DECEMBER, 2015 Social Media Definitions
The Digital Industry Accepted Source
This guide contains social media definitions as found in the MRC Social Media Measurement Guidelines document which reflect input and approval from 4A's, IAB & WOMMA . Your trusted source for definitions
The social media definitions in this guide reflect the input of MRC Social Media Measurement Guidelines three leading industry trade November 2, 2015 organizations shown here who Version 1.0 - Final represent both the buy and sell side.
These definitions are sourced Key Sponsoring Associations: from the MRC Social Media Measurement Guidelines document, published November, 2015. The IAB Social Media Committee compiled the definitions into this guide for ease of reference.
With approved definitions,we can help eliminate confusion in the marketplace by having everyone on the same page and speaking the same language when we discuss social media.
We encourage the industry at-large to use these definitions and share with relevant partners.
Be sure to familiarize yourself with the MRC Social Media Measurement Guidelines which can be found by clicking this image: Y O U R G U I D E T O S O C I A L M E D I A D E F I N I T I O N S F R O M T H E M R C S O C I A L M E D I A M E A S U R E M E N T G U I D E L I N E S Client Side
Authorship _ _
_ Counting/User The original piece of content or, original _ _
action unrelated to original content _ _
(exposure metrics that measure general _ Initiated Events _
use of Social Media Platforms, without _ _ Counting based on events originating from engagement). _ _ the user’s browser or other media operated _
_ by the user which are closest to the actual _
_ Social Media event being measured (for _
Auto-Initiated _ example, counting an event upon the entry _
_ of UGC meeting relevant criteria), which are
_ filtered to exclude known invalid activity _
Activity _ _ _ _
Activity not requiring direct user _ Content involvement including auto-play _ _
content and user-configured automated _ _
_ Redistribution activity. Auto-Initiated events should be _
segregated and described for reporting _
_ Intentional and direct interaction with
purposes. _
_ intent of redistribution or promotion of _ content or advertising by individual users of _
_ Social Media Platforms to other users of _
_ Social Media platforms, either individually, Brand _ _ to a subset of users (friends, followers, _
_ etc.)or across the user base. _
Advocacy _ _ _ _
Activity whereby a user creates _ Conversion _ favorable UGC about a brand or _ _
product, and then passes on positive _ The point at which a recipient of an _
messages about the brand to other _ advertisement performs a desired action _ such as a click, opening of a file or email, users (such as in a recommendation). _
_ filling out a form, navigating through to a _
_ page or making a purchase. _ Y O U R G U I D E T O S O C I A L M E D I A D E F I N I T I O N F R O M T H E M R C S O C I A L M E D I A M E A S U R E M E N T G U I D E L I N E S ______
_ Imputation _ _ _
Earned Media _ _
_ Data relevant to a Social Media measured _
_ event that did not originate from a user, but
User (consumer) generated activity based _
_ was instead inferred based on other
on accessing, watching, listening, reading _
_ information associated with that event or
or otherwise responding to media or a _ the user or related users. Imputed data _
brand/product experience. _ originates from the measurement _
_ organization, not the user. Imputation can _
_ be a reasonable and accepted statistical _
_ process but the associated inferences and _
Engagement _ data processes should be examined for _
_ empirical support. Influencers: Users with _ the ability to reach other users or affect _
_ other users’ thinking in a social online
A spectrum of consumer advertising activities _ and experiences (interactions and interest) _ community, generally defined by the _
—cognitive, emotional, and physical. _ number of directly connected users or the _
Engagement assumes active participation, _ size of the network of users associated with _ but may also describe a cognitive or _ an account, user or profile. A person, group _ emotional connection (such as in Social _ or entity with the ability to reach and affect _
Listening and Monitoring metrics described _ another person or group of people’s _ thinking and behavior due to attributes below), in addition to a physical action. _ _ such as experience, expertise, reputation _
_ and social footprint. ______Y O U R G U I D E T O S O C I A L M E D I A D E F I N I T I O N S F R O M T H E M R C S O C I A L M E D I A M E A S U R E M E N T G U I D E L I N E S
Influencers _ Opinion _ _
Users with the ability to reach other users _
_ A view or judgment formed about
or affect other users’ thinking in a social _ something, not necessarily based on fact or _
online community, generally defined by the _ knowledge. _
number of directly connected users or the _ _
size of the network of users associated with _ an account, user or profile. A person, group _ _
or entity with the ability to reach and affect _
_ Organic
another person or group of people’s _ _
thinking and behavior due to attributes _
_ Holistically sourced content created by users such as experience, expertise, reputation _ and not paid or incentivized by a brand _
and social footprint. _ or other marketing organization. ______
Interaction _
_ Organic Reach _
Interaction metrics include measurement of _ _ individual user interaction (generally _ Total unique count of users exposed to _ quantifiable physical or mechanical actions _ organic (unpaid) content that includes _ with content) with original content or _ only those actual users exposed to content _ advertising on Social Media Platforms. Such _ in its original format (within a general feed, interactions may be Internal (visible only to _ _ ticker, page, etc.). the platform or measurement organization), _ _ or Public (visible to one or more users of the _ _ platform, thereby extending visibility). _
_ Owned Media _ _ _
_ A media channel that is Owned, and by Metrics Unit _ _ implication controlled, by a media (Word, Sentence, Post, etc.) _ _ outlet or brand; for example, a web site, _
_ page, account, station (radio or television) The measurement base for a consumer _
_ or app. Owned Media should be defined by
listening event. This base should be specified _
_ the vertical or context of the measurement.
