Understanding Social Media Metrics

As of the beginning of 2022 over 58.7% of the world’s population uses social media. With social media usage continuing to increase, it is more essential than ever for brands to use social media to market their products and services. Although there are over 4.65 billion users on social media, not all of them are scrolling to find something to purchase, because of that marketers must have a data driven social media marketing plan to best reach their target market. However, you must have more than just the data to form a strategic social media marketing plan, you must understand the data that you collect and know what it means. We are going to dive into how to understand social media measurements and which ones are the most important.

Metrics are used by businesses every day to assess the impact of social media activity on marketing campaigns and revenue. There is a common misconception that followers equal dollars for a business. Although it is helpful to have a large following base to boost your credibility, the number of followers you have does not determine your revenue. It is more important to have a loyal, engaged community than thousands of fake accounts following you. In fact, having thousands of fake accounts following you actually brings down your engagement rate. Another vanity metric that is not as important as it may seem is likes. Although receiving likes is flattering and boosts engagement rates, it is another metric that does not represent anything substantial. When you post on social media your post should have a purpose beyond just getting likes. Those are some metrics to spend little time worrying about, however there are also many metrics to pay attention to. Some of those metrics include reach and impressions. Reach and impressions tells you have many new people are seeing your content. You can only sell to the same people for so long before they get bored, so it is key to keep growing your reach. Shares is another way to grow your community. Finally, is website traffic, once again your posts should be shared with a purpose that goes beyond just being noticed or receiving likes. You want to redirect your audience to another page such as your website. Through this process you are not only creating awareness about your brand, but you are also sparking your markets interest and converting them into paying customers.