Data. I’m sure it’s not the first thing you think of when creating engaging content for your social media channels.
However, social media metrics are one of the most important ways to ensure that what you’re doing on your socials—the captions you’re writing, the reels and videos you’re creating—is worth it. Otherwise, if you’re creating content that people aren’t seeing or engaging with, then what’s the point?
There are many different things you can track, depending on your exact business and marketing objectives. However, if you’re looking to have a big impact with relatively low effort, try tracking these five social media metrics.
- IMPRESSIONS
Impressions are how many times your post is shown to someone. They are a good indicator of how popular a piece of content is—especially since people may view your post multiple times.
- FOLLOWER GROWTH
Follower growth can tell you a lot about the awareness you’re building around your brand. Simply subtract the total followers you had at the start of a particular time period from the number of followers you have now to get your growth rate. Understanding how many followers you’ve gained is a great way to prove the ROI of specific content types or campaigns.
- WEBSITE TRAFFIC
Attributing an increase in website traffic to your social media activity is one of the best ways to demonstrate the impact of social media on your business. Whether you use Google Analytics or a social media tool, you can see how many visitors are driven to your website by your social media. As a bonus, consider using UTM tracking by adding a code to any URL you share on social media (blog posts, etc.). There are lots of tools that will help you do this, allowing you to see exactly how much traffic is coming from specific channels and posts or ads to your website.
- ENGAGEMENT
Engagements (likes, comments, shares, video views, click-through rates, saves) reflect how many people are interested in your content. A high engagement rate suggests you’re tailoring your content well for your followers. Similarly, if you’re not generating great engagement, it’s a good opportunity to think about who your target audience is and what you can share with them that will be of greatest interest to them.
- AUDIENCE SENTIMENT
Seeing how people engage with your brand by leaving comments or liking your posts is one thing. But what they say when talking about your brand to others can give you huge insights into how you market yourself and your services or products. Social listening and tracking brand mentions are effective ways to shape your social media strategy based on real sentiment.
While tracking this data (in a simple monthly report is a good idea) is important, it’s the insights you generate from the data that will create the greatest impact for you. Using social media data to tell stories about who your followers are, what they are doing, how they are engaging with your content, and what actions they are taking as a result is where you will see real return on your investment. It will help you understand if and where your hard work is paying off, and how you might improve to create even greater impact for your work or business.
Looking for help with your social media analytics? Get in touch!
