Why Chasing Vanity Metrics Is Killing Your Social Strategy: Richelle Batuigas, EVP, Viral Nation

Episode notes

In this solo episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK , host Richelle Batuigas challenges one of marketing’s biggest assumptions: that likes, views, and impressions reflect real success. Drawing on her work as EVP at Viral Nation, she introduces the Cultural Relevance Score, a practical framework designed to measure what actually drives business outcomes. Richelle breaks down how marketers can move beyond vanity metrics by tracking awareness, affinity, and velocity in a competitive context. She explains why legacy measures like earned media value fall short and how cultural alignment directly influences revenue and conversion. The episode also explores how AI-powered insights and structured data systems can transform social strategy into a repeatable, performance-driven engine. With a clear, actionable playbook, Richelle shows how brands can diagnose what resonates, optimize in real time, and finally connect social media efforts to measurable ROI.