measure, rinse, repeat! choosing the right metrics to better understand & reach your audience
TRANSCRIPT
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Measure, Rinse, Repeat!
Choosing the Right Metrics to Better Understand & Reach Your Audience
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What digital analytics is often about
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“So What?”Digital analytics is often about:
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What digital analytics is really about:
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Your goal: use data to tell a story What was happening. What it meant. What you did. What’s happening now.
forbes.com
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There is a systematic, step-by-step process Articulate your program’s goals. Decide strategies to achieve those
goals. Decide tactics to pursue the
strategies. Decide what and how to measure
to validate the tactics. Benchmark to get a sense of
what’s normal. homedit.com
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Articulate specific goals Express what you’re trying to
accomplish. Make high-level goals more
specific: “Increase influence” - too broad. “Become the definitive source on
Smithsonian history” - more specific. Specificity makes it easier to
identify strategies and tactics. Not too many!
It’s a Wonderful Life
Start the conversation! Articulate goals and next steps on your own; work with management to finalize.
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Determine strategies & tactics Strategies – the plans you make to achieve the goals.
Employing social media is a strategy. Tactics – the things you do to advance the strategy.
Producing a specific type of content is a tactic. Individual channels (facebook, twitter) are tactics.
Per the example: Goal: “Become the definitive source on Smithsonian history.” Strategy: Increase engagement with history of the Smithsonian content. Tactic: Make SI-history content more findable and measureable.
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Decide how to measure your tactics Choose measurements to learn if
your tactics are succeeding. Choose a few measurements. Trend them over time.
Per the example: Strategy: increase engagement with SI
history website content. Tactic: make website history content more
findable / measureable. Make a “history-content” segment and
measure for engagement: Visit frequency Visit depth Bounce rate
History-related visits
All visits
“Deep history visits” were 94% higher!
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Decide how to measure your tactics (cont’d)
Acquisition-related goals Sessions Users Campaigns New vs Returning Entrances Referrals
Engagement-related goals Session frequency Page depth Time on site Bounce rate Events
Content-related goals Pageviews Page depth Bounce rate
Issue-related goals Event-based conversions (exits from on-site
search results, etc.) Contact form submissions Funnel abandonment
Design-related goals Users / Events flow Page depth Time on site Funnel abandonment
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The measurements you choose depends on your goals:
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Examples!
Measureable Goal: Increase social media followers in the 5 key regions by 20%
Tactic: Facebook and Twitter Ads targeted to the five regions
Measurement: Twitter and Facebook followers by geography
Measureable Goal: Increase website sessions and engagement from 5 key regions by 20%
Tactic: Google AdWords targeted to the five regions
Measurement: sessions, pageviews, page depth, time on site
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Broad goal Raise national visibility, especially in five key regions
Strategy Digital advertising in the five key regions
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"I got 20 retweets! Wait – is that good?" You can’t set targets w/o benchmarks. You need at least six months of data.
Data is seasonal. Depends on how much traffic your site gets.
Pull data regularly! Some APIs limit 3rd party tools to 28 days of data.
Balance targets with factors beyond your control: Are improvements you’re seeking difficult to achieve? How much resources will you have to implement tactics?
news.com.au
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CBS News
Choosing social media metrics
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“Quantity of Stuff” metrics No actionable data Establish scope / context Measure growth / acquisition
Number of Followers• FB• TW• Instagram• Pinterest
Number of ‘Likes’• FB Pages• FB Content• Instagram• Pinterest• FB post views
http://janicesyearinsunderland.blogspot.com
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“Quantity-Plus” metrics Still about quantity, but more meaningful. Show the type of content your audience responds to. Basic
Reach (FB) Post-Clicks (FB) Website visits referred by social properties
Better - “mini-conversions” Retweets (TW) Favorites (TW) Comments (FB) Shares (FB)
http://socialmediatoday.com
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A classic blog post… Avinash Kaushik’s Best Social Media Metrics Conversation Rate
# of Audience Comments (or Replies) Per Post Amplification Rate
# of Retweets Per Tweet # of Shares Per Post # of “Share Clicks” Per Post (or Video)
Applause Rate # of Favorite Clicks Per Post (TW) # of Likes Per Post (FB) # of #1s Per Post (Goog+) # of +1s and Likes Per Post (or video) (Blog / YouTube)
Economic Value Primarily intended for revenue-driven businesses Sum of Short and Long Term Revenue and Cost Savings Goal is to identify macro and micro conversions and then compute economic value.
A manual spreadsheet is available, here, or…
Kaushik’s blog Occam's Razor is a great resource for making web analytics fun and understandable.
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Trendable social metrics – YAY!
