Work Smarter, Not Harder
If there is one thing I have learned from developing and implementing business processes and analysis solutions here at MediaMiser, it’s that having a plan is the key to working smarter. In fact, that’s the biggest tip I could offer to anyone trying to do the same thing: Put a lot of effort into the planning stage. You will be rewarded in the end.
When it comes to media analysis, you really have to know what you’re trying to measure before you start collecting information, and you need to have a process measuring it. This might seem like common sense. However, many people will just start collecting information, without a proper plan in place, because they feel they can develop and implement a plan later. The problem is that without a proper plan, you’ll quickly get overwhelmed with information and won’t know where to start.
Many people think you need to know all the issues before you start, and that the best way to get a handle on the issues is to first collect the information. The reality is you don’t need to know all the issues right from the start. With a good plan in place and a well thought out process, you can adjust for new issues later. Your plan will help you develop processes for identifying new issues and making adjustments where necessary.
That said, you do need some knowledge of the issues upfront. This lets you more easily formulate patterns and identify new issues, and allows for the planning required to develop your measurement standards.
When it comes to measurement standards for your analysis, consistency is the key. You need to make sure you’re comparing ‘apples to apples’. Again, planning upfront is the key. By making sure you know where your key indicators (such as audience size, categorization, document types, etc.) are coming from, you will be better able to properly understand the data. But even if your key indicators are not perfect, the key is consistency.
That’s what will provide the insight needed to effectively communicate what’s going on, and that’s what good analysis is really about. However, without proper planning, your analysis could lack consistency, which could jeopardize your ability to identify what is truly important.
And as an added bonus, proper planning will also cut down on your workload if done properly, helping you to truly work smarter, not harder.
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