đŞâŹ 24: Set up a basic data report in 30 minutes
Learn to measure an AARRR-funnel and start collecting data
Digital strategy is a continuous improvement of earlier mistakes. We can only learn whether a campaign acquires, engages or retains fans when we measure results.Â
Today: Set up a basic data report in 30 minutes
Learn to measure an AARRR-funnel.
Start collecting data.
Data. We all know itâs important, but how do you actually use it? Weâre all masters at so-called âvanity metricsâ. The play count on your YouTube, the number of followers on your social media or playlists, the amount of streams youâve had: while theyâre all cool things to be proud of, theyâre not actionable on their own.Â
What are actionable metrics? These refer to numbers that allow you to improve your performance: the number of people at a gig reflects the number of tickets sold, the number of tickets sold reflects the reach of your social media and ad campaign, that reach depends on custom audiences youâve been able to build up by getting people to watch videos for 3+ seconds. If this looks familiar, great. For each individual fan, the above represents a reverse fan journey (day 19). With each of the consecutive numbers in relation to each other (e.g. reach of ads vs tickets sold), you can understand the performance of your campaign. This means you can put campaigns or individual ads side by side and see which works better, and be actionable: double down on the winner.
AARRR, as we covered last week, stands for the steps of Acquisition; Activation; Retention; Revenue; Referral. Letâs walk you through some of the basic metrics associated with these steps using your own tools:
Acquisition
How many people did you reach this week? This metric also includes passive consumers.Â
Total people reached on your Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and so on.
Total people subscribed to the playlists youâre placed in this week.
Listeners to a radio show who played your track.
Total people who see your name on a festival line-up.
Activation
Letâs define activated listeners as people who youâll be able to reach again. This group is not limited to your actual followers:Â
The group contains people whoâve watched your videos for 3 seconds or longer, allowing you to target them again with ads (see day 12 with Charlie Biles).
YouTube Watch Time.
Spotify listeners from algorithm playlists.
Total people who attend your show at a festival.
RetentionÂ
The size of your current fan base.Â
If Instagram is your primary medium, make a custom audience of active Instagram followers in the last 180 days.
Average views per unique user on YouTube.
Spotify listeners from their own playlists and library.
The size of your newsletter list.
Revenue
This metric is all about the Benjamins. Or Euros. Or Pesos. How much money did you make last week?
Tip jar revenue (day 23).
Ticket sales.
Bandcamp and merch sales.
Royalty reports.
Google AdSense revenue.
ReferralÂ
To measure word-of-mouth, we examine the success of your branding. In contrast to the metrics mentioned above, you could use qualitative metrics instead of quantitative metrics.
Ask five people to describe your artist brand. See how this compares to your pitch bio (day 01).
Ask people to mention five artists within your genre of music. Measure the average position when people mention your name: are you the first they mention? Second? Third?
The first is an exercise of measuring the gap between identity and image, the second is an exercise to measure brand recall.
Start collecting data
Now, open a spreadsheet app like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Pick one metric for each of the AARRR-phases. Itâs fine to skip a metric for referral for now - so at least four metrics in total.
Use the rows in your spreadsheet for the metrics and use the columns for week numbers. Fill in the data for this week and set a recurring reminder in your task manager or calendar app to supplement your dataset every week on a time that suits you.
Donât limit yourself to the examples provided in this assignment. Use the metrics you think are most important to make actionable decisions to grow your career. Share them with the Artist Lockdown Challenge community on Discord.
Tips
Read more about metrics that matter in this excellent piece by music marketing consultant Amber Horsburgh.Â
đŞ Need help? Join us on Discord and get help from the Artist Lockdown Challenge community.
âŹď¸ Task done? Weâre happy to share the results: tag @artistlockdownchallenge on Instagram and weâll repost.
đŞâŹď¸Â artistlockdownchallenge.com | instagram | discord