What are the essential social media KPI's to watch?

Social media is an excellent tool for brands to drive awareness. But how do you know your social media content and accounts are doing their job? It's essential to track the right key performance indicators (KPIs) and their alignment with your business goals.

By aligning your goals with your social media efforts, and measuring in this context, you get a clear understanding of performance. Whether done by a social media agency or in-house handles this.

Vanity metrics are a dangerous trap for beginners. Some agencies try and convince clients the number of likes on a post means the content is performing well. This is one small metric, and if obtained through promoted posts, it is not a reflection of good content.

However, if your engagement rate is high organically, this is a positive sign.

This is only one metric in a sea of many. Achieving your business goals is the primary aim. This justifies the investment you are making in these platforms.

As a marketer or business leader here is a list of the best social media KPI's to track.

Social Media KPI's for Engagement

Social media is all about engagement. Social media platforms are the perfect place to reach your customers or potential customers. It's also a great chance to show expertise in your industry.

From an engagement perspective, these are the KPIs you should be tracking:

• Clicks - You should be tracking how many people click on the links you post. This can help you determine the kind of content that your audience wants to see. Are they reading your article, submitting enquiries on your landing page? And are they engaged in the content you are posting?

As an agency owner, I can tell you that this is one of the most important metrics to measure. It means your audience is right, and your content resonates.

You can use this information to create better content, iterate and improve.

• Likes - getting a lot of likes on a post mean it's popular, and popular posts will get noticed more. Tapping into your audience network offers you both short- and long-term benefits.

Also, if the algorithm picks up a post is performing well, the reach of the content improves. As all social media platforms goals are to keep users engaged. The best way to do this is with good content.

And that's where you come in.

• Shares - getting a share from fan or follower says that they thought your content was valuable. Shares are a sign of quality content and are a very valuable statistic to track.

There are several reasons we as individuals share content. All of which should be factored in at the production stage. A New York Times Study suggested the following psychological reasons drives sharing:

1. Entertainment - Sharing because you want to inform others about the products you care about. Using this to change opinions or encourage action potentially.

2. To Define Ourselves - Share to give a better sense of what we care about, and who we are.

3. Relationships - Share because it allows us to feel more connected. It helps us stay in contact with connections that we may not otherwise stay in touch with.

4. Self-fulfilment - Share information because it allows us to feel more involved in the world.

5. Support a Cause - Share because it is a way to support causes or issues we care about.

• Comments - one of the main aims of the content you post on social media should be starting conversations among your fans. When people comment on your content, you're getting valuable feedback. You are discovering what people think and sparking discussions. This enables you to partake or observe. The social media algorithms like this as well, as it keeps users connected to the platform.

• Brand Mentions - social listening is essential to social media performance. Pay attention to how many mentions your brand is getting and also what people are saying in general. Sentiment matters, both positive and negative.

Social proof is one of the most significant influencers to brand growth. If someone with no financial affiliation speaks well of your brand, and have a large enough fan base, their network will start to trust your brand. Especially if you have not paid for this

endorsement.

Due to this influence principle, we have seen the growth of social media influencers.

Social Media KPI's for Reach

While engaging your current fans is essential, so is growing your audience. By reaching the right audience and providing them with great content, your efforts will result in more leads, and more sales.

Below are some KPIs that will indicate if your post is reaching the right audience.

• Follower Growth - this one is pretty straightforward. The more of your fan bases that see your content, the greater the reach of your brand. The greater the reach of your brand, the faster the follower growth. All of the platforms provide an insights capability to view the performance of your content. Thes insights well tell you if it is reaching the right audience and driving fan growth.

• Impressions - impressions show how many times your content appears on people's timelines. This can help you understand how much people are viewing your content. Keep in mind that impressions don't indicate that someone read your content, but they did have the chance to. Like when you drive past a billboard, you may see it, or you may not. But it is there.

• Traffic to your site - it's essential to keep track of what percentage of people visiting your website are coming from social media pages. Driving traffic to your site is vital. If you're investing significant resources into social, your website traffic should reflect this.

Since 2013 as a social media agency, we have been helping brands stand out online. If you are interested in learning more about our services, contact us here! Or click the image below to tell us more about your project.