In the in-box this morning is another exciting book excerpt thanks to Delancyplace. It comes from John D. Barrow's book "100 Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know."
I mean, who doesn't like doing calculations of the probablility of winning the lottery?:
"The UK National Lottery has a simple structure. You pay £1 to select six different numbers from the list 1, 2, 3, . . . , 48, 49.
by Katie Delahaye Paine
Here's a short list of the best references and reading on public relations measurement and social media measurement. I was going to tell you to read these books before going back to school, but that much summertime homework is excessive, even for you over-achieving measurement mavens.
So start with the first two...
Measure what Matters by Katie Delahaye Paine. J -- Not just because I need the royalty checks, but because it will give you all the basics to start measuring right. Read several reviews here.
The Influentials: One American in Ten Tells the Other Nine How to Vote, Where to Eat, and What to Buy by Jon Berry and Ed Keller. Learn about how and what really influences behavior. It’s a wonderful data-driven analysis of who influences what.
Now make sure you have these next two invaluable references somewhere close at hand. You don't have to read them, but you will have to refer to them from time to time...
A Practitioner's Guide to Public Relations Research, Measurement and Evaluation by Don W. Stacks and David Michaelson.
Primer of Public Relations Research by Don W. Stacks. The first edition of this book remains the dog-eared bible that I keep next to my desk. See my review here.
If you are socially inclined, then you'll want to read this sequel, of sorts, to The Influentials:
The Face-to-Face Book: Why Real Relationships Rule in a Digital Marketplace by Ed Keller and Brad Fay. See my recent review here.
And finally, here are six classics, or soon-to-be classics, on social media, in case you haven’t read them already:
The Cluetrain Manifesto, by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger.
Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers, by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. Read my review here.
Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing by Lee Odden. (See my recent review here.)
YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day by Greg Jarboe.
The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey. See my review here.
Twitterville: How businesses can thrive in the new global neighborhoods. by Shel Israel. See my review here.
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Katie Delahaye Paine is CEO of KDPaine & Partners, a Salience Insight company, part of News Group International. KDP&P delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine is a dynamic and experienced speaker on public relations and social media measurement. Click here for the schedule of Katie’s upcoming speaking engagements. Katie and Beth Kanter are authors of the book “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit,” to be published this year by Wiley.
The Measurement Standard is a publication of KDPaine & Partners, a company that delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine, CEO of KDPaine & Partners, will be glad to talk with you about measurement for your organization.
No, this is not about social media measurement or even public relations measurement. It's about a booklet entitled "The Amazing Story of Measurement" published by the Lufkin Rule Company in 1949 that presents the history of measurement (like feet, yards, furlongs, and miles) in comic book format. I'm thinking it qualifies as an early form of infographic.
Did you know that Thomas Jefferson recommended in 1790 that the U.S. adopt a decimal-based system of weights and measures? Or that a "nail" is a measure based on the length of the last 2 joints of the middle finger, and that one nail was set as the thickness of a brick? If not, then perhaps you should be reading more comic books. Go see the article at CreativePro.com.
--WTP
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--Bill Paarlberg is editor of The Measurement Standard blog and newsletter, and of Katie Paine's book “Measure What Matters.” He is also editor of the book “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit,” by Beth Kanter and Katie Paine, which will be published this year by Wiley. Follow Bill Paarlberg on Twitter.
The Measurement Standard is a publication of KDPaine & Partners, a company that delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine, CEO of KDPaine & Partners, will be glad to talk with you about measurement for your organization.
Here’s another rave review for Measure What Matters, Katie Paine’s new book on public relations measurement and social media measurement. Reviewer Bob LaDrew over at For Immediate Release has a great many very nice things to say about Measure What Matters, including:
[Measure What Matters is] the best written, best argued book on social media measurement that I have read... A tremendously good book… it’s a treasure. AN ABSOLUTE DOOZY OF A READ. Makes great points… incredibly accessible and incredibly useful. I can’t recommend it strongly enough… The book is a joy to read for a language nerd.
