When it comes to social media metrics the thing that matters the most is getting a lot of likes and followers right? That’s how people know your business is popular isn’t it?
Actually no.
Contrary to popular belief, getting lots of likes and followers is not the most important thing for your social media pages.
I know, it’s a shocking revelation isn’t it?
But, now that you have picked yourself up off the ground after that bombshell, are you ready to know what the most important measures are?
Let’s explore that now…
The Social Media Metrics That Matter
What Are Vanity Metrics?
You might have heard of vanity metrics, but what does the term actually mean? Vanity metrics are the measures of social media that don’t matter as much as others.
They are the ones you try and achieve to make your business look good. But they are not a true representation of your success on social media. For example, you could have 2000 likes on your Facebook page, but only 50 of those actually engage with your content. That means only a very small percentage are really interested in what you have to say.
And those vanity followers could be limiting your organic reach. If Facebook chooses to show your organic content to the ones that aren’t interested, they won’t engage. In doing that, they are preventing your avd fans from seeing your posts!
On every social platform, it is better to have a small number of engaged followers than a large number of unengaged ones. Engaged followers are the ones you could potentially convert to a paying customer if the time was right.
Other things that are considered ‘vanity metrics’ are likes, comments and shares. These are great to increase your reach and engagement, but don’t really signify the value you are receiving from social media – the return on your (often large) time investment.
What Are The Metrics That Matter?
When it comes to social media metrics for your small business, these are the 3 you want to focus on:
1: Reach and Impressions
Worried no one is looking at your content? Tracking your reach allows you to see the number of people who have viewed it. You can see what kinds of posts your audience respond to and which ones they don’t Use this information to refine your content and only post the things your audience want to see.
If your reach continues to grow then you are doing well. But if it declines or stays stagnant, then you have some work to do!
Impressions are slightly different to Reach, but are the same principle. Impressions refer to the total number of times your content is seen. Often the numbers are higher than your reach as one person can see your content multiple times in their feed, especially if it is shared.
2: Conversions
When it comes to social media, a conversion does not have to mean making a sale. There are many ways that you can convert people on social media – not in an odd occult way either! Basically, if you get someone to take a desirable action or follow a call to action, then you have achieved a conversion.
Tracking the success of your conversions is more than looking at an analytics page. You need to know what you are wanting to achieve with each action. Sharing a blog post is creating brand awareness, so getting eyes on your website from the shared content is considered a conversion. But if your goal was to get email sign ups, then you would not have achieved a conversion in this instance.
When it comes to conversions, you can only tell so much from your insights or Google Analytics. The way to understand more and to track the whole journey of an engaged follower is to use a shortened link like bitly.com. By using a bitly link, you can get far more data on where they saw your content, where they navigated to next and what the end result was.
3: Click Through Rates
A click-through means you have hit the motherload. It means that you have caught someone’s interest enough to convince them to take the next step and engage with your link. It could mean clicking through to a landing page, reading a blog post, entering a giveaway, or taking any other action that you have asked of them.
A Click Through Rate or CTR calculates the number of people who have viewed your content and compares it to the number who have actually clicked through to your link from social media. A growing CTR means that more people are engaging with your content. That means you are doing something right with your marketing and it should ultimately result in more leads for your business.
Social media is a fantastic way to market your brand, but to make it effective you need to know the areas to focus on in order to drive your business forward. Tracking these 3 key social media metrics will give you a clear picture of how effective your social media strategy is.
If the numbers are not looking to flash, don’t panic. Instead, get in touch with me here at The Marketing Baker. Social media marketing is a key tool and marketing tactic and I will be able to help you get your business on the right track. Drop me a line today.