Media Rating Council Issues Final Social Media Measurement Guidelines

NEW YORK, Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Media Rating Council (MRC) issued the Social Media Measurement Guidelines V1.0. The guidelines establish a detailed set of methods, definitions and common practices for entities that measure social media activity. This version incorporates cross-industry feedback captured during a 30-day public comment period.

All measurers seeking MRC accreditation for any Social Media measurement processes will be assessed against the guidelines. The guidelines are intended to cover the methods used for measurement of certain types of Social Media activity including tracking/counting users, interaction or engagement; and consumer listening and sentiment. By outlining definitions and creating standard approaches to measurement, the guidelines aim to improve practices and disclosures to ensure a more standardized environment in which social media can be monetized.

"Social Media Platforms and User Generated Content aggregators are quickly becoming primary avenues for branded or paid content, and therefore establishing uniformity for how we discuss, assess and measure traffic and engagement is critical," said George W. Ivie, CEO and Executive Director, MRC. "These guidelines are also an important step in the mission of 3MS – Making Measurement Make Sense – toward making the digital ecosystem a more valuable medium for everyone involved in brand advertising." 

This effort was led by the MRC and co-sponsors including the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) Social Media Committee, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). In Sept. 2015, the guidelines were published for a 30-day comment period. Following that, industry feedback was incorporated into the final document. These updates included new definitions for auto-initiated activity and content redistribution as well as further details on interaction metrics.

"Marketers are often leveraging Social Media strategies as a primary home for brand-building content," said Duke Fanelli, CMO, Association of National Advertisers. "Our members were given the opportunity to review and provide feedback on the guidelines and we're confident the latest version serves both the buy and sell side of the industry."

The Social Media Measurement Guidelines establish definitions and baseline metrics for original content Authorship, subsequent Engagement and resultant Reach.  Additionally, they provide guidance for social media coverage and projection, measurement within applications and outside them, measurement of User Generated Content (UGC), collection and use of aggregated social media platform data, filtration, reporting and audit guidelines.

To view the guidelines please visit http://www.mediaratingcouncil.org/MRC%20Social%20Measurement%20Guidelines%20v1.0%20Final.pdf. For more information, please visit www.mediaratingcouncil.org.  

About the Media Rating Council (MRC)

The MRC is a non-profit industry association established in 1963 composed of leading television, radio, print and Internet companies, as well as advertisers, advertising agencies and trade associations whose goal is to ensure measurement services that are valid, reliable and effective.  Measurement services desiring MRC Accreditation are required to disclose to their customers all methodological aspects of their service; comply with the MRC Minimum Standards for Media Rating Research and other standards MRC produces; and submit to MRC-designed audits to authenticate and illuminate their procedures.  In addition, the MRC membership actively pursues research issues they consider priorities in an effort to improve the quality of research in the marketplace.  Currently approximately 110 research products are audited by the MRC.

SOURCE Media Rating Council (MRC)

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