The Top 5 Social Media Analytics You Need to Track

Social media analytics are important to track if you want to improve your social media marketing strategy. There are several different analytics that you can follow, depending on your goals and what you want to learn about your audience.

Is Social Media Key for your Business?

Before we begin, let me ask you, how important is social media to your business?

While some swear that “You’re dead if you’re not a social media!” that’s not always true. I’ve worked with small and mid-sized corporations in the construction and manufacturing industries that focus on word-of-mouth and traditional marketing efforts. These companies didn’t suffer! Many had upwards of $2 million in annual revenue.

I’ve worked with a marketing consultant who did not have a social media presence. What I appreciated about her is that she saw the social media value for her clients, did some analysis, and found that for her brand, social media wasn’t crucial for her immediate needs. The decision-makers she approached were not on social media. And while you might say, “Everybody is on social media!” she found that this wasn’t essential for her.

Why should you consider social media?

Rather than falling for the “Everyone is doing it!” or “Everyone’s on there!” statements, I’d look back at your business and its analytics to date. How did your current customers find you?

I’d also look at your brand. Does social media make sense for you? Do your customers care about seeing you here and there on LinkedIn or Facebook? Would social media support your brand?

How to decide if you should take the leap

Traditionalists might feel like, “I know my customer (avatar). I know them like the back of my hand.”

However, if you’ve felt this way, but perhaps your brand recognition or customer loyalty is slipping, you might want to use social media to strengthen current relationships.

Have you ever worked with a long-time customer, and then the buyer you’ve developed a relationship with announced their retirement? Are you assured to continue working with their replacement? Not always! Chances are, newer employees might show their work history and network online. You can use this information and glowing referrals from your other customers to impress this new buyer.

If you choose to get on social media, focus on tracking analytics. Are you getting the return you expected? Are you closing sales? Has your list grown? Have you attracted more requests for quotes?

This blog post will discuss the top 5 social media analytics you should be tracking!

The top 5 social media analytics that you should track are:

1. Engagement metrics

If you’re looking to grow your social media presence and make the most of what it has to offer, there are engagement metrics that can help you do just that.

– The number of posts per day

– General sentiment analysis

– Engagement metrics (likes, shares)

– Followers’ reactions (negative or positive) and lastly, but not least…

– The number of people reached by each post on average.

2. Traffic to your website from social media

Google Analytics can help you track how much traffic your website gets from your social media posts. This can help determine which social media platforms send the most traffic to your website and which posts drive the most traffic.

Your next step is to analyze the engagement of your social media posts.

Engagement is the number of interactions (likes, comments, shares, etc.) that a post receives.

You can use Google Analytics to track the engagement of your social media posts. This information can help you determine which types of posts are most engaging for your audience and which platforms they are most engaged on.

It’s also essential to track how long people spend on your website from social media. You can use Google Analytics to track this metric as well. This information can help you determine whether or not people are finding what they’re looking for on your website after clicking through from social media. By tracking these social media analytics

3. Conversions from social media traffic

This is where UTM parameters come into play. UTM parameters are tags that you can add to the end of a URL to track specific traffic details.

There are five main UTM parameters: source, medium, campaign, term, and content.

You can use any combination of these five depending on your needs, but at a minimum, you should always include source and medium.

Including just these two will allow you to see what website or social media platform your traffic is coming from and what type of link it was (e.g., an ad or a post).

You can then set up goals in Google Analytics and track how many people who come from social media convert into customers.

This is a valuable metric to track because it lets you see which social media platforms drive the most sales and adjust your marketing strategy accordingly.

To get detailed, you can track which specific posts or ads are driving the most conversions and adjust your content accordingly.

4. Social media followers and reach

The number of social media followers you have is a good indicator of your brand’s reach and potential audience. If you are trying to build a following on social media, it’s essential to track how many people are following you and how quickly that number is growing.

Reach is the number of people who see your content. While follower count is a good measure of potential reach, it’s not the only metric you should track. The engagement rate (number of likes, comments, shares, etc.) on your posts will give you a better idea of how many people see and interact with your content.

Tracking these metrics will help you gauge the success of your social media marketing and adjust your strategy accordingly.

5. Demographics of your social media audience

First, understanding the demographics of your social media audience can help you better target your content. For example, if you know that the majority of your Facebook fans are women aged 25-34, you can make sure to create content that appeals to that group.

Second, tracking demographic changes over time can help you gauge the success of your social media marketing efforts. For example, suppose you see a significant increase in young adults following your brand on Instagram. It could signify that your recent marketing campaign resonates with that age group.

Social Media and Sales

Social media, when used appropriately, can help you increase sales. By tracking the social media analytics mentioned above, you can see which platforms are most effective for driving traffic to your website and which posts are most engaging. This information can help you fine-tune your social media marketing strategy to reach your target audience and increase sales.

Combine a variety of marketing efforts

Don’t toss it all away, and focus on social media alone to increase sales! Gather your insights and use various marketing efforts to build your brand.

Traditional marketing is any marketing activity that doesn’t involve using the internet or social media. This can include TV ads, radio ads, print ads, and direct mail.

CONCLUSION

The importance of social media analytics is undeniable. Tracking metrics like engagement, traffic, conversions, and demographics will help you understand how your audience interacts with your content on Facebook or Instagram. With this information in hand, you’ll be better equipped to create more effective campaigns that drive sales. For example, do most of your followers live outside the United States? If so, it may not make sense for you to spend time creating a video about U.S.-based holidays because they won’t resonate as well with most people who are following you on social media–unless those videos also include international locations where there’s an opportunity for travel deals!

When we’re talking about business success online (or off), these insights can come into play in a big way. So if you’re not already tracking social media analytics, now’s the time to start! Would you like some help with this? Please reach out to me and apply for a free consultation. I can help you review your analytics to see if you’re getting the return (you expect) on your social media and traditional marketing efforts).