{"id":1231,"date":"2020-09-30T19:13:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T19:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carma.com\/?post_type=tms&p=1231"},"modified":"2024-01-02T10:14:28","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T10:14:28","slug":"beware-of-vanity-metrics","status":"publish","type":"tms","link":"https:\/\/carma.com\/pt-pt\/tms\/beware-of-vanity-metrics\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware of vanity metrics"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that showing how PR outcomes can drive business objectives is vital. And, in an increasingly uncertain economic climate, comms professionals from all industries are under pressure to justify their budgets and prove the value of their activities and agency partnerships.<\/p>\n

The good news is that PR measurement is improving, assisted by a myriad of new tools and availability of data that can be used to analyze the success of campaigns. But not all measurement is equal, and the bad news is that, just as blunt-form AVEs (advertising value equivalency) have finally lost their lustre, a fresh wave of \u2018vanity\u2019 metrics have come crashing into the world of communications.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a \u2018vanity\u2019 metric?<\/h4>\n

Vanity metrics take the form of likes, views, mentions and shares, which are easy to automate but lack accuracy as well as not providing insight or value.<\/p>\n

Even seemingly bullet-proof metrics like downloads of a report or whitepaper can be considered a vanity measurement, if it doesn\u2019t really mean anything to a business. Just because a site visitor clicked download on a link doesn\u2019t mean they engaged with the content, that it influenced their perception or prompted any action. What does that download actually deliver?<\/p>\n

So, vanity metrics are those that feel important but are ultimately superficial, or worse, deceptive. Metrics like impressions, likes, retweets, mentions, page views, and so on are not performance indicators. And, while some of these are important for benchmarking, they shouldn\u2019t be mistaken for intelligence. In the big picture, vanity metrics actually hold you back.<\/p>\n

Still not sure on them? Here are 22 reasons to say no to AVEs.<\/a><\/p>\n

So how do you make sure your metrics matter? There are a couple of simple steps to follow.<\/h4>\n
1. Decide what matters most<\/h5>\n

With the technology now available to measure almost everything, it\u2019s easy to drown in data. There\u2019s no one-size-fits-all, and you need to identify what matters to you and ignore the noise and abundance of numbers that aren\u2019t helpful. For example, while you might be interested to know what media coverage you\u2019ve got across the world, does that really inform your leadership team about performance or equip you to advise them on what to do next?<\/p>\n

Reassessing what\u2019s important might mean rethinking your objectives (and is why measurement should be factored in right from the very start of a campaign). If you\u2019re working for a brand that\u2019s targeting a niche audience, is a national media hit as impactful as an article in a well-respected trade publication? The chances are the answer is no, but you might need to do some educating amongst your colleagues about what\u2019s going to be valuable, what\u2019s not and why.<\/p>\n

2. Test what\u2019s working (and stop what\u2019s not)<\/h5>\n

Speaking to colleagues across the industry, there has been a clear trend in senior PR and communications professionals insisting on quantitative metrics being verified rigorously, and qualitative metrics being human-curated, to ensure insights are meaningful and actionable.<\/p>\n

And the same rigor should be applied to testing and re-testing goals and objectives. Listen to senior management, your team and your clients (internal or external). And ask the questions which will help you decide what\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

A good place to start is the strategic goal of the PR program. You may hear, for example, \u201cincrease share of voice\u201d (SOV) \u2013 but why? Or, you might hear \u201cwe want to put this message out on social media so people can see it\u201d \u2013 and then\u2026what? What is the outcome you are trying to achieve? Is it to increase sales, prompt action or change perceptions? And how does that support the broader business objectives? How long do you have to achieve your mission? Information like this helps you decide what to measure and how.<\/p>\n

Of course, insisting on rigour shouldn\u2019t mean we stop innovating and experimenting, and learning from other disciplines too. Collaboration is crucial, whether that\u2019s with marketing departments, sales teams or external agencies. Read as much as you can, and look for new developments and ideas as you go.<\/p>\n

3. Be guided by the Barcelona Principles<\/h5>\n

Take a look at the Barcelona Principles<\/a>, recently refreshed for 2020. These guidelines offer advice to help avoid vanity metrics, and to measure and evaluate communications activity in a meaningful and relevant manner.<\/p>\n

By measuring what is important, and continually testing and validating procedures, the industry can leave vanity metrics and other meaningless measurement behind. But there are no silver bullets when it comes to PR evaluation. Looking closely at your business goals is a crucial place to start, while trying to ignore the noise from irrelevant or unnecessary data sources, and focusing in on what works for your brand will keep you on track. Critically, measurement shouldn\u2019t be an end-point to your campaign, but a learning tool to shape where you go from here, and what you do next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an increasingly uncertain economic environment, it’s just as important as ever for PR to prove value. If only there were a foundation to measuring what matters and proving your worth. In the latest edition of The Measurement Standard, we provide you with the ways of doing just that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":1232,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[329],"the_measurement_standard":[345],"creator":[],"class_list":["post-1231","tms","type-tms","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-media-monitoring-analysis","the_measurement_standard-media-monitoring-analysis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBeware of vanity metrics - CARMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/carma.com\/pt-pt\/tms\/beware-of-vanity-metrics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"pt_PT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beware of vanity metrics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In an increasingly uncertain economic environment, it's just as important as ever for PR to prove value. 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