Bee Measure

Get Direction From Your Data

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Big Changes to Google Analytics, Spending for 2020 & the Male-Dominated World of Data Viz

App and Website, Together At Last

Have a website… and an app? Well, I have news for you. It’s still in beta, but Google Analytics now has a way to combine app and website data into a single property. This is a particularly exciting development because it deviates from the traditional session and pageview method Google Analytics has used for the past 15+ years (listen to me complain about that here). The new measurement model uses events and parameters instead. And, Google’s created a new feature to make tracking the most common events, such as scrolling and outbound link clicks, a lot easier. This is a huge shift for GA and I’m sure I’ll be covering it again very soon.

Gettin’ Cozy With Data Analytics

An understanding of data analytics is important for everyone in an organization, regardless of your role or position. This Harvard Business Review article breaks down 4 crucial concepts you may have forgotten from your freshman year course in statistics. My favorite tip: Always have a control. You probably know about controls from drug trials, but this doesn’t need to be costly nor time-consuming. Although we may be testing new subject lines or web copy (rather than life-saving drugs), this is a concept that communicators should master too.

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Make Your Own Data Gifs, Better Blog Posts & The Internet in 355 Slides

What’s New This Week?

What’s Up with the ‘Net?
You’d think that an entire year worth of online trends would be too much information to condense into one Power Point presentation. But you’d be wrong!  Each year, Mary Meeker, a partner in venture capitalist firm Kleiner Perkins, does a rapid-fire bazillion-slide-long (actually, 355) presentation of the year’s top takeaways. See this year’s presentation here and read Recode’s synopsis and analysis here.

Brits Slightly Dismayed at Facebook Political Ads
The Brits are having an ethical dilemma about the role of Facebook advertising in political elections. Until recently, political campaigns had spending limits on advertising and a ban on TV ads. But the rules don’t cover online advertising, so Facebook is suddenly cashing in. Here’s BBC’s coverage.

Artificial Intelligence Comes for… Me
Last week, I joked about robots taking over the world. But this article makes me worried that it’s really happening… to my job! Check out this scare tactic, oops I mean trend piece, on how artificial intelligence can help automate social media analysis and take the guesswork out of managing accounts.

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Why Fewer People See Your Facebook Posts and What Teens Find Cool

What’s New This Week?

Must Be the Algorithm
The Chicago Tribune chronicled the decline… of their Facebook post reach. This detailed case study (so many charts!) portrays a conundrum faced by many publishers: their content isn’t being surfaced by Facebook’s algorithm. (And we learn that Facebook formally recommends “24 to 48 posts per day.”)

#Resistance’s Data Love Affair
This newsletter has talked a lot about the role of data in political campaigns. And, yes, this is yet another article on the topic. But this Wired piece feels empowering, making the claim that data is the solution to finally understanding our elections process. Or as the article puts it: “Donors have no way of knowing whether it’s polls, personality, or backdoor politicking leading the party to back one candidate over another… founders want to bring transparency to the process.”

Big News for Google Analytics Nerds
I have been working in Google Analytics for a long time, so this is a big one. GA is getting a new homepage dashboard and will no longer open to the “Audience Overview” report. Bounce rate is gone! Here’s the update with screen shots.

And on a Lighter Note
I have to love any article that complains “the nerds have taken over marketing.” This Forbes fluff piece cracked me up, even though it contains zero actual information.

And in other links….
An adult coloring book features climate change data. (Color in maps of land loss and graphs of rising temperatures.)  Google asks 10K people to contribute their health data, so they can calculate “normal” human health. And finally, the “mother of all ad blockers” is coming for us.

Advice of the Week

#StopMakingEverythingaHashtag
Social media agency Scribble Social gives their hashtag pet peevesand how to correct them. Tip #1: The point of hashtags is to help your content get discovered.

Cool Visualization of the Week

Kids These Days
What do teens think is cool? Well, Google found out for us. (Thanks, Google!) And the answers are: YouTube, Oreos and reading. And the least cool? Wall Street Journal, Sprint and Yahoo!

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Tips for Too Much Data, Facebook’s A/B Testing and Breitbart Ad Update

What’s New This Week?

My Ads are Appearing on Breitbart, the Sequel
A few weeks ago I covered advertisers’ frustration (anger? annoyance?) with Google after noticing that their ads ran on Breitbart. Fortunately, there’s a follow up. Google is giving advertisers more control over where their ads appear. Details here in TechCrunch.

Water, Water Everywhere… But Not if Data Can Help It
Apparently, the world loses 30-ish% of its water due to leaks and bursts. With water use rising, water providers are trying to find new ways to reduce waste. One solution is using data to predict leaks, but that goes against the interest of water authorities. They love to look like heroes by fixing bursts. Interesting conundrum! Here’s Harvard Business Review on it.

A/B Testing Facebook-style
Facebook Ads have a new feature. (Yeah, I know I say that every week.) This time it’s pretty cool. With the new feature called “Split Testing,” you can run controlled tests without audience overlap. It works when you run ads with a website conversion, lead generation or mobile app install objective. Learn more here.

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The Trouble with Too Much Data

Many non-profits have a giant spreadsheet. Every time staff send an email, post to social media or write a blog post, they record the key metrics in their enormous Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet.

This sounds like a good idea, right? This way, your organization has all the data staff need to gain vital insights into your communications work. Staff can look at the metrics and know exactly what content, messages and channels are most effective. They have all the data they need to make decisions.

Except it never works that way! Maybe, you make a few charts from the data for your annual report (Facebook likes are up this year!). But you never use it to make actual day-to-day choices about your website design, social media content or marketing strategy.

The top reasons to get rid of your giant spreadsheet:

  • It’s tedious: So many of us (especially in creative professions like communications) HATED math class. Don’t make yourself or your staff relive it with number-related busy work. Recording numbers in a spreadsheet that you never use makes data seem pointless and frustrating. This attitude will make it much harder to get everyone to embrace data-driven decision making later on. [Read more…]