There are always some new marketing metrics to measure on websites, social media, and ad platforms. As the famous quote says: “There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.”
Marketing metrics are closely related. So, what you measure becomes what matters. It’s easy to pick one metric in a vacuum that substantiates your theories about performance and business health at any given time. But context is everything.
Start at the End
Ensure you’re getting the true story behind your efforts by measuring the same metrics consistently over time. Then, benchmark them against your organization’s performance and that of the industry.
But the measure depends entirely on what you’re attempting to achieve. Start with the end in mind by examining your business goals, then looking at the behaviors that contribute to the success of these goals.
For example, if you want your organization to be a household name, you should be measuring brand recognition and lift. If you want to drive lead generation, the number of form fills on your website is an excellent metric to include in your reporting.
A fairly standard set of metrics to monitor website health include number of visitors, click through rate, bounce rate, time on site and scroll depth.
Evolutions of Email Stats
It used to be that email metrics measured effectiveness through things like open rates and clickthrough rates. But now, with bots checking emails and links, those results can be skewed.
Keep an eye out for this. Also check with your email providers to see if they have tools that can filter out bot opens/clicks and give you true metrics. If you combine metrics like opens/clicks and web traffic, you will have a clearer picture of it’s effectiveness. Of course, you will want to keep your spam reports and unsubscribes at a very low level.
Kelly Stone
Social Media Measurements
Measuring social media followers, clicks, comments, shares, and video views help tell a story over time.
For paid media, you’ll want to dissect your cost per click, click-through rate, and total engagement by advertising objective to determine if your ads are driving results.
Get the Full Picture
Once you pick a set of key metrics, ensure you consistently measure the progress over time.
A single month’s or week’s snapshot can’t give you a full story of what’s going on with your marketing any more than a single frame in a movie can tell you the plot.
Stay disciplined in taking regular measurements and you’ll be rewarded with increased business intelligence.
Kelly Stone is co-founder and CEO of Ironstone Strategy, a results-focused consultancy delivering a marketing advantage to businesses of all sizes. She is a channel marketing leader with experience in digital, social, event, and traditional marketing strategy. Read more about her background on channelWise.
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