What a mention is worth had three components, and one was being counted

A creator programme gets justified or cancelled on one figure almost nobody works out: what it gives back. And the first thing needed is for that figure to exist, to be stored with the mention and to be reviewable afterwards — not estimated in a spreadsheet every time somebody asks.

The value of each mention is worked out on arrival and stored and auditable: you can look at it six months later and see where it came from.

The second version fixed something important: the value had three components and only one was being counted. Large reach is not the same as high engagement, and neither is the same as an attributed purchase. Counting only the first — the easiest to measure — systematically rewards large accounts and penalises the ones that actually move somebody.

We mention it because it is the kind of error a good-looking dashboard hides for months.