Despite many publishers’ open disdain for click-through rates, there’s a sense that social media -- with all its liking, and retweeting is keeping the measurement alive. So Kathryn Koegel,
founder and Chief of Insights at Steampunkt Collaborative, suggested on a panel at OMMA Premium on Monday.
Socially-driven or not, “click metrics are still there … but just
one part of the puzzle,” reasoned Andrea Ching, senior vice president of marketing and promotions at CNN News Network. Neil Katz, editor-in-chief and vice president of content at The Weather
Company, described click-through rates as something the industry would love to move beyond, but has yet to successfully do so.
Regardless, he said, “We focus on stuff that [readers]
want to share socially.” Bigger picture, “we’ve always measured [click-throughs] because we could,” said Robin Riddle, global publisher of WSJ Custom Content Studios. “On
a certain level you should measure [clicks], and it does have value.”