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TrueSocialMetrics offers an automated solution. http://www.truesocialmetrics.com/ Free / $30 per month / $100 per month / $350/month plans
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Here is the bottom line! Your measurements validate your
tactics (or not). On a campaign by campaign
basis, you can use “quantity-plus” metrics to tell your story.
“Here was the goal. We did this. That happened. It was the best EVER!
But to improve your overall program, you need more refined, trendable metrics.
NY Daily News
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LifewithDogs.tv
Choosing website metrics
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Dimensions and Metrics Dimensions describe the data, or an
attribute of the user (“what”): Traffic source City Page
Metrics measure the data (“how many,” “how long”): Sessions Bounce rate Time on page
Lunametrics Optimizesmart Dimensions & Metrics Explorer (Google)
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Optimizesmart
Dimensions Metrics
GA’s familiar color-coding helps you keep track of Dimensions and Metrics.
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The inevitability of “Quantity of Stuff” No actionable data
Sessions (previously Visits) Users (previously Visitors) Pages (a.k.a. Pageviews)
Establish scope / context. Measure growth / acquisition. You can’t improve your site by measuring these. Reporting them out of context can be misleading.
“All data in aggregate is crap.” -- Avinash Kaushik
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Engagement metrics are more meaningful “Quantity-Plus” for websites. Proxies for user engagement. Under Audience >> Behavior
Frequency & Recency Page Depth (“Engagement”) “New vs. Returning” (e-nor post)
Use with segments: Traffic from search engines Traffic from mobile devices
Do not rely on Session Duration or Avg. Time on Page in a vacuum. Due to technical issues
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Segmentation: GA’s most powerful feature? Analyze subsets of traffic.
Search engine visits Social media visits Demographics
Import expert-made segments from the Solutions Gallery!
Google Blog Kissmetrics Overview Examples (Cutroni) Examples (Kaushik)
Segments are accessed by clicking “Add Segment”. “Organic Traffic” is shown.
All Users
Organic (Search Engine) Traffic
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Deeper understanding with Conversion Goals A conversion is any measureable behavior with an
implicitly (or explicitly) higher value. Conversion rates are more informative than just counting. They enable you to judge and compare metrics
regardless of how much traffic a site gets. Typical conversion goals:
Destination (ex: thanks.html) Duration (ex: 5 minutes or more) Pages/Screens per session (ex: 3 pages) Event (download PDF, play video)
REQUIRES CODE
Studying conversion rates levels the playing field, versus merely counting!
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‘Event Tracking’ is super-important More sophisticated Goals typically involve creating “Events”:
External links Sign-ups, form submissions Downloads Many types of conversion goals
To use Events: Define and categorize events. Configure and add the javascript code, usually right in the link (not always). Many social-share widgets automatically add Events. Google Analytics Event Organizer (Smithsonian’s Michelle Herman) The Complete Google Analytics Event Tracking Guide Plus 10 Amazing Examples (old
code, good examples)
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Universal Analytics means all new code We are (still…) in phase three of a four-phased,
multi-year rollout. All GA accounts have been migrated to Universal,
but many website pages still carry the old code. Phase 4: legacy code will be deprecated (date TBD
– “in the near future”). “Data received from deprecated libraries will... be
processed for a minimum of two years…” You should upgrade your code SOON! You also need to upgrade custom code, e.g.,
events, virtual pageviews, etc. Universal Analytics Upgrade Center Vampyre Fangs
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Out with the old, in with the new! What code are you using? It’s easy to tell! If your site is newer than mid-
2014, you have the new code. If your site is older, do View
Source. Search for:
gaq old code ga.js old code analytics.js new code
Scrap for Joy
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Here is the (website) bottom line! Your measurements validate your
tactics (or not). To work the process and improve your
site, you need meaningful data: Engagement Metrics Segments Goal Completion / Conversion rates A-B or MAB (multi-armed bandit) tests Qualitative data (surveys)
If your goal is purely audience acquisition, you can use “quantity-of-stuff” metrics to tell your story.
NY Daily News
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Google’s “Analytics Academy” Free video-based courses
Digital Analytics Fundamentals Google Analytics Platform
Principles Ecommerce Analytics: From
Data to Decisions Mobile App Analytics
Fundamentals Google Tag Manager
Fundamentalsanalyticsacademy.withgoogle.com
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Resources
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Google Analytics Academy Google Analytics Blog Absolute Beginner's Guide to Google Analytics (Moz) Avinash Kaushik’s “Occam’s Razor” Analytics Talk (Justin Cutroni) Cardinal Path Training Kissmetrics Lunametrics blog Lunametrics Training Universal Analytics Upgrade Guide Discover the Google Analytics Platform (advanced tools)
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Social Media Metrics Reporting Framework
Sarah BanksOnline Engagement Coordinator
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Plan for Reporting – Set Your Goals!Tie social media reporting to museum goals
Gather meaningful, actionable data
Create a manageable and flexible process
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Creating the Framework: Step 1
Align Goals and Priorities, Then Select Metrics
Smithsonian Strategic Priority – Revitalizing education
Air and Space Museum Goal – Enhancing outreach efforts
Social Media Goal – Increase engagement with online communities
Metrics – Engagement rate, comments
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Creating the Framework: Step 2
Decide on Frequency of Data Collection:
How often can you collect AND analyze data?
