It’s not an exaggeration to say that if you’re not doing social media marketing in 2024, you’re missing a golden opportunity. But successful social media marketing is about so much more than simply whipping some posts together and hoping for the best. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. With platforms evolving and audience behaviours shifting, it’s essential to measure and understand the impact of your social media efforts. That’s where social media metrics come in. Read on to find out what to measure, and how.

What are social media metrics? 
Social media metrics are the data points that provide insights into the performance of your social channels, strategies, and content. Essential to evaluating your success, not only do they let you keep tabs on your performance, but they’re also crucial for understanding your strengths and identifying areas that need improvement, enabling you to tailor your efforts for maximum impact.

Why do metrics matter? 
Before we dive into the ‘how,’ let’s understand the ‘why.’ Metrics are more than just numbers. Without them, you’re unable to tell the story of your brand’s social media. They help quantify the success of your work, and how your social channels align with wider business objectives. Without these insights, you’re essentially navigating in the dark, unable to gauge the effectiveness of your content and strategies.

Measuring social media metrics allows you to:

• Understand your audience: know who they are, what they like, and how they interact with your content.
• Track campaign performance: determine what’s working and what’s not, so you can optimise your content and approach accordingly.
• Align with business goals: ensure your social media efforts contribute to your overall business objectives.
• Stay ahead of the curve: keep up with trends and adjust your strategies in real-time.

What metrics should you track? 
While there are some key metrics which are helpful to track, those you monitor regularly and highlight in your reports depend entirely on your business goals, and what you’re hoping to achieve from your social media channels.

1. Engagement metrics 
Regardless of the purpose of your social media content, engagement metrics are crucial to any social media strategy. After all, at its core social media is about creating connections with your audience. Understanding your engagement not only gives you a clear picture of how your content resonates with your audience but also provides valuable insights into their preferences and behaviours.

To effectively gauge audience engagement, here are some key metrics you should keep an eye on:

• Likes​, comments​, saves and reposts 
• Engagement rate: shows, on average, the number of engagements your content gets as a percentage of your audience. ​
• Amplification rate: the rate of followers who are sharing your content with their own followers.
• Click-Through-Rate (CTR): how many viewers click on links in your posts (or paid activity).

2. Awareness Metrics
Making your brand visible and memorable is the key to standing out, and awareness metrics provide an in-depth view of how your brand is perceived, and how successful and impactful your content is.

With a focus on understanding and expanding your brand’s presence, here are the crucial awareness metrics to monitor:

• Brand Mentions: how often your brand is mentioned online.
• Follower Growth: this metric goes beyond mere numbers, delving into the demographics of your audience.
• Reach: the number of unique users who have seen your content.
• Impressions: the number of times your content is displayed on users’ feeds.

3. Conversion Metrics
Converting social media interactions into tangible outcomes is the ultimate goal of any digital marketing strategy, and tracking conversion metrics helps you to understand the effectiveness of your social media efforts.

From clicking a link to completing a purchase, here’s what you need to track to convert more followers into customers:

• Conversion Rate: how many users have taken a desired action (such as clicking on a link or making a purchase).
• Bounce Rate: the percentage of visitors who leave soon after clicking a link from your social media.
• Cost Per Click (CPC) and Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM): these assess the cost efficiency of paid campaigns.

How to measure social media metrics
Now that you know what metrics to track, it’s time to use them to measure and evaluate your performance.

1. Utilise in-platform analytics
   Most social media platforms provide built-in analytics tools (like Twitter Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Instagram Insights). These tools offer a wealth of data about your posts’ performance, audience demographics and more.
2. Don’t forget about third-party analytics tools 
   Tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Agorapulse and Google Analytics provide more detailed insights and the ability to compare metrics across different platforms.
3. Set clear benchmarks 
   Compare your performance against industry standards or your past performance, so you can better understand how your profiles are performing and growing.
4. Regularly report on activity and performance 
   Create regular reports to track your progress over time – remember to look for trends and patterns within your data that can inform your future strategies.

   Understanding and effectively using social media metrics and analytics is crucial to any successful social media strategy. By continuously monitoring and adapting based on these insights, you can ensure that your social media efforts are not just visible but impactful.

   Do you need help with your social media marketing? Get in touch with our social media team to find out more.