Listen to the whole podcast here. To read excerpts from the book, visit the Measure What Matters blog. And you can click right here to order Measure What Matters right now at Amazon.
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-- Bill Paarlberg, editor, Measure What Matters and The Measurement Standard
5 measurement books you could, sure, take to the beach.
O.K., we don't really expect you to take these measurement books along next time you head to the beach. But just think how smart and dedicated you would look leaving the office with your towel, umbrella, and one of these books on social media measurement under your arm. Don't forget the sunscreen.
1. A great place to start your social media strategy is Stephen D. Rappaport’s, Listen First!: Turning Social Media Conversations into Business Advantage. It’s a detailed workbook of how to begin listening to your customers, how to manage a social media listening program, and how to use the research correctly. Read a review by Neil Glassman here.
2. Your next step up the measurement ladder is Katie Delahaye Paine’s Measure What Matters: Online Tools For Understanding Customers, Social Media, Engagement, and Key Relationships. (Yes, Katie Paine is the publisher of this newsletter.) It takes you from first steps all the way through how-to-measure procedures for each of your audiences and projects. If you’re a seasoned pro, it’s your all-purpose reference: As Lee Odden says, “This is a measurement bible for the social media and public relations savvy professionals of the world.”
3. Philip Sheldrake’s The Business of Influence: Reframing Marketing and PR for the Digital Age is definitely not for the newcomer to social media. It does start with a great overview of where we are, but then quickly gets into the nitty-gritty of defining and mapping the influencers that are important to your strategy. Says Katie Delahaye Paine: “The Business of Influence should be found, dog-eared and jam-packed with marks in the margins, on every successful CMO's desk.”
4. If you’re in the b2b space, Social Marketing to the Business Customer: Listen to Your B2B Market, Generate Major Account Leads, and Build Client Relationships by Paul Gillin and Eric Schwartzman is an great read. It removes the “This doesn’t apply to me” excuse beautifully. Chris Brogan says,“Finally, the book I was too lazy to write. Gillin and Schwartzman have broken open the code to how to approach B2B marketing with social media.”
5. Finally, for anyone in marketing or media, or if you’re teaching it, you must read Timothy Wu’s The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires. Every new communications medium or technology begins with an idea, an entrepreneur, and an explosion of free exchange of this technology. But, sooner or later, it is taken over and monopolized by a single person or company—too frequently with the collusion of the US government. See our review here.
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Katie Delahaye Paine is CEO of KDPaine & Partners, a company that delivers custom research to measure brand image, public relationships, and engagement. Katie Paine is a dynamic and experienced speaker on public relations and social media measurement. Click here for the schedule of Katie’s upcoming speaking engagements.
Lee Odden has posted brief reviews of 5 books he recommends: “5 Social Media ROI & Measurement Books to Grow Your Social Business”:
For more reviews of measurement-related books, click here to look through dozens of reviews by Katie Paine.
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Books on measurement will make great gifts for all the public relations and research types on your list. Here are the books Katie Paine has reviewed over the past year. Click on the links to read the complete reviews.
Social Media Metrics
How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment
by Jim Sterne, foreword by David Meerman Scott, Wiley, 2010, 272 pps.
ISBN 978-0-470-58378-4
Buy Social Media Metrics from Wiley now.
Jim Sterne has written by far the most comprehensive book yet on how to measure social media, and he’s written it in a delightful, easy-to-read, conversational tone that has you grinning frequently and occasionally LOL. Social Media Metrics covers virtually every metric ever discussed and most of the tools to measure them. If you want to jump into social media measurement, this is the book for you. Read the full review here.
Primer of Public Relations Research, Second Edition
by Don W. Stacks, PhD, Guilford Press, 2010, 367 pps.