How do those reports relate to each other?
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Creating the Framework: Step 3
Set up Your Templates:
Think about who will read your reports
Position elements in priority order
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Creating the Framework: Step 4
Test and Refine:
Expect bumps in the road as you collect and analyze data.
Adjust as needed!
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More Tips!Start small and build – do what you can do consistently
Research tools to help you simplify data collection
Focus on a balanced blend of pictures, storytelling, and data
Be vocal about sharing your reports
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Case Study: Reporting on #BoldlyGo50
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Opportunities and ChallengesOpportunities:
Highlight the Museum’s connection to Star Trek
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Original Series
Challenges: We were one of many places
celebrating Nearly all of our social media
following is not local
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Consider Your Audience
Must tell a complete story using a mix of data, photos, anecdotes, and benchmarks
Audiences for your reports can be varied and have different needs (senior leadership vs. data hounds)
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Identify GoalsFoster connections with enthusiastic Star Trek fans – whether onsite or online
Highlight the Museum’s connection to Star Trek and remind people that the model is back on display
Promote content we created in honor of the 50th
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Writing strong goals No un-measurable or boring goals!
• Start an Instagram account = tactic not goal• Make the Museum look cool = hard to measure
Goals = a change you want to make with your audience around a program, project, etc. If you can’t measure it or it’s not worth doing, rewrite it!
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Goals:Foster connections with enthusiastic Star Trek fans – whether onsite or online
Highlight the Museum’s connection to Star Trek and remind people that the model is back on display
Promote content we created in honor of the 50th
Strategies:Invite people to share how Star Trek influenced their lives and/or careers
Share the story of our restoration of the studio model
Give a behind-the-scenes look at the making of our highlights tour in Klingon
Selecting Strategies
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Selecting TacticsStrategies:Invite people to share how Star Trek influenced their lives and/or careers
Share the story of our restoration of the studio model
Give a behind-the-scenes look at the making of our highlights tour in Klingon
Tactics:Create a “Share Your Story” opportunity on our website & promote via social media
Host an InstaMeet the morning of the anniversary for local Instagrammers with curator as a speaker
Write blog post and do a video with the creator of the Klingon language
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Strategies vs. Tactics
Strategies are more broad and can be supported by several tactics
Tactics are more specific and get down to the platform level
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Which Metrics to Report?
EXAMPLE: Foster connections with enthusiastic Star Trek fans – whether onsite or online
Strategy: Invite people to share how Star Trek influenced their lives and/or careers
Tactic: Create a “Share Your Story” opportunity on our website & promote via social media
Metrics: Number of stories collected via website, quality of stories
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Gathering Your Report IngredientsGet tools in placeHashtag tracking toolsGoogle campaign builder & bit.lyStorifyFolder for screenshots
Set your benchmarksWhat does “average” look like?Get stats from peer institutionsCompare to past campaigns
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Metrics for Native Apps
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What’s Possible?
As with websites, Google Analytics is a powerful tool to help you know if you’re meeting your goals.
Basic GA only give you so much. Event-based analytics allow for more nuanced data about usage.
You have to ask your developer to add it in. Can’t be added later unless you do an app update.
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The ProcessWrite down your goals for the app and think about the concerns/questions that are arising during development.
Use the app to see where users take action – make a decision, click something, etc.
Label each point of action, as well as things with duration. Those are your event-based metrics.
Think ahead and name each event with “appname_label” in a way that will make sense to someone who doesn’t know your system.
Put all labels in a spreadsheet and give to developer.
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Pilot Pals - Lots of Choices to Make!Personalization
Select games
Select aircraft within games
Try again
Play again or return to main menu
Reset personalization
Mute or unmute sound
Access parents section and its tabs
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Pilot Pals – What’s Measurable with GA
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Coffee Break – 30 Minutes
Activity #1Help us fix our jumbled up report. Sort the jumbled pieces of the report into categories (goals, metrics, etc.) and arrange them logically.
If you have time, critique the metrics. Do you think they are meaningful? If not, write a new one you think would be better.
AMBUSH! You’re on the elevator at BLAM and the museum director jumps on. She’s read your report and has a few questions. No escape! How might you answer her?
a) Which of these metrics is most and least? meaningful? b) I saw 3 negative comments on Facebook. And our number of
Twitter followers didn’t go up very much. Are you sure the campaign was successful?
c) So did we “go viral” yet?
