The Digital Metrics Field Guide: The Definitive Reference for Brands Using the Web, Social Media, Mobile Media, or Email

by Stephen D. Rappaport

Overview

Every brand gets performance reports of their online, social, and mobile marketing communications efforts. Yet many brands are unsure about their measurement and want to become more confident. They want to know what metrics are available, what is known about them, how to select them, and how to analyze and report them in ways that help them understand the impact of their digital communication. This book is the go-to source for understanding digital metrics. Published in association with the American Advertising Research Foundation (ARF).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789063693770
Publisher:	Laurence King Publishing
Publication date:	04/21/2015
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Stephen served as head of the ARF’s Knowledge Center, and is presently Senior Consultant at his consulting firm. He consults and writes about brand growth through consumer insight, digital strategy and measurement to help people, within brand organizations gain perspective that is valuable for their strategy and execution.

The Digital Metrics Field Guide is his third book. Prior books were The Online Advertising Playbook and Listen First! Turning Social Media Conversations into Business Advantage, both published by John Wiley & Sons.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 6
FOREWORD 9
INTRODUCTION 10

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT METRICS 12
Six Questions Brands Should Ask to Select Metrics

HOW TO LOCATE METRICS IN THE FIELD GUIDE 13
METRICS LISTED ALPHABETICALLY 14
METRICS LISTED BY CATEGORY 27
METRICS LISTED BY MARKETING STAGE 40
GUIDE TO THE METRICS ENTRIES 54

