It’s time to get the right measurements!

To celebrate the imminent launch of Miappi’s brand new Analytics tool, we’ve taken a moment to review exactly why smart measurement of social media performance is so essential, plus which metrics matter the most. Let’s start with the basics…

8 Social Media Metrics That Matter Most

What are social media metrics

Let’s start with the basics first. What are social media metrics really? Well, they can be defined as data and statistics that provide companies with deep insights into their social media marketing performance. Social media metrics vary from network to network, as different metrics matter when you invest in Facebook advertising and different in Twitter for example. Tracking and monitoring those metrics is of great importance for brands nowadays, there’s an entire industry based on that! Below you’ll find which metrics could matter for you and which couldn’t so strap in and enjoy the reading!

Why do Social Media Metrics Matter

Social media metrics matter because they tell social media managers where they’re going wrong and where they’re going right. Through a process of continuous improvement, brands can get better and better at social, turning failures into lessons and capitalizing on more effective strategies.

Without social data to illuminate the effect of your strategies, running a social presence is more or less shooting in the dark.

For example: If a tree falls in the forest with no-one to hear it, does it make a sound? If you publish a tweet and no-one reads it, have you wasted your digital marketing budget? In answer to the first question: we’re just not sure. In answer to the second: absolutely.

So once you create a perfect social media content you need to start tracking your social media performance. And remeber – Knowledge is power. Which means that retweets and imprints, followers and sentiment analysis, click-throughs and reach – these measurements (and more) are the key metrics to turning social platforms into powerful digital marketing tools.

Which social media metrics matter?

So which metrics should you be paying attention to in order to boost your social media marketing? This very much depends on your overall goals.

For some brands, social media is all about growing a community and boosting brand engagement. For others, it’s strictly about sales. From growing a reputation within an industry, to maximizing brand awareness, different brands have different ambitions for their social media presence, which means the metrics which matter to them will vary. Identifying your key goals before you begin measuring your data is, therefore, essential.

Key social media measurements

Here are a few key social media measurements that will help you gauge your performance in a range of areas:

Brand awareness & reach

For brands keen to “get their name out there” via social media and introduce themselves to a growing audience, it’s all about impressions, sharing and traffic. Make sure you’re measuring:

• Audience size

Record your growth and that of your competitors to see how well you are performing in comparison. Also look out for weeks in which you lose followers; try to assign possible causes, then work to avoid these audience-diminishing triggers.

• Impressions

Monitoring impressions will show you how many people physically saw your post. Low impressions may mean you need to re-evaluate which platforms you’re using, which audience you’re pursuing, what time of day you’re posting and may even prompt you to think about trying paid advertising.

• Retweets, shares & mentions

On social media, sometimes your followers are your best marketing tools. The most shares and positive mentions you can trigger, the more people will see your posts, maximizing your reach.

Reputation

Keen to be seen as a leading light in your industry? Building a reputation for your brand via social media can be very effective, but will take a lot of legwork. One of your most important social media metrics, alongside engagement, should be:

• Audience profile

Are you talking to the right people? Data on your audience profile which explores factors like interest, job, age, gender, marital status, income etc. will help ensure you’re targeting the correct audience with your industry-leading content.

Brand engagement & loyalty

If you want to turn your existing customer base into repeat customers and brand advocates, you’ll want to make sure you’re monitoring the following metrics closely:

• Engagement

How often are your followers responding to your messages? How often are they liking and sharing your social content? Which messages get the best response? These metrics will help you keep your followers involved and interested in your brand.

• Sentiment analysis

How your audience responds is just as important as how many of your audience respond. Keep an eye on the sentiment behind the interactions and mentions surrounding your brand socially to ensure everyone is happy and you’re having the intended effect on your audience.

Sales & enquiries

Although social media is not the most powerful instant sales driver, it can be successfully used to boost custom. To maximize this effect, zero in on:

• Click-through-rate

Use trackable URLs every time you post to make it easy to monitor which channels and which messages are driving the most visitors through to your website. Observing which messages have the biggest impact will help you finesse how you use social to drive sales.

• Conversions

A slightly more complex metric, but it is possible to record how many visitors who reach your website via social media go on to make a purchase or enquiry.Do you already make use of social media metrics to inform and improve your social media performance? What are your goals and which measurements matter most to your brand? Share your thoughts with the Miappi team and other readers below.

Ready to get even smarter at social? Our social walls are getting an analytics upgrade very soon. Keep your eyes peeled for the release of our new functions or view our social media aggregator by REQUESTING A DEMO now.