caught up in the interaction for social sake, that they don't focus on how to illustrate the viability and ROI of effective social media campaigns. Digital marketing specialists have been better at tying social media initiatives to lead generation and sales conversions, while many inexperienced public relations staffers provide only hype about the importance of being on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. These same "experts" focus on quantity, rather than the quality of brand followers and FB friends. But three leading communications groups have now formed a new coalition to define, develop and promote industry-leading standards for social media measurement. The coalition aligns top communications research and measurement consultants from the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), Council of PR Firms (CPRF) and Institute for Public Relations (IPR) and will build on prior work and related initiatives by the three associations, including community discussion at conferences held during the past 16 months in Barcelona, Portsmouth, London, Miami, Lisbon and Philadelphia. Former colleague, Tim Marklein, chairs the new coalition and plans to actively engage other industry associations and client organizations to establish an open collaboration effort that resulted in adoption of the “Barcelona Principles” for public relations measurement. Those who recognize and focus on the true marketing value of social media should applaud AMEC's efforts to promote more effective measurement methods - and less hype - on social media campaigns.