The 12 Fields in the Metrics Entries
SOURCES FOR METRICS DATA 56

DIGITAL METRICS FIELD GUIDE ENTRIES
Abandonment Rate (Page)* 60
Abandonment Rate (Shopping Cart)* 61
Actions Rate (Facebook) 62
Actions (Facebook) 63
Active User Rate (Mobile Apps)* 64
Ad Awareness* 65
Ad Impression* 66
Average Order Value* 68
Average Time Spent on Page* 69
Average Time Spent on Site (Session Length)* 70
Bounce—Email* 71
Bounce (Website or Social Network)* 72
Bounce Rate - Email 73
Bounce Rate (Site or Network)* 74
Brand Advocate* 75
Brand Awareness* 77
Brand Lift* 79
Brochure Downloads 80
Browse to Buy Ratio 81
Browser 82
Channel 83
Check-Ins—Page (Facebook) 84
Click 85
Click Stream 86
Click-Through 87
Click-Through Rate (CTR)* 89
Click-Through Rate After Video Exposure 90
Comments* 91
Consumers—Page (Facebook) 92
Consumers—Post (Facebook) 93
Consumptions—Post (Facebook) 94
Conversation Relevant Sites 95
Conversation* 96
Conversion Funnel* 97
Conversion Goal* 98
Conversion Rate* 99
Conversion* 101
Cookie 103
Cost per Action (CPA)* 105
Cost per Click (CPC)* 106
Cost per Lead (CPL)* 107
Cost per Order 108
Cost per Sale (CPS) 109
Cost per Targeted Thousand Impressions (CPTM) 110
Cost per Thousand (CPM) Impressions* 111
Cost per Transaction 112
Cost per Unique Visitor 113
Coupon Downloads 114
Customers* 115
Direct Traffic Visitors 116
Earned Impression* 117
Email Capture Rate 119
Email Click to Open Rate 120
Email Complaint Rate 121
Email Complaints 122
Email Delivered* 123
Email Delivery Rate* 124
Email Forwards* 125
Email Inbox Delivered* 126
Email Inbox Delivered Rate 127
Email Open Rate* 128
Email Opens* 130
Email Sent to Open Ratio* 132
Email Unsubscribe Rate* 133
Engaged Users—Post (Facebook) 134
Engagement—Tweet (Twitter) 135
Engagement—Video 136
Engagement* 137
Entry Page (Top Entry Pages)* 138
Entry Type* 139
Episode Completions 140
Episode Starts 141
Estimated Minutes Watched* 142
Event 143
Event Tracking* 144
Exit Page* 145
Fan (Facebook) 146
First Orders 147
Followers/Subscribers* 148
Form Submissions* 150
Frequency* 151
Friends of Fans (Facebook) 152
Gross Ratings Points (GRP)* 153
Hit 154
In-Unit Click 155
Incoming Links (Backlinks) 156
Influencer* 157
Interactions—In Ad 159
IP Address 161
Key Content Downloads (Coupons, Recipes, Apps, etc.)* 162
Key Performance Indicator (KPI)* 163
Like* 164
Likes—Page (Facebook) 166
Mentions* 168
Mobile App Downloads 169
Mobile Browser Version 170
Mobile Operating System 171
Mouseover 172
Negative Feedback from
Users—Post (Facebook) 173
Negative Feedback from
Users—Page (Facebook) 174
New App Users* 175
New Likes—Page (Facebook) 176
New Visitor 177
New Visitor (Percent)* 178
Organic Impressions—Posts (Facebook) 179
Organic Reach—Page (Facebook) 180
Organic Reach—Post (Facebook) 181
Page 182
Page (Facebook, LinkedIn) 183
Page Exit Rate 184
Page Load Times* 185
Page Post (Facebook) 186
Page View (Facebook) 187
Page View, Logged-in (Facebook) 188
Page View* 189
Page Views per Visit* 190
Paid Impression—Page (Facebook) 191
Paid Impressions—Post (Facebook) 192
Paid Reach—Page (Facebook) 193
Paid Reach—Post (Facebook) 194
Pay Per Click (PPC) 195
People Engaged—Post (Facebook) 196
People Talking About This—Page (Facebook) 197
People Talking About This—Post (Facebook) 198
Phone Brand 199
Phone Type 200
Pinners 201
Pins 202
Playlist Average Playing Time 203
Playlist Completions 204
Playlist Starts 205
Program Completion Rate 206
Program Completions 207
Program Repeated Completions 208
Program Repeated Starts 209
Program Starts 210
Program Stops 211
Reach* 212
Recipe Downloads 213
Referral Traffic* 214
Repeat Visitors 215
Repinners 216
Repins 217
Return Visitor* 218
Retweets 219
Revenue Over Email Delivered* 220
Reviews (product)* 221
Rich Media Interactive Impressions 222
Screen View 224
Screen Views per Visit 225
Search Traffic 226
Sentiment* 227
Share of Active Days 229
Share of Streams 230
Sharing* 231
Social Click Rate 233
Social Clicks 234
Social Impressions (Facebook) 235
Social Percentage (Facebook) 236
Song Downloads 237
Source 238
Sponsored Story (Facebook) 239
Story (Facebook) 240
Streams per Unique Viewer* 241
Tab Views, Total (Facebook) 242
Target Audience* 243
Target Impressions 244
Time Spent Viewing, Average* 245
Time Spent Viewing, Total 246
Time to Purchase* 247
Top Viewed Pages* 248
Total Impressions—Page (Facebook) 249
Total Impressions—Post (Facebook) 250
Total Reach—Page (Facebook) 251
Total Reach—Post (Facebook) 253
Unduplicated Video Reach 254
Unfollow/Unsubscribe* 255
Unique App Users* 256
Unique Clicks 257
Unique Program Viewers
• r Listeners 258
Unique Viewers* 259
Unique Visitors (Unique Browsers)* 260
Unlike/Dislike* 262
Unlikes—Page (Facebook) 263
Video—Audience Retention 264
Viewable Impression* 265
Views 267
Views, Videos* 268
Viral Impressions—Page (Facebook) 269
Viral Impressions—Post (Facebook) 270
Viral Reach—Post (Facebook) 271
Viral Reach—Page (Facebook) 272
Virality/Engagement Rate— Post (Facebook) 273
Visit (Session)* 274
Visits—Buy Now Section 276
Visits—Customer Service/Support Section 277
Visits—Store Locator Section 278

VIEWPOINTS ON MEASUREMENT:
THE PRESENT AND ITS FUTURES 280
Viewpoints 1: Perspectives and Practices in Today’s Measurement Landscape 280
Viewpoints 2: A More Social Measurement Future 281

