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StatSocial’s founder Michael Hussey writes about “What’s left when the cookie goes away?” over at Search Engine Watch

StatSocial’s founder Michael Hussey writes about “What’s left when the cookie goes away?” over at Search Engine Watch

by | Nov 3, 2020

Over at Search Engine Watch, StatSocial‘s President and Founder, Michael Hussey has written a terrific piece entitled, “What’s left when the cookie goes away?”

StatSocial‘s President and Founder, Michael Hussey is seen here visibly pondering the soon-to-be cookie-less world. 

In the piece, Michael chimes in on the on the ongoing discourse surrounding the phasing out of cookie tracking technology (as was announced by Google back in January).

Mike wastes no time eulogizing the cookie’s demise, however, and instead looks to the future and the many opportunities this sea change will provide:

Below is an excerpt to whet your appetite before clicking through to read the article for yourself (which we, of course, encourage):

Many marketing tech companies are built on the faceless calculations of cookie-based tracking, targeting, and attribution. But as the general public came to understand how their data is being traded and used, their concerns sufficiently inspired regulators to come up with ordinances like GDPR and CCPA. Google’s decision to eliminate the cookie will make its own dealings with regulators easier, but it also forced a lot of companies who benefited from the ecosystem to rethink their own data practices from the ground up.

And so the demise of the cookie presents us with an opportunity – both for consumers and data-dependent organizations. What arises to replace the cookie in the coming years should lead to a more accurate, honest, and valuable digital ecosystem.

Thanks to Search Engine Watch for allowing Michael the chance to share his thoughts, and again we encourage all reading to head over there to check out the piece in full for yourselves.

“Talking Influence” — StatSocial on Influencer Attribution

“Talking Influence” — StatSocial on Influencer Attribution

by | Aug 25, 2020

Over at the industry leading publication, Talking Influence, StatSocial‘s Founder and President, Michael Hussey has written a piece entitled, “Attribution: The Missing Link for Influencer Marketing?”

After a brief outline of social media marketing’s evolution (leading us to our current, influencer-centric times), Michael writes about the degree to which reliable attribution is absent when assessing the ROI generated from influencer marketing campaigns.

Influencer AttributionInstagram robot influencer (actual robot), Lil Miquela, doing a paid partnership promotion with Barney’s.

He explains that brands know that working with influencers makes an impact, but currently the evidential connective tissue that would prove definitively in what ways, and to what degrees — what he equates to the “missing link”  — is elusive.

He summarizes the difficulties as such:

The problem persists that earned media and influencer marketing have yet to develop effective attribution models. When a social influencer or blogger produces content favorable to a specific brand, the monetary value of that uplift has been impossible to track with any real accuracy because it doesn’t correspond with specific sales data regarding who saw it and made a purchase. In a world of diminishing ad budgets and rising costs, success or failure can depend on very slim margins of efficiency.

The answer? Identity solutions for influencer audiences. Michael concludes:

The evidence the market is looking for will arise when visionary data scientists apply the right technology to connect the dots. Once that happens, the influencer market with its proven attribution models will continue to change and evolve, just as other marketing channels do.

In order to make the influencer attribution equation work, a model needs to account for the quality and quantity of their reach on social networks, the nature and quality of their content, and other variables that tie influence to revenue. Ever cautious of their budgets, advertisers need better tools for influencer and social attribution if it’s going to take its rightful place in the performance marketing toolkit.

We encourage you to head over to head over to Talking Influence and read the entire piece for yourself by clicking through here,