Partner Up for Measurement
There's a million cliches out there, but one in particular that resonates in planning for multi-platform measurement - "don't be an island unto yourself." Determining the right folks to tap into within your organization to drive multi-platform measurement will save time, money, and remove many roadblocks along the way.
The question is where to begin. Start off by identifying who within your organization can affect, or be affected, by measurement. There are a number of people within your business that do the following…
Create your content
Affect where, when and how the content is available
Put encoding/tagging on the content
Sell and/or Promote content
Build your task force with folks from each of these areas. This group will help to build your measurement framework (what you’re measuring, data availability, encoding/tagging, etc.) as well as steer data use and keep measurement aligned with your business' priorities Over time, you may want to scale this group to include more members after an initial plan is developed. At the outset, small will help you cover ground faster.
This group will have a wealth of information on costs, workflow and required resources (translation: staffing or contractors). And they also carry influence within your organization which aids in promoting the value behind your efforts. Utilize this team to also work through how best to communicate to C-Level clients. The task force is a great means of vetting how and what will resonate on measurement projects. Are there educational presentations that might help to get more understanding and buy-in? Is there a need to manage expectations on timelines and budgets? This group can help create those points of communication by focusing on the details that are most important to green-lighting at your company. Don't get carried away with granular or irrelevant details, use your task force to explore and exploit the most important points to your business.
Creating a task force involves commitment. Not only are the participants involved and committed to steering the efforts, but the organizer is critical to the communication necessary to sustain it's momentum. Think about establishing a regularly scheduled check-in with this group. It may be tricky to set-up initially, but find a time that is amenable to the majority. In my own experience, I've found providing lunch is a great lure to get attendees!
Plan to have an outline of what you want to cover at the first meeting. And create a document from the session listing attendees, contact information, as well as back-up contacts in the event you need to follow-up on any items later, and the regular attendee is not available. Discuss what you're looking to accomplish with your multi-platform measurement plans. The members of the group are helping to define and inform the process to make decisions on what is measured, measurement sources used, costs/resources, workflow, business rules surrounding data use, and reporting.
Follow-up after meetings with notes about what was discussed along with next steps. Keep the group engaged and involved, by keeping them informed, and be clear on what is coming up next. If the next meeting is too far down the road, chances are participants will become involved in other priorities and the group will loses steam. Determine the right frequency of communication, and always be clear on timelines and deliverable/next step dates.