Bee Measure

Get Direction From Your Data

By

Understanding the Why, Marketing Efficiency & One Charity’s Unexpected Findings

The Ethics of A/B Testing

The ethics of A/B testing are up for contention! While it may seem harmless, many people don’t like the idea of being tested without their knowledge. I don’t blame them. So, what does this mean for nonprofits? For those wanting to err on the side of caution, it’s best to be transparent. Inform your audience and give them the chance to opt out.

Getting to the “Why”

Looking to improve your website? You need “why” data. I like this article because it breaks down the types of information you can collect about your site and what each provides. While Google Analytics can show you where users are running into trouble, it can’t explain why something is happening. Qualitative data, such as survey responses, help you understand why your users are behaving in a certain way and provide the insight needed to solve any issues they’re having on your website.

[Read more…]

By

Passé Website Trends, Writing Better Surveys & 2018’s Top Social Campaigns

Don’t Forget the Pictures!

When your organization’s work is, um, less than visually compelling, it’s easy to make images an afterthought. But before you download yet another boring stock photo, check out Hubspot’s list of statistics why visuals matter. Compelling images can impact not only viewers’ attention spans, but also result in higher retention and engagement. Here’s my favorite fact from the piece: “When people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later.” Nice!

The Best of the Best

The Digital Agency Network presented their picks for the best social media campaigns in 2018. I love this list because it features sophisticated uses of a medium many consider, well, “basic” and, um, narcissistic. And as a bookworm, my favorite is NY Library’s InstaNovels campaign.

[Read more…]

By

Biased Analysts, Harvard’s Social Survey & More on Russia’s FB Ads

Russia’s Meddling, Analyzed
Last time Bee Update came out, the news about Russia’s election-meddling Facebook ads had just broken. This edition, I provide the analysis. $100K is such an odd amount to spend on ads, argues the Atlantic. It’s too much to go unnoticed, and too little to have much effect. Or did it? The low cost of Facebook ads means that $100K can go a surprisingly long way, says The Daily Beast. In this piece, a (colorful) Facebook ad expert estimates that the $100K in ads reached 26 million people. Oh yeah, and Wired explains how Facebook needs to fix itself.

Just Admit You’re Biased Already
I’m a big fan on the Digital Analytics Power Hour podcast. (Yup, there’s a podcast for everything these days). This episode from August on biases was a classic. As much as we want to be impartial, it’s hard to not fall into traps. Here’s some self-reflection from my favorite podcasting analysts.

Social Media Goes to Harvard
Harvard surveyed chief marketing officers and summarized its findings about social media. Social media spending is up 200% in 8 years. (I’m surprised that’s not higher), but nearly half the CMOs say they don’t know if it’s paying off. Here’s that portion and a link to the full survey results.

[Read more…]

By

Machine Learning Explained, Fake Ads Found & Airbnb Reviews Mapped

When the Journey is the Goal
Many nonprofits use social media to promote education and awareness of a cause. They don’t necessarily have conversion in mind. So how can a savvy nonprofit communicator evaluate this type of social content and campaigns?  Well, MarketingLand does a nice job of explaining alternative metrics. (Interested in setting this up for your website? Reach out. )

Explain Like I’m Five: Machine Learning Edition
“Machine learning” is one of those buzzy terms that gets thrown around a lot. I was happy to stumble on this nice explanation of what it is (and is not).

And now that we know about machine learning… here’s Engadget explaining how Facebook uses the technology to detect fake ads.

Talking to Your Data
I recently covered Google Analytics’ new feature that is supposed to allow analysts and business people to get data by asking questions, rather than running reports. Well, it looks like Tableau is barking up the same tree. They recently acquired start up ClearGraph, a service that lets users visualize data through natural language queries (think “this week’s transactions over $500”).

[Read more…]

By

Tracking Donation Funnels, Bad News for Twitter & The Most $$$ Keywords

Measure Your Differences
I enjoyed this advice from Hootsuite on how to pick social media metrics. Their number one tip: figure out your organizational goals and base your metrics on that. (And don’t worry about what everyone else is measuring.)

Google’s Most Expensive Keywords
If you administer a Google for Nonprofits AdWords grant, finding keywords that cost less than $2 can be a big pain. Having struggled with this issue myself, I got a kick out of seeing how much some keywords cost. $58 for “bail bonds,” anyone?

Yet Another Nail, Twitter
I’m not a big Twitter user, but even I feel bad for Trump’s favorite social media site. Here’s the latest report about Twitter’s decline. Monthly active users in the United States fell last quarter.

[Read more…]