In 2017, about 2.5 billion people are using social media. Engaging them is a critical part of your business. But do you understand the importance of social media metrics to your success?
Many of your competitors don’t know how to measure progress on social media. They don’t know if it translates into real revenue. They don’t know if it improves their market penetration or loyalty either.
Social media metrics must represent real business value. Too often, companies use metrics that represent passivity in their market. They are logging progress that doesn’t exist, which can damage future plans.
You must first understand the importance of social media. How can it drive value for your business? If you understand that, you can begin to measure its success.
What is the Importance of Social Media?
Too many efforts to connect with customers are impersonal or passive. Although advertising is becoming more targeted, it doesn’t start a conversation with customers. Customers want to be part of a dialogue.
Social media helps you engage with customers on a personal level. These channels help you add value to people’s lives, strengthening that connection.
Social media is also a popular channel for customer service. The way in which you deal with customers is more visible on social media. This transparency can help your brand.
Social media can be effective and affordable. These are great advantages for small businesses. You can increase value with individual customers and make progress with your brand at the same time.
That’s because social users are more likely to talk about their experience. Each is connected to potentially hundreds of other users. If they have a great experience, it’s easy for them to share.
What is the Importance of Social Media Metrics?
You can see how social media can be a great springboard for your brand. But how can you measure that progress?
Too many companies use “vanity metrics” to track their progress. These metrics look great on paper, but they aren’t a good measure of your company’s progress.
For example, you can casually watch your page views and number of followers increase. You might feel good about this growth. But this growth doesn’t necessarily translate into real business.
That’s because these metrics are passive. They don’t represent meaningful engagement with your brand. They’re least likely to translate into conversions.
“Engagement metrics,” on the other hand, measure progress for your business. These metrics measure true business value. You can count on these figures to represent your success.
6 Social Media Engagement Metrics Your Business Can’t Do Without
No one set of metrics works for every company. But you can consider the most widely accepted options and see if they fit.
The following six social media engagement metrics demonstrate the importance of social media to your business. They can factor into your overall analytics. They can be a part of your success strategy as well.
1. Volume
Volume is the easiest social media metrics to measure. Volume determines how much people are talking about your brand. It also indicates how many people have interest.
Measuring volume requires more than counting posts and tweets. You must establish a balance of how many people are talking about your brand versus how much they are talking.
For example, your volume won’t indicate progress if only a few people are talking a great deal about your brand. Hundreds of people barely talking isn’t a good indication either.
Volume is a good initial metric. Adding additional metrics will provide greater insight.
2. Visitor Recency and Frequency
Are your visitors returning to your page or Twitter account? How often are they coming back?
Recency and frequency can be a measure of customer loyalty. Your social media strategy should include customer loyalty as a primary target.
The best way to drive customer loyalty is through great and personalized service. You must also establish a voice for your brand. This will influence how visitors feel about your business.
Recency and frequency can indicate whether or not you need to adjust your strategy. Keep this in mind as it changes over time.
3. Reach
Reach indicates how well your content is penetrating the market. It signifies the potential size of your audience.
That means you can compare reach to other social media metrics. They can show you how much of your reach you are engaging effectively.
4. Content Shares
A social media content strategy is critical to your success. Your content is the first point of engagement for most customers.
Today, it’s important that content has inherent value. Users share content they enjoy or find informative. They may also share content with special offers they believe will help their friends.
If you find users are sharing your content, you are on the right path. You should revisit your content strategy if shares are falling flat.
5. Share of Voice
The share of voice metric is a true indicator of your social media performance. This metric compares the conversation about your brand to those of competitors.
With the right tools, you can compare each of your successes over time. You can learn from the success of your competitors and hone in on key strategies.
That’s because you can easily access their pages and history. What were they doing at the peak of their success? This can open doors to how you can improve your social media strategy.
6. Conversion Rates
Above all, social media activity should drive conversions. Your conversion rate measures the number of people who engage with your brand on social media versus the number of those people who make a purchase.
How many visitors click on your Facebook page to make a purchase? How many are talking about your page without buying?
You can take these insights and adjust your strategy to drive conversions. The importance of social media as a channel lies in your ability to adjust and drive business value.
How to Get Started
Discovering the importance of social media takes preparation. It also depends on the consistency with which you track your metrics.
Not all metrics will be useful. Select those that best apply to your overall business strategy. Your social media strategy and measurement should contribute to the greater success of your business.
Discover how engagement experts track key metrics for your business success. Visit iStats for insights into increasing traffic, uptime, and revenue.