As a young musician, the answer to a flawless concerto was twofold: practice often and imitate the performance of someone you admired. Julius Baker was the flutist I preferred most; his style was simple. So I tried to recreate the artistry he so gracefully played — without really thinking how it fit the sound I wanted to achieve.

Now I wonder how often we use this device when it comes to social measurement.

Whether I talk to an IT consultant or marketing strategist, one answer is always the same. A question about measuring success is met with a long response. For some, data collection is in-progress. But many borrow familiar metrics like clicks and counts to gauge success. Why are people stuck in this cycle?

It’s time to interpret the data from your social initiatives in a meaningful way:

• Return to your objectives. Today the problem isn’t leading with business goals but sticking with them. Without examining data in context, you risk losing the chance to prove what you’ve actually accomplished. For example, tracking how many blogs were created on your internal collaboration platform tells you nothing about how you retain talent. But trending employee satisfaction does. Analyzing data as it relates to your objectives helps uncover relevant behaviors — not just those measured most easily.

• Tap into multiple stakeholder perspectives to define value. Different business units depend on different things. Consider developing a dashboard that accounts for the diverse proof points individual departments need. For instance, a marketer managing a customer idea community could track customer satisfaction and the number of testable ideas generated to satisfy customer care and market research.

• Treat metrics as insight tools, not just ones that output results. Most people interpret metrics in absolute terms. Their results illustrate the success or failure of whatever initiative they analyze. Examine them in more detail and the same information can help define strategy, pinpoint necessary changes, and identify future opportunity.

Just as a musician has his own style, brands must develop metrics that consider their business needs first. This requires renewed attention to our choices — recognizing where we must blaze trails of our own. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but at what cost?

What are some of the ways you’ve avoided this metrics trap?