VIEWPOINTS 1: PERSPECTIVES AND PRACTICES IN TODAY’S MEASUREMENT LANDSCAPE 283
The Case for Holistic Measurement 284
Putting Big Data and Big Data Metrics in Perspective 285
Finding the Right Digital Metrics for Brand Marketing 286
Measuring the Delivery and Effectiveness of Digital Media Plans 288

VIEWPOINTS 2: A MORE SOCIAL MEASUREMENT FUTURE 290
No Currency Needed 292
The Importance of Why Advertising Works: Measurement’s Missing Link 294
If Content Is King, Context Is the Power Behind the Throne 296
The Need to Measure Impact 298
Marketing Through Fans, Not to Them 300
Remarkable Implications: The Correlation Between Online Advocacy and Offline Sales 302
Why Measurement Needs to Change and How It Should Change 304
The Evolution and Use of Digital Metrics: A Social Value and Impact Perspective 305
SUMMING UP: WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED FROM 197 METRICS, 150 STUDIES, AND 12 ESSAYS 308

APPENDIX I 314
Authorities for Metrics Definitions
APPENDIX II 315
Research References

Editorial Reviews

"The Internet is undoubtedly the medium with the most measures. And that can create a lot of confusion. So, it's a huge relief to finally see accurate definitions of the most important digital metrics. Nicely done!"
—Gian Fulgoni, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, comScore

"Once again, Stephen Rappaport and the ARF demonstrate incredible vision and leadership with this groundbreaking book. As digital media grows exponentially, so too does the importance of metrics. The Field Guide provides actionable information for the application of key metrics. I'm thoroughly impressed with the content and grateful to have this book as part of our agency's toolkit."
—Jeff Rosenblum, Founding Partner of Questus and Director of The Naked Brand documentary

"For the first time in turbulent history of digital, Rappaport catalogued all industry's advertising and marketing metrics. This compendium is an absolute must for any practitioner striving to make sense of complex media ecosystem – and prefers flying by instruments to flying blind."
—Yaakov Kimelfeld, Chief Research Officer, Kantar Digital

“I wish I had the Digital Metrics Field Guide when I started working in ad technology. It breaks down what each metric means in language clear enough for a newcomer, but comprehensive in a way that makes it useful for people who are familiar with the space. I especially like how it organizes metrics in ways that are meaningful – by category, by channel, by marketing funnel stage and by paid, owned or earned.”
—Joshua Berg, Knowledge Manager, LiveRail

“The Field Guide whips the curtain away from the wizard. Rappaport cuts to the heart of questions as fundamental as “which metrics should I use, and why?”—not just by revealing what the metric means but HOW that metric was developed. The book clarifies terminology and provides insightful commentary on measurement in debate. Understanding available metrics, best practices, and whether or how a particular metric impacts your business is crucial. This guide should be mandatory reading for everyone immersed in brand building—researchers, marketers, sales people…agencies, brand, and the media companies delivering brand messages.“
—Susan Hogan, VP Digital Research, Viacom Media Networks

“Too often we forget that there are humans on either side of every metric. The Field Guide will be a great tool to help marketers and advertisers use the most appropriate metrics to inform their decisions.”
—Neil Glassman, Chief Marketing Strategist, WhizBangPowWow

“The Guide is crucial and timely reading for anyone who wants to establish transparent, actionable metrics for digital media. The Digital Metrics Field Guide provides a key tool for my company to align our understanding of human engagement with that of our customers and partners, transforming the way we quantify success. A more effective understanding of this books concept of “humetrics” will undoubtedly provide a more effective digital media experience for people.
—Sophie Lebrecht, Founder and CEO, NEON

“An indispensable guide for researchers of metrics that capture how digital marketing impacts everyday consumer experience.”
John Wittenbraker, Global Director of Innovation, Brand & Customer Experience, GfK.

“First of all – I want an app with this on it that I can keep open at all times! It’s amazing. This guide belongs on the right hand of anyone working in digital or social media today. It is to digital and social media what the Oxford English Dictionary is to college students and Scrabble players. It is the ultimate reference guide and will, I hope shorten thousands of arguments about which metric is the right one for the job.”
—Katie Paine, Senior Measurement Consultant, Paine Publishing, author Measure What Mattes

From the Publisher