Coalition to Define Social Media Measurement Standards

Three professional associations from the US and UK have formed a coalition with the aim of defining, developing and promoting global industry standards for social media measurement.

The coalition comprises communications research and measurement professionals from the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), the Council of Public Relations Firms (CPRF), and the Institute for Public Relations (IPR).

Initially, the team will build on prior plans developed by the three associations, following group discussions which took place at conferences held over the past 16 months in Barcelona, Portsmouth, London, Miami, Lisbon and Philadelphia.

Coalition members will then take part in an industry consultation period, including two forums. The first, taking place in New Hampshire later this month, is a social media measurement meeting, to be attended by nearly a dozen marketing, research, communications and advertising associations; and the second is AMEC's London conference, 'The Big Ask', at which the association will seek the opinions of PR and media intelligence professionals.

Other industry associations will also be approached as potential contributors and supporters, as will clients.

Tim Marklein, coalition Chair and Practice Leader, Technology & Analytics at comms agency WCG comments: 'Too many of the social media measurement options available today are based on proprietary tools and methods that can't be easily replicated across brands, campaigns and organizations. As a coalition, we intend to break down those barriers and map out a path to standards that address key social media measurement challenges.'

Organisations that want to support the coalition, or contribute their ideas, recommendations and expertise should contact Barry Leggetter, Executive Director of AMEC, at: barryleggetter@amecorg.com .