The Death of Vanity Metrics with Dan Willis @MLLNNLmotivator #VCBuzz

Social media influence has never been easy to measure. How do you tell if a social media account has a solid following?

Yet, measuring it has always been a necessary evil: How else do you tell if an influencer is worth your time and possibly money.

This is where vanity metrics have been coming from, i.e. a way to measure social media influence that can be easily faked. What are vanity metrics and are they still as important as before? Let’s find out!

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About Dan

Dan “Millennial Motivator” Willis is relationship marketing consultant, millennial keynote speaker, and Twitter video champion.

Dan has over 15 years of international digital marketing experience on 3 continents in multiple languages.

Connect to Dan on Linkedin

Questions we discussed

Q1 How did you become a digital marketer? Please share your career story!

A1 It was an act of mercy really! #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/eK8zz0MQbn
— Dan Willis #DOYOLive ?? (@MLLNNLmotivator) October 22, 2019

A1: Literally by accident. Was a landscaper who had an accident & so I retrained & secured a job at BBC as an asst video editor which led to a YouTube project & 300k views..?
Decided to combine everything that I had learnt in both jobs, & the rest is history #vcbuzz
— Buzzin' James (@BuzzinDigital) October 22, 2019

Q2 What are social media vanity factors and why are they dying?

A2 #VanityMetrics showcase an easily automated action with little to no actual engagement with the brand. #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/dq7dt7AsnU
— Dan Willis #DOYOLive ?? (@MLLNNLmotivator) October 22, 2019

Vanity metrics -> easy to automate, do not reflect actual influence… A person may have 10000 followers but 0 listeners #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) October 22, 2019

A2 Part 2. #VanityMetrics provide no real engagement and subsequently no real value to a brand! #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/TCeM9hHlCC
— Dan Willis #DOYOLive ?? (@MLLNNLmotivator) October 22, 2019

Q3 What is the best way to measure social media influence?

A3 Influence is about the ability to create action. Check your replies and reshares! Are you able to create engagement? #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/yHKn87Np7T
— Dan Willis #DOYOLive ?? (@MLLNNLmotivator) October 22, 2019

The number that matters is the conversion on the content or product. #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/wWgQHjuWqL
— Dan Willis #DOYOLive ?? (@MLLNNLmotivator) October 22, 2019

Ask would be a big one! Want to know if an #influencer is right for your #brand? Ask for past engagement metrics! #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/1o26uRKHAU
— Dan Willis #DOYOLive ?? (@MLLNNLmotivator) October 22, 2019

Every profile comes with a URL regardless of #socialmedia network. Ask for metrics on CTR and engagement from them with their own content. If they can't influence people to come to their own content they definitely can't drive people to your brand. #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/24BW5VkHAv
— Dan Willis #DOYOLive ?? (@MLLNNLmotivator) October 22, 2019

Q4 Have you seen any companies doing a stellar job connecting to the right influencers? Please share some tips and examples!

A4 @Nike for me is definitely a massive leader in the #influencer space. #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/PRGV0OUOvb
— Dan Willis #DOYOLive ?? (@MLLNNLmotivator) October 22, 2019

I am now seeing companies such @Beko using sports stars to sell more of their products, such as the @FCBarcelona players, & also @nike with their "Winner Stays On" ad which got 89m views.. ?? #vcbuzz
— Buzzin' James (@BuzzinDigital) October 22, 2019

Q5 What are your favorite digital marketing tools?

A5 There are a ton but definitely: @Talkwalker, @QuiCC_app, @hootsuite and @Agorapulse! #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/ni3fTgw1ka
— Dan Willis #DOYOLive ?? (@MLLNNLmotivator) October 22, 2019