using google analytics to measure social media andrew bruce smith - measure13

escherman PR. Analytics. SEO.

Using Google Analytics to Measure the Direct

and Indirect Value of Social Media

Andrew Smith

Managing Director

Google Analytics http://bit.ly/XP46Je

Why GA? Ubiquity

86pc of UK businesses have installed GA

(E-Consultancy survey 2011)

It’s free!

A way to prove the direct and indirect value of social

media

Key WIN areas: goals and attribution analysis

A typical scenario…

Social buried in here…

“Search and PPC

campaigns deliver more

traffic. We’ll put more

money into these channels

and reduce spend on social

media!”

A typical HIPPO reaction…

A different picture GOALS (No goals, no insights)

ANY event that occurs on a website can be a goal

HINT: pick goals that correlate with business and

social media goals. Give those goals values.

ATTRIBUTION ANALYSIS

GA allows you to understand the most valuable

interaction patterns that result in things you want to

happen

Social media’s

marriage problem:

solving attribution

Google Analytics provides a way of

seeing the direct and indirect

contribution made by any channel

against a specific goal

Social = assistive medium

Attribution analysis often shows the indirect

contribution of social media

(ie assistive medium)

Example: E-commerce site discovered social traffic

was vital first step in multi-stage interaction pattern.

Based on traffic alone, they were thinking of

drastically reducing investment

Don’t forget…

Old vs new metrics

Old: We’ve got 10,000 Twitter followers. Wow!

New: our social media activity directly and indirectly

contributed to a 35pc increase in sales, resulting in

an ROI of 5:1

Summary

Google Analytics provides an inexpensive way

to understand what channels contribute real

value

Social media is typically an assistive medium;

without attribution analysis, it is very often

undervalued

http://amzn.to/Po0EWa