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“Active” User Count is the New Page Hits

It wasn't long into my web career that I began to understand that "hits" was a very poor performance metric. When what you're measuring is individual http requests on a server, you end up with a very high count — one that includes every image, CSS file, javascript and all manner of web resource that the visitor could care less about (but which their browser nonetheless dutifully downloads). And yet, the idea of "hits" persists, even today. "How many hits did we get?" "Where can I go to see our hits?" "What can we do to get more hits?"

A Deloitte survey of companies involved in social media marketing, shows that a new generation of marketers and businesses are beginning to pay attention to a new set of false metrics. A top metric of current fascination is "active" user count — in other words, how many followers you have on Twitter, or fans on Facebook.

"The survey revealed significant gaps between community goals (including generating word-of mouth, customer loyalty and brand awareness) and how success is being measured. The top analytics for measuring success continue to be participation-related rather than metrics more aligned with the stated goals."

Just as with page hits, it seems that decision makers are once again beset with laziness. After all, what is easier to understand than a popularity contest? A more balanced look at a variety of metrics would provide a better sense of the effectiveness of social media efforts. Such metrics take time to develop and lack the immediacy and simplicity of active user counts.

I suppose that's all well and good. Every company needs to learn for itself how new channels can be incorporated into their existing marketing, customer service, and overall communication efforts. The smart ones will look beyond the obvious metrics and seek to understand how it all fits together.

Phil Hertzler | 11.03.09 | 0 comment(s) | Viewed 0 time(s)