| Session Title: Evaluating Websites and Social Media |
| Multipaper Session 476 to be held in Huntington A on Thursday, Nov 3, 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM |
| Sponsored by the Integrating Technology Into Evaluation |
| Chair(s): |
| Stephanie Evergreen, Evergreen Evaluation, stephanie@evergreenevaluation.com |
| Abstract: Clients, and even evaluators, are increasingly engaging in web-based interactions but little evaluation takes place to determine the benefit or impact of such engagement. Social media forums like Facebook and Twitter are often undertaken for no reason other than "we think we should." Even websites, almost a mandatory component for any organization, often go unmonitored. In this panel we propose that a lack of evaluation of web activity is a result of a lack of knowledge of evaluation tools as strategies. Join us as we discuss methods for the madness, applicable to clients and evaluators alike. |
| Google Analytics: Goldmine of Free Evaluation Data |
| Kurt Wilson, Compass Outreach Media, wilson@compass-om.com |
| Most websites have grown from their roots as simple online brochures to become a primary organizational resource, serving roles related to marketing, education, and engagement for many organizations. Google Analytics is a free tool that can be linked to any website, providing an extensive range of data that could help evaluators with questions such as: How well did our marketing campaign work? How engaged are people with our content? How strong are our partnerships? Which of our resources are most (or least) in demand? Where are our visitors located? By what means are people reaching our site? Additionally, Analytics data can be exported enabling further analysis, the creation of custom graphs, and inclusion in evaluation reports. This presentation will provide an overview and practical guide for evaluators interested in using Google Analytics for evaluation. |
| So What, Social Media? |
| Stephanie Evergreen, Evergreen Evaluation, stephanie@evergreenevaluation.com |
| Social media is a new frontier, calling for a different evaluation strategy than that used for traditional organizational communications. In this session, the presenter will review three key steps to planning an evaluation of social media: (1) Examining media outlet-objective match, (2) Selecting appropriate measurement tools, and (3) Benchmarking. The presenter will also share a research-based logic model of social media stakeholder engagement and propose sets of criteria that can be used for evaluating effectiveness in different social media formats or for content analysis of stakeholder interaction. Examples from the presenter's own social media forays will be featured. |