The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has published a free social media measurement guide. It features detailed information on its social media measurement framework, which was launched last year.

The aim is to help people understand the importance of setting concrete objectives and to dispel the myth that ’one size fits all’ as far as social media strategies are concerned.

The IAB told Recruiter that while it has been written predominantly with brands and advertising agencies in mind, recruiters can adapt the tool to suit their own strategies.

One of the points the guide makes is that a defining characteristic of social media activity is that it doesn’t end when the budget runs out. Lisa ManŽ, head of social media at COI, one of the IAB Social Media Council members involved in putting the guide together, writes: “An important element of measuring and evaluating social media activity is looking at the ongoing conversation and the optimisation of activity over time. It is the analysis of the data - especially the ’soft’ metrics - that provides the greatest opportunity for optimisation.”

www.slideshare.net/IABUK/socialmediaguidefinal