The ongoing conversation about measurement will always continue. The question is, is it the right conversation?

Clickthroughs, page views, and registrations.

Recall, intent, and purchases.

Impressions, sentiment, and share of voice.

These are all things we can measure.

But do they all matter? Especially if they’re being achieved by the wrong people?

What about things like relationships? Or that one comment by the top influencer in your industry? Or that issue that didn’t occur because of the way you communicated?

The thing about measurement is to try your best to measure the right things in the right way. The only way you can do that is to clearly define goals. The more specific the goals are, the more noise you can eliminate.

And the more we can work toward the right conversation.

NOTE, A WORD ABOUT THE OVERSIMPLIFICATION – I know that I’m oversimplifying this. I don’t really have a desire to get into the details of measurement here. But I think a simple step can be taken to direct the conversation in the right direction – and that is clearly to define goals. I’m not talking about, “I want to sell more product,” or “I want more people coming to my site,” or “I want more fans.” (If those are the goals, paid advertising is your answer in most cases.) But what are the specifics?