Fake News from Facebook?
One of my clients likes to say “Data Drives Delight”. And it often does. Having numbers to back up your recommendation, media, or strategy helps make it a more bullet-proof plan.
But don’t miss the obvious…if something sounds too good to be true, it often is. You have to take a hard look at your data and make sure it makes sense. If your click-through rates have skyrocketed this month, make sure it’s the result of a smart move, and not an Excel spreadsheet mistake.
Ad agencies aren’t the only people who need to check their specs either. This week Facebook was called out for some “fake news”. The social media giant claimed to reach an audience of 60 million 25–34 year-olds– a coveted audience for advertisers. Unfortunately, the US census is scratching their heads at this, seeing as they report only 45 million people to exist in this age group.
Sure some people have more than one account. But it’s unlikely that 30% of people do.
So when you look at your numbers, don’t forget to look for the outliers and the obvious mistakes (like having more patients enrolled in your program than have the disease). And if you do make a mistake, at least you can commiserate with Mark Zuckerberg.
To read more, please see the WSJ article.