Smithsonian Archives: Fast, Cheap & In Control
Effie KapsalisHead of Web, New Media, & OutreachSmithsonian Institution Archives
#MWmetrics
@digitaleffie
Target Audiences
Researchers (interns, fellows, academic researchers)
Serious online researchers (Wikipedians, Collections mystery solvers on Flickr Commons etc)
General public enthusiasts (Lifelong Learners, DIYer looking for information and help)
Smithsonian record creators
@digitaleffie
Broad Organizational Mission
“The Archives’ mission is to document the goals and activities of the whole Smithsonian in its pursuit of increasing and diffusing knowledge, and exciting learning in everyone. The Archives is also responsible for ensuring institutional accountability, and for enhancing access to the rich and diverse resources in its care. ”
@digitaleffie
Step 1: Identify Goals
Credit: Avinash Kaushik, “Digital Marketing and Measurement Model,” http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/digital-marketing-and-measurement-model/@digitaleffie
Step 2: Identify Strategies/Tactics
Credit: Avinash Kaushik, “Digital Marketing and Measurement Model,” http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/digital-marketing-and-measurement-model/
@digitaleffie
Step 3: Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
Credit: Avinash Kaushik, “Digital Marketing and Measurement Model,” http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/digital-marketing-and-measurement-model/
@digitaleffie
Strategy: Increase Representation of Archives’ Collections on Popular Research Websites
@digitaleffie
Home site vs. Flickr Commons vs. Wikipedia
Views on SIA Website Views on Flickr Commons Views on Wikipedia0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
@digitaleffie
Wikipedia Page Views: BaGLAMa
GLAM/Wikipedia Tools - https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Resources/Tools@digitaleffie
Wikipedia Page Views: BaGLAMa
@digitaleffie
Wikipedia Edit-a-thon Outcomes
@digitaleffie
Wikipedia Edit-a-thon Outcomes
http://stats.grok.se/@digitaleffie
Strategy: Increase Share & Quality of Conversation around SIA Collections & Resources
@digitaleffie
Strategy: Increase Share & Quality of Conversation around SIA Collections & Resources
(Twitter)
@digitaleffie
Improve Collections Findability
@digitaleffie
Improve Collections Findability
@digitaleffie
Improve Collections Findability
@digitaleffie
Improve Collections Findability
@digitaleffie
Foresee Open Ended: Did not find looking for
• Collections (30)• Of 30 responses, only 4 were searching for items we
DO have. • “list of architectural styles of the Smithsonian buildings”• “Mary Henry's complete diary”• “Electronic version of the Smithsonian Annual Report 1895.”• “http:// siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/historicpicturessmithsonian but got AFRICAN
MUSEUM”
• Photos/Digitized Collections (3)• In general, people were looking for more.
@digitaleffie
Foresee Open Ended: What ways can we improve search?
Want “Google” resultsMany of the titles are unclear about what they containI wish audio were availableNeed greater clarity on what can be accessed electronically.Access to records, picturesWho to contact for help, live chat
@digitaleffie
Improve Collections Findability
@digitaleffie
Improve Collections Findability
@digitaleffie
Improve Collections Findability
@digitaleffie
A Web-Refresh We Go!
@digitaleffie
Mobile Explosion!
Device Percent Change, 2014-2016Desktop 4.64%Mobile 25.93%Tablet 0.19%
@digitaleffie
Interests, Desktop vs. Mobile Traffic
@digitaleffie
Desktop Visitors Interests Mobile Visitors Interests1. Collections 1. History2. Blog 2. Blog3. History 3. Services4. Services 4. Collections5. Search 5. Search
Mobile Acquisition
@digitaleffie
Mobile Interests
@digitaleffie
Page SourceHistory of Smithsonian Castle Google Organic SearchHow do I preserve my newspaper? Google Organic SearchSome Archival Career Advice Google Organic SearchHow do I deal with a photo stuck to glass?
Google Organic Search
How do I deal with little white bugs in my papers?
Google Organic Search
Blog: Earliest photo of the Castle FacebookJames Smithson Webpage Google Organic Search
Keep Learning
Know your bone (Colleen Dilenschneider) - http://colleendilen.com/
Beth Kanter – How Connected Non-Profits Leverage Networks & Data for Social Change- http://www.bethkanter.org/
Avinash Kaushik - http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/
@digitaleffie
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Food for thought (to go)!
Okra: 1 new way you’ll communicate metrics to colleagues or partners
Shrimp: 1 way you’ll improve & jazz up reports
Roux: 1 way in which you will try to implement
this metrics modelSausage: 1 tool you’ll give a try
Adolfo's
Discuss today’s workshop “takeaways”: What are your NOLA #musedata ingredients?
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Thanks!
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@SBanks20 @digitaleffie @balpert