Don't Be Afraid to Question Your Digital Ministry Metrics: A Guide for Managers

Vanity metrics are numbers that look good to others, but don’t actually help you achieve your goals. Often, ministry teams working with MII on digital media strategies have reported that their boss, or a donor, is asking them to increase a number that doesn’t really matter. What should you do when your boss wants you to measure success using vanity metrics like Impressions or Likes?

Here are a few tips on managing up and leading from inside your digital ministry.

First, be sure you know which metrics are really driving the outcomes your ministry is looking for. Digital marketing success should not be measured by vanity metrics like page views or click-through rates that don’t convert into meaningful engagement with your audience. Instead, define success by using engagement metrics such as time spent on the page or Message rates. These are more meaningful and provide data about the success of your digital ministry.

Second, be proactive in managing up. If you think different metrics are necessary for measuring success in digital ministry, don’t be afraid to make suggestions. Make sure you have done the research, and present your more meaningful metrics along with a plan that will help your digital ministry move forward toward the goals your organization is trying to achieve. 

Finally, make sure you are tracking the right metrics correctly. Metrics like the number of first time contacts, and conversion rates will be lower than vanity metrics like Reach, so you’ll want to make sure that your numbers are accurate. The good news is that often a metric like Direct Messages can be counted in an inbox, and include a wealth of personal data that can lead to a better understanding about the real life-on-life impact your ministry is having with your audience. 

Confronting a request for reporting or boosting vanity metrics doesn’t have to be scary or overwhelming. By questioning the wrong metrics, being proactive, and tracking the right ones, you can successfully manage up, and show your leadership that you understand what needs to be done to truly deliver on the goals your ministry has put forward. 

As a digital ministry professional, don’t forget that success in ministry starts with you! Take charge of your digital ministry and ensure your team tracks the right metrics for success. With these tips, you can make a positive impact on your digital ministry.

Don’t Settle for Vanity Metrics: How to Focus Your Efforts on Driving Connections

Many teams engaging in digital evangelism are working to funnel users from an awareness of the Gospel to connection with a believer for follow up. After becoming aware of a ministry or message, people will progress into deeper levels of engagement. As ministry teams seek to measure and improve digital ministry efforts, it is easy to become distracted by the high number of likes, followers, and visits, and lose focus on the activities actually creating opportunities for connection. These teams may even have a leader that is enamored by reaching large numbers of people and driving the team to do more. 

Don’t get fooled by vanity metrics. Instead, follow these action items to increase connection opportunities. 

1. Build Your Audience – Knowing your audience and speaking to them with valuable content is key to developing effective lower funnel activities. To build a program that delivers meaningful connection opportunities, you must first attract and engage those you seek to reach. By understanding your audience, your team can create content that engages the people you seek to reach.

2. Make it Personal – One of the best ways to ensure your lower funnel calls to action resonate with your persona is by making them as personal as possible. Incorporate user-generated content into your campaigns and create engaging conversations with customers on social media.

3. Track Performance – Finally, it’s important to track the performance of lower funnel activities to understand what works and what doesn’t. Analytics tools like Google Analytics and Data Studio can be used to create detailed profiles of segmented groups within your audience. Your team can then measure the performance of different engagement campaigns, and get an overall picture of what works best for each group.

Developing effective lower funnel activities is essential for digital ministries looking to connect with people for the cause of Christ. These four strategies can help you take your digital marketing efforts to the next level.

Does the Bible guide us on how to use digital tools and social media? FaithTech has several books published on topics ranging from the Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology to Modern Technology & The Human Future. For a full listing of FaithTech’s Books, check out https://faithtech.com/theology-of-tech-books/