Social media can help you heat up your marketing strategy. But analyzing your social media metrics adds fuel to this fire.
Social media metrics are essential to improve your company’s social media performance – impressions, engagements, and conversions.
In this post, you’ll learn how to spark a social media strategy that triggers positive growth for your business. Use social media metrics and KPIs to evaluate the value of your social media efforts.
What Are Social Media Metrics?
Social media metrics evaluate the performance of social media activities. Measure the success of social media campaigns to view the perceived value of your social media marketing strategy.
Why Are Social Media Metrics Important In Marketing?
As a business, social media marketing is a tool to reach and engage with customers or potential customers. But how do you know what’s working if you never check how your content is performing?
Social media metrics allow you to track the performance of your content so you can adjust your marketing strategies accordingly. This involves monitoring your likes, comments, shares, views, and much more.
What Are Social Media KPIs?
Social media KPIs (key performance indicators) are a subset of social media metrics. Your KPIs measure the progress toward specific social media marketing goals and objectives.
How To Select Social Media KPIs For Your Social Strategy
Social media marketing exists to engage and convert viewers into customers. The social media metrics that marketing teams use align with these 6 goals:
- Increase Engagement
- Increase Brand Awareness
- Increase Reach
- Increase Conversions
- Increase ROI
- Improve Customer Experience
Social Media Metrics To Increase Engagement
Engagement metrics evaluate social media visitors’ interaction with your platforms. Identify user interests to improve your social strategy.
- Post engagement rate: Calculates the percentage of interactions each post receives.
Post Engagement Rate = (Total Engagements / Total Impressions or Reach) × 100
For each of these equations can you include a design like this:
- Engagement rate per post by followers: Calculates each post’s follower interactions.
Engagement Rate per Post by Followers = (Total Engagements / Total Followers) × 100
- Engagement rate per post by reach: Calculates each post’s outreach – viewers that aren’t followers – interactions.
Engagement Rate per Post by Reach = (Total Engagements / Total Reach) × 100
- Likes: Viewers tap a heart on a post (On LinkedIn, “likes” are called “reactions”).
- Comments: Visitors write an opinion on a post.
- Shares: Users share your content with their audience.
- Clicks: Users click on links within your social media application.
- Response Rate: The percentage of comments that a company responds to from a given campaign.
Response Rate = (Number of Responses / Total Number of Comments or Inquiries) × 100
- Response Time: Average time it takes for a company to respond to customers on social media.
Response Time = Total Time Taken to Respond / Number of Responses
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): Measures customer fulfillment with the company’s product and services via social media interactions.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score = (Number of Satisfied Customers / Total Number of Survey Responses) × 100
- Customer Reviews/Testimonials: Posts from consumers about their experience with your company’s products or services.
Social Media Metrics To Increase Brand Awareness
Awareness social media metrics analyze the viewer’s knowledge of your business. Calculate the success of your marketing efforts to increase brand impressions.
- Impressions: Number of times your content is displayed.
- Reach: Number of unique viewers to your social media sites.
- Social share of voice (SSoV): Percentage of conversations about your company on social media.
Social Share of Voice (SSoV) = (Brand Mentions / Total Industry Mentions) × 100
- Audience Growth: Calculates the number of new followers on social media within a specific time.
Audience Growth Rate = (New Followers / Starting Number of Followers) × 100
- Follower growth: Measures the total number of new followers on a specific social media account.
Follower Growth Rate = (New Followers During a Specific Period / Total Followers at the Start of That Period) × 100
- Fans/Followers: The total number of people who support your accounts.
- Influence score: Scales your company’s social media influence based on audience size.
Influence Score = (Engagement × Reach × Followers / Number of Posts or Time Period)
- Video views: The number of views each video receives.
Social Media Metrics To Increