SMCPros » Dan Antonson

“I’ve Got Some Bad News”

Dan Antonson — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:58:58 +0000

Although it may surprise you, the life of a web analyst isn’t always parades and glasses of champagne. (No, really. I know you’re surprised).

Here’s the truth, data doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear. A campaign didn’t perform well, a new website launched and the conversion rates dropped across the board, or that $100k advertising campaign had a minuscule return. Things don’t always turn out how they are planned. Not all analytics reports or analysis’ are good ones. Whether you’ve had to give bad news, or you’re the one receiving it, what are you to do? As a business owner or CMO? As an analyst?

As a business owner…
Expect Failure (at some level) - Failure in marketing is inevitable. Not every marketing campaign delivers a win. If they did, all marketing would stay the same. Some things ultimately work better than others. You have an analyst for a reason – to identify wins and losses.

Don’t kill the messenger - The digital analyst (usually) isn’t the reason why the initiative failed. Don’t take it out on him or her. Be grateful you have this data in the first place, because without it, there wouldn’t be any accountability and you probably wouldn’t have known things weren’t performing in the first place. Ignorance is NOT always bliss – especially in marketing.

Learn - Just like anything, practice makes perfect, and that winning marketing initiative is no different. When you can identify mistakes or shortcomings it sets you up to learn and grow. And as a result, be better.

As an Analyst….

Don’t Omit the Facts - So you come across a nugget of insight, and that insight isn’t what marketing (and the business) wants to hear. Analytics is about storytelling with data – just because the story has a bad / horrific / terrible part to it, doesn’t mean you can skip the chapter.

Don’t Spin the Truth - Leave the spin to PR, you’re job as an analyst is to present the data, not spin it into something it’s not. People always appreciate and respect a straight-shooter. Honesty is everything.

Don’t Worry - Anytime someone has to report bad news, it’s uncomfortable. Whether you’re a doctor informing a patient of a terminal illness, or a financial planner who has to explain to a client that the stock market tanked – we can all think of other things we’d rather be doing. My advice: don’t worry! You’re doing someone a favor by explaining what really happened with their campaign or website. Luckily, as a digital analyst, no one dies, as long as no one has a heart attack when you present the data (kidding).

I’m sure there are handbooks about delivering unsavory information that we could all learn from, and I acknowledge this list is far from complete, but it’s a start. Bad news happens and it’s up to everyone not to let it throw the ship off course.

Before you Measure Social

Dan Antonson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:56:23 +0000

Customer at Pet Store: “I’d like to buy this leash and dog food”
Cashier: “Great!! I’m curious, what kind of dog to you have?”
Customer: “Oh, well, I actually don’t have a dog, but I will some day.”

Seem far fetched? Sadly, it isn’t. As the lead analyst at an up and coming social agency, I’ve had this conversation too many times – especially with Social Media Measurement. I don’t mean to be cliche, but many organizations jump the gun, or put the cart in front of the horse when it comes to social media measurement and web analytics. There are critical questions you must ask before you consider any social media measurement tool – big or small.

Web Analytics First

I am a firm believer in building a measurement foundation, and this foundation typically starts with web analytics. Before you start measuring social, start at home. Your website is home base, it’s the epicenter of your digital marketing, and if you can’t measure that, measuring social media is a lost cause before it even starts (is the pet store scenario making sense yet?). Before you move into social measurement. Ask yourself these questions:

1. What are the key (web analytics) metrics?
Why it’s important: Need I say more? Your key metrics (KPI’s) are the measurements that matter to you and your organization. These numbers tell you when times are good (and when they’re bad). Ask yourself: what is your cost per acquisition? Cost per lead? These metrics don’t always translate to social media, but they can provide a framework to what you should be measuring on social media.

2. What is the conversion rate?
Why it’s important: Conversion is everything, how many visitors does it take for a purchase? A download? A sign-up? If you can’t answer that question, how are you going to know if your Facebook Fan Page or your messaging is actually working? How are you going to assess social media performance?

3. How much social traffic are you getting now?
Why it’s important: Ordinary web analytics can tell you how much social traffic you’re getting now. It’s important to have a benchmark. Are you increasing your social media presence? What are those visitors doing on your site now? Do they care?

Now I’m not saying that before you start monitoring or measuring social media you have to have all the answers, or be a web analytics guru, but you should have a sense of where you’re at now, and where you want to go. And I’m not saying these are the only questions you need to be thinking of (this is a very short list!) However, being able to answer those questions will help you focus in on what you’re measuring and why. This is what you want to be thinking about before you spend money on any social measurement tool.

But one question remains, and it’s probably the most important one you can ask yourself before trying to quantify social media; and depending on how it’s answered will ultimately determine your success or your failure.

What are you actually going to do with your new social media data?

G+ Brand Pages – Webinar – BreAnna Fisher

Dan Antonson — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:20:32 +0000

For those that missed it on Veteran’s Day, our very own BreAnna Fisher presented a free webinar on Google+ Pages. We invite you to check out the recording below. Comments / Questions are welcome!

What’s the deal with Google+?

Dan Antonson — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:46:21 +0000

Being in the social media world, I expect changes. Everyone here expects changes. New rules, new features, new game; we see them every single day. Every now and then there comes a change that further revolutionizes the social sphere – and you know it’s going to be good one.

I’m talking about Google Plus.

So you’re thinking now, “Come on, there was Google Buzz which was an epic failure, social platforms come and go, what’s the big D?”

Trust me, I’ve had the same feelings; especially about new platforms. Being a data guy, I always like to start with the numbers. So what can I tell you about Google Plus? The service launched on June 28th, 2011, and was open for “field testing only.” Users who were granted access, were given the ability to invite others. However, this invite privilege was suspended, because of “insane demand” according to Google.

People have a very hard time understanding exponential growth. Where’s the proof you ask? If you fold a piece of standard letterhead paper in half 50 times, how thick would it be? The answer? It would reach past the moon. Don’t believe me? Google it. This is why predicting where Google+ (or any social platform, for that matter) will go is very difficult.

Luckily, we don’t need to fold a piece of paper 50 times for this one… Let’s put Google+ into perspective.

On July 11th, it was estimated that Google+ had roughly 4.5 million users. On July 12th, new estimates put that number at 10 million users.Within the next few days, they’re estimating that number to be well over 20 million. (These numbers aren’t official or from Google, but the model for calculating this is sound)

Now, let’s put the Google+ stats into perspective:

According to a source, Facebook received 160.9 million monthly US visitors in June. LinkedIn saw 33.9 million US visitors in June. Twitter saw 30.6 million US visitors in June.

Google+ is expected to be at 20 million in it’s first 2 weeks of existence. I don’t know about you but if Google+ was a race horse, I’d be all in.

And it’s not just the users who are adopting it, the top websites in the US have already adopted and integrated the Google+ plugin. In fact, more top websites have adopted Google+ on their websites than Twitter’s website plugin.

We’ve all seen Social Media, the Facebook’s, Twitter’s, and LinkedIn’s, change the world. And Google+, when you look at the data, looks to change the world again. I don’t believe Google+ will kill Twitter, or Facebook (But there are plenty of people who believe it will).

Facebook, in my opinion, didn’t really kill MySpace – it still exists after all. All we know, is Google+ is growing fast, and the majority of the feedback on the service has been positive. Google+ is here to stay.

And if you want to be part of Google+ growth, check out our Fan Page and we’ll send you an invite to see what it’s all about. Some are even claiming Google+ ends Social Media Fatigue, which we know we all have. Oh, and when you join, feel free to +1 this article, okay?

Social Measurement…People vs Tools

Dan Antonson — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:02:06 +0000

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise, but social media is big. Really big. Staggeringly big. Many companies have already realized this and are already onboard, others just starting. As an organization begins to gain more experience within the various platforms, they begin to ask more and more questions. First it was, “Should we be using social media?” Then it was, “Which platforms should we be communicating on?” And now these questions have changed; now they are asking, “How can we get more from social?” And like any other marketing effort, the answer to this comes down to one thing; metrics. You have to measure before you can grow.

Naturally, the next question is, “What is the best way to begin measuring social?” There are a lot of ways to answer this question, but the real answer is, measuring social starts with people, not tools.

It’s a tragic irony that happens in the measurement space. An innocent business owner will ask “How do we measure social media?” And marketing will enthusiastically respond with, “It’s easy! There are so many tools, even free ones! Facebook gives you their ‘Insights’ system to measure reach and fan engagement, Twitter has a new analytics system. And then there are tools such as Radian6, which can help monitor activity…”

One problem, however.

Think about it this way, a saw will not build you a house by itself, a vacuum will not clean your floors by on its own (unless, it’s a Roomba), a microwave is not cooking, a hammer is not a construction and so on. And when an organization is looking to get more out of their social media efforts, tools alone will never get the job done. Don’t get me wrong, we love tools. Tools such as Facebook ‘Insights,’ Google Analytics and Radian6 help us do more, but ultimately, it’s up to people; not the tools.

The bottom line is that the data generated from these tools has to be put in context and it has to be interpreted. It takes people to make sure collection systems are working properly, it takes people to analyze the data, and ultimately, it takes people to make the recommendations that will help you get the most out of social. Don’t mistake the tools for solution.