ISBN 159385-595-8
Buy Primer of Public Relations Research now at Amazon.com.
The first edition of his Primer of Public Relations Research remains the dog-eared bible that I keep next to my desk. After ten years it was time for an update and Dr. Stacks has done a great job of reorganizing, revamping, and upgrading this classic. You will find this book valuable whether you’re studying PR in college, just starting off on your career, or have been doing PR for a decade or more. If you are looking to implement a PR research program of any sort, start here. Click here to read the full review.
Continue reading "Your Holiday Gift Guide to Measurement Books" »
Measure What Matters is Katie Delahaye Paine’s new book, due out in March from Wiley Press. (Read more about the book at the Measure What Matters blog.) Below is the beginning of Chapter 8 on how to measure influencers and thought leadership. Click here to download the entire chapter.
Chapter 8:
How to Measure Influencers and Thought Leadership“Dominant coalitions tend to value and support communicators who first demonstrate their worth.”
—David DozierIn the good old days, influencers were recognized leaders in business, media, Wall Street, or academia. Today, an influencer can be anyone who knows something about your product, your market, or your business. It can be someone with 10,000 followers on Twitter or 500 friends on Facebook. All that matters is whether they recommend your product or service.
New Influencers, New Thought Leaders, New Relationships
It used to be that a good communications program functioned like a food chain. You would educate key spokespeople and influencers on your message, and, assuming it was a credible message, it flowed down through the chain of media and ultimately reached your publics through a variety of credible sources. This top-down process of message control seemed reasonable, but was probably only a convenient illusion. Social media has proved it wrong...
Measurement Books Reviewed
Jim Sterne's Social Media Metrics is easy to read and covers virtually every social media metric.
Shiv Singh's Social Media Marketing for Dummies is a great primer for people who want to do social media right.
Summary: If you’re trying to navigate into the world of social media, start with Shiv Singh's book. If you’re trying to measure the effectiveness of those efforts, Jim Sterne's is the better bet.
Book Reviews by Katie Delahaye Paine
Social Media Metrics: How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment
by Jim Sterne, Foreword by David Meerman Scott, ISBN 978-0-470-58378-4, Wiley, 2010, $24.95.
Buy Social Media Metrics from Wiley now.
Jim Sterne has written by far the most comprehensive book yet on how to measure social media, and he’s written it in a delightful, easy-to-read, conversational tone that has you grinning frequently and occasionally LOL. Social Media Metrics covers virtually every metric ever discussed, and most of the tools to measure them.
He starts with setting measurable goals and then moves on to identifying reach, sentiment, influence, and all those other concepts that are on everyone’s lips these days. Sterne gives solid practical advice including websites, tools, and sources for virtually every metric that he recommends.
Anyone using, or contemplating using, automated sentiment analysis must read his chapter on the topic. It is brutal, honest, and very revealing. Stern also answers the oft-asked question: "How do I convince my colleagues to measure social media?" And, lest you think this is only for the newbies, Sterne includes some seriously thought-provoking discussion on the future of social media metrics.
Now, to be honest, Jim and I agree on almost everything, and he quotes me frequently throughout the book, so it’s hardly surprising that I love it.
But the book does have a flaw. It is the same problem that most people associate with social media: It’s a torrent of information. I came away from it knowing a whole lot more about how to measure social media, but feeling a bit overwhelmed and wanting to go to a Caribbean island named “Measurenotland.” But, given the economic and psychological conditions of most businesses these days, you’ll want to read this book now!
Social Media Marketing for Dummies
by Shiv Singh, ISBN 978-0-470-28934-1, Wiley, 2009, paperback, $24.99.
Buy Social Media Marketing for Dummies from Wiley now.
I love the “...for Dummies” series and dove into this book with high expectations. When I see “Learn to measure the results of your efforts!” on the cover of a book, how can I not open it, salivating with anticipation?
