Why measure?

This week in social media class we began reading Katie Paine's Measure What Matters. I'm very excited to learn about measurements in social media because this is an area of social media that I do not know very much about. In Paine's first chapter, she explains why we should measure at all. Here's what she says:

1. Data-driven decision making saves time and money. Results will save time and money along with boosting credibility. If you have concrete data to support decisions, your business will support your decisions.

2. It helps allocate budget and staff. Measuring each part of social media shows which parts worked well, which did not, which need more effort and which efforts were most successful and should be continued. With this, you can decide how much of a budget and how much staff each section needs.

3. Gain a better understanding of the competition. Businesses always compete and knowing how a business compares to its peers and rivals will help determine strengths and weaknesses.

4. Strategic planning. Data provided through measurement helps guide decisions and improve business.


5. Measurement gets everyone to agree on a desired outcome. Without an agreed upon goal, measurement has no direction. Deciding what your organization wants to achieve lets you know what you want measured and if your social media strategies are successful.

6. Measurement reveals strengths and weaknesses. Measurements lets your company know what works and what does not work. Knowing strengths and weaknesses helps with planning, and will prevent unnecessary resources from being used.

7. Measurement gives you reasons to say "no". Results provide data that supports decisions and can help operations. When something is not providing the desired results, businesses will have reasons to say no to that function or find ways to improve it.