in measurement reports. _ _ Y O U R G U I D E T O S O C I A L M E D I A D E F I N I T I O N S F R O M T H E M R C S O C I A L M E D I A M E A S U R E M E N T G U I D E L I N E S _
Paid Media _ _ _ _
_ Scraping _ _
A brand or other marketing organization _ _ pays to use an owned media outlet – in _ Harvesting or data extraction whereby _ general, advertising, messaging or brand _ software techniques are used to extract sponsorship that appears on owned media. _ _ HTML, non-API information and content from May also be referred to as Sponsored Media _
_ pages, platforms or other properties where or native advertising content. _
_ permissible in terms and conditions. _ _ _ _ _
Paid Reach _ _
_ Sentiment _ _
Total unique count of users exposed to paid _ A view or attitude toward a situation, _
content or advertising that includes _ experience, event, product or brand; a _
only those actual users exposed to content _ feeling, sense or emotion expressed by a _
in its original format (within a general feed, _ Social Media user. Sentiment is a _
ticker, page, etc.). _ component of Opinion and Brand _ Advocacy. Sentiment is the feeling the _
_ author is trying to convey, often measured _
_ through context surrounding the _
Potential Reach _ characterization of an object. _ _ _ _
Projected Reach (total count of unique users) _
_ Social Media based on a count of a subset of _ _ platform users or a network such as friends, _
_ Created, shared or exchanged information, followers or fans. Potential Reach should be _ ideas, content and opinions in virtual _ limited to use as a planning metric only (not _ communities and online networks, _ a currency measurement), however, properly _ including conversations about or with a _ disclosed and supported estimated actual _ brand. Reach maybe used as an evaluation metric _ _ where appropriate. _ Y O U R G U I D E T O S O C I A L M E D I A D E F I N I T I O N S F R O M T H E M R C S O C I A L M E D I A M E A S U R E M E N T G U I D E L I N E S _ _
_ Targeting _ _ _
_ Technical options offered to advertisers to Social Media _ _ put a specific ad placement and ad type in _
_ front of a defined audience. Targeting _
Platform _ options within the Social Media _
_ environment can include location, _
_ demographics, interests and behaviors like _
A media vehicle, site (as a whole or in part), _ purchase activity. _ app, widget or other media mechanism that _ _
has a social orientation; specifically, that _ _ captures user commentary and facilitates _ Theoretical _
sharing of information among users of a _ defined network – i.e., representing a channel _ _ Reach for sharing information, opinions or _ _ experiences from users of that platform – or _ _ Modeled Reach (total count of unique allows cross-user collaboration. _ _ users) based on a gross multiplier of users _
_ (such as projecting post-ad delivery based _
_ on a gross multiplier representing some Sponsored _ _ estimate of potential exposure). _
_ Theoretical Reach should generally be _
Media _ avoided, particularly as a reporting metric. _ _ _ _
Media influenced by a brand through _
_ Threaded payment or other incentive, but where the _ message is not controlled as directly as a _ _ brand created advertisement. _ Message _ _ _
_ A set of communications, entries or events _
_ that are related to a common piece of _
_ original content. _ _ Y O U R G U I D E T O S O C I A L M E D I A D E F I N I T I O N S F R O M T H E M R C S O C I A L M E D I A M E A S U R E M E N T G U I D E L I N E S ______
User Generated _ _ _ _
Content (UGC) _ _ _ _ _
Content that is entered, copied-to, posted _ _
(or otherwise created) by users of a Social _ _
_ Viral/Earned Media Platform for sharing with others on _ that Platform. In the context of this _ _ document, UGC generally refers to organic _ Reach _
(holistically sourced and not paid or _ _
incentivized by a brand or other marketing _ Total unique count of actual users exposed organization) content generated by peers _ _ to content or advertising that includes or users of Social Media Platforms. _ _ Organic (Earned) and/or Paid, but also Paid/Sponsored UGC is included, but _ _ subsequent exposure and amplification specifically addressed separately within _ _ resulting from content redistribution (Viral this document. This document excludes _
_ or “virality”; sharing, re-tweeting, etc.).
“top-down” sources (professional _ _
influencers) such as bloggers with topic _ _
influence. While blogs are a viable and valid _ aspect of Social Media and these guidelines _ _ can and should be applied to blog _ _ measurement, unique aspects of blogs _ _ such as content sourcing and subscriptions _ _ were not considered herein. ______