This book is a great primer for people wanting to understand how to do social media right. Singh calls his approach Social Influence Marketing and his recommendations are spot on.
He walks the reader carefully through the minefield of social media, with good solid advice at almost every step of the way. Great, well-thought-out stuff on planning, communicating, reaching out to, and involving customers and employees in your social media efforts.
Where I really have a problem is with Singh's measurement recommendations. He’s very big on measuring activity, like Facebook fans, and Twitter followers, and very weak on tying those activities to any business goals. He does acknowledge that it is important to marry your activity metrics to marketing and business objectives, but leaves the reader in the lurch as to how to actually accomplish this.
He also accepts automated sentiment analysis as a given, wholeheartedly endorsing specific vendors with no acknowledgement of the weaknesses inherent in the systems he discusses. Nor does he give any indication of the costs of these systems, which could certainly be far beyond most dummies' budgets.
One other caution: Many of the numbers are out of date. So you might want to update his facts and figures before you use the numbers he quotes in your presentation to upper management. This is the essential problem of printed text in a fast-evolving world. His figures for Facebook for example, are off by some 35 million visitors (and will be even more so by the time you read this).
(In the interest of transparency, I have my own measurement book, Measuring Public Relationships: The Data-Driven Communicator's Guide to Success, on the marker, and a second edition due out later this year. And I’m quoted a lot in Jim Sterne's book. --KDP) 
Your Measurement Reading List
Measuring Public Relationships Makes Measurement Simple
Measuring Public Relationships, The Data-Driven Communicator's Guide to Success by Katie Delahaye Paine, 228 pages, paperback. ISBN 978-0-9789899-0-3. Order online or by phone: 603-319-1047.
BERLIN, NH, Dec 12, 2007-- The first how-to book on measuring relationships for public relations professionals was released today by KDPaine & Partners, the Berlin, NH-based leader in social media and public relations measurement. Measuring Public Relationships, The Data-Driven Communicator's Guide to Success was written by KDPaine & Partners' CEO, Katie Delahaye Paine.
Paine takes a "cookbook" approach, providing specific steps to measure all forms of public relationships, from social media measurement to tracking relationships with local communities, industry analysts and social networks. It relies heavily on the relationship theories of James and Laurie Grunig and Linda Hon but translates the theory into an easy to read practical guidebook. The book has been well received by academics and professionals alike who have called it "the must-have practical guide to hands-on PR measurement." Emphasizing the role and evaluation of relationships, this book provides every public relations professional with step-by-step research procedures for measuring programs, improving results, and managing relationships.
"It really is an excellent book," said Professor James Grunig, calling it "lively, engaging, accessible, wise, and candid... a remarkable compendium..."
"Katie Paine is the most practical consultant and educator on public relations research that I know. She is brave enough to link PR to return on investment demands and smart enough to provide marketers and PR professionals with a wide range of useful research tools. If there is cost effective way to do research, Katie Paine will tell you about it," said Clark Caywood of the Department of Integrated Marketing Communications at the Medill School at Northwestern University.
"By force of prose and experience, Katie Paine level-sets the practical and now critical disciplines of media and communication measurement. A student of Grunig theory and a champion of the almighty relationship, Paine plops on every communicator's desk the best new reference for measuring the intangible. Read it, and you'll count your successes," said Alan Kelly, CEO & Founder, The Playmaker's Standard, LLC and author of The Elements of Influence. Adding that it's "...the best new reference for measuring the intangible."
Measuring
Public Relationships is available at a 25% discount until January
31st, 2008 when ordered directly
online or by
calling the KDPaine & Partners' office at 603-319-1047. 
Prove
The Value Of PRThis book is a great 250-page argument for research and measurement in PR. I hope lots of people buy it. In fact, I hope lots of people buy it and give it to their bosses. If you don't know anything about measurement or PR it's a good place to get started...
“Data will become the new soil in which our ideas will grow, and data whisperers will become the new messiahs.” 
