Metric description and application:

This initiative was part of a collaborative effort between the Digital Analytics Association (DAA) and the #SMMstandards Conclave. These foundational measures will serve as the basis for defining data collection in social media and will enable subsequent metrics and potentially other standards to be calculated consistently.

 

It should be noted that in order to arrive at standard definitions for Reach & Impressions, we first had to establish definitions for “item” and “mention.” Thus, this project consists of defining 4 specific metrics that can help measurers of social media to utilize consistent measures and definitions. 

 

Caveat:

The following social media definitions were developed based on a perfect world scenario. In practice, measuring social media today depends heavily on the methodologies of individual tools and solutions applied to the task. Results will vary. Our definitions are considered the ideal way to measure Reach & Impressions, with cognition that the methods available to do so today are inherently flawed because of their inability to precisely determine unique individuals across social platforms, devices, and media.

 

Status:

Published

 

Version, date, and author(s):

Version 1.0

Provided for public comment November 2011

Closed for comment December 2012

Approved Januay 2013

Authors: DAA President John Lovett, DAA Social Media Standards Sub-Committee Lead Josh Dreller, Linda Schumacher, DAA Standards Co-Chair Darrin Wood, DAA Standards Co-Chair Anna Long, Nick Necsulescu, Sarah Farebrother, Eric Swayne, Ned Kumar, and Eric Feinberg

 

Standards or guidelines:

Standards

 

Metric type:

Outtake

 

Detailed description: 

-An “item” of content is a post, micro-post, article, or other instance appearing for the first time in a digital media. Comments: This definition of item replaces “clip,” “post,” and other unclear terminology. Items of content refer to the content vehicle in its entirety, which means that a single item can contain multiple mentions and derivatives. In general, derivatives of items such as comments, likes, etc. should not be counted as additional items. If they are used, clear explanation and justification of why they are included must be included. 

 

-A “mention” refers to a brand, organization, campaign, or entity that is being measured. Mentions are typically defined in social media using Boolean search queries. These queries may include “AND” as well as “OR” statements to capture specific brands, campaigns, or subject matter topics, as they pertain to the goals of the search objective. Furthermore, mention queries may also include “NOT” statements to filter off-topic mentions from the data set.

 

-“Impressions” represent the number of times an item has an opportunity to be seen and reach people, based on the simple addition of those audiences that have had the opportunity to see it. Perhaps better called “potential impressions,” this term represents the gross number of opportunities for items to be seen, regardless of frequency of display, method of accessing the item, or audience duplication. It will typically count the same individuals multiple times and will include individuals who had the opportunity to see the item, but did not in fact see it at all. A virtue of this metric is that it is somewhat comparable to metrics used in traditional media.  The term “displayed” applies across channels, browsers, devices, and other methods by which an individual might see an item.

 

-“Reach” is the total number of unique individuals who had the opportunity to see an item. Reach is typically a constructed metric that is based on the number of impressions, refined to eliminate the duplication of individuals who have had the opportunity to see the item through multiple media channels, or access points (e.g. laptops and hand-held devices) and to all eliminate repeated serving of the item other than valid reproductions of that item across digital media.

 

-The reach metric seeks to establish an ideal environment where one can quantify individual people across platforms using social media monitoring tools, social platforms, and/or panel-based measurement solutions. However, in reality, each tool, platform, and solution may have a unique method of calculating reach and each might introduce duplication and error.

 

-Reach is typically quantified using social media monitoring tools, social platforms, and/or panel-based measurement solutions. Each tool, platform, and solution may have a unique method of calculating reach. For this reason it is critical to use the Sources & Methods Transparency Table (see page 3) to identify data collection sources.  Caution: use of multipliers or “rules of thumb” are NOT standard processes and should be avoided. 

 

-Reach can be refined further according to social media objectives, by narrowing audiences, or by other means. 

 

-Reach represents potential opportunities to see (OTS). 

 

Source documents:

Reach & Impressions derived from work done by the Digital Analytics Association Standards Committee.