Take my measurements, please?

Online advertising opens so many doors and creates opportunities you may not have had before. Clicks
and likes and shares allow you to see if what you’re doing and what you’re trying to sell are working. 
You can see first hand that it’s getting out there. But, is it the ultimate measuring tool when determining
if you are actually reaching people? 

Let’s take a look-

Planning for an event.  Create an enticing, eye-catching event flyer, check.  Share flyer on social media
outlets, check. Encourage others to share the flyer, check.  Hand out paper copy, tangible flyers
directly to your target audience, check, check. Advertise in the local paper (whose articles are also
shared via social media outlets), CHECK!  I mean, could a person do any more advertising for an
event?

And how would you know if you’d done enough?  I’d bet the 50+ RSVP’s that came in would be a good
sign that word had gotten out and you could expect a good turn-out.  It would make sense. This was
tangible evidence, right? Real calls from real people committing to attendance. Man, that feels good. 
You know you’ve accomplished that first step and you’ve done well.  

The day of the event arrives and you’re prepping to get started.  You check your watch wondering where
everyone is, assuming traffic and last minute work events will have them wandering in late.  Opening
remarks are made, there is a total of 15 people in the audience. The first speaker gets started and no
one else has entered the room.  It’s now your turn, the main event, still only 15 people in the audience.  

What went wrong?

You present and deliver all the information that was to be shared, though you’re feeling a bit deflated,
defeated.  You worked really hard on this event. The purpose was to share information that you know
people needed, had they only been there….  And why weren’t they? Was it all a flop? A total waste?
All of the evidence was to the contrary, until it actually came time.  

Should there have been more follow-up after the RSVP’s? Probably.  Were there extenuating
circumstances? Possibly. Did you do everything you could and still delivered the information?  Yes.  

So, you’ve measured the advertising and the data was confusing.  What about the main event?
The people who attended. How do you determine what they took away from it and if it was worth their
time?  Reaching out and asking seems a little off, but while you’re debating this thought, you receive a
call from a local establishment. The man calls to say that one of his assistants was at the event (he
was one of the 15) and really benefit from the information, he says he’d like to get you set up for an
event with his company speaking to his staff.  

How do you measure the benefits of this call?   If you reach one person who gives you the opportunity
to reach hundreds more, was the entire thing a success?

I think whether you understand your tangibles or intangibles, you read the outcomes, talk to people and
determine what caught their attention and how it affected them.  Then you continue to do so.

Over
and over
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and over......