Measuring Advocacy Digital Impact Through Metrics
As we inch towards the end of Q3, now is a good time to take stock of the year’s results and also consider how to measure impact when planning for 2022. As a first step, it’s important to think about what success looks like. In the social realm, KPI, ROI, clicks, impressions, views, and reach are likely terms you’re familiar with. What do they mean, and how can they be applied? These measurements or performance metrics are important considerations for identifying the success of your campaigns and partnerships.
Not all metrics will be relevant to your initiatives or goals, which is why it’s important to take the time up front to identify the goals for your engagement activities.
Three areas to consider evaluating include:
Interactions with Target Audience
- WHAT: 1:1 conversations, evaluations, or group discussions
- WHY: This metric can reveal which types of forums for engagement are most beneficial or insightful. This can be a qualitative or quantitative metric (e.g., insights vs. number of participants).
Reach
- WHAT: campaign reach (traditional and social media), webinar, or conference attendance/views
- WHY: This metric can show how many people interacted with your materials and messages.
Leads
- WHAT: individuals who signed up for future content
- WHY: Generating new leads creates a larger audience base, and in looking at the demographics of the new leads secured, you can get a better understanding of who your messages and content are resonating with.
Tip: A critical first step for evaluating metrics is defining and understanding what they measure and – asking, for example, what is the difference between reach and impressions? Reach is the number of people who have seen content vs. an impression, which is the number of times content is displayed. Having a clear understanding of what these are makes it easier for all parties to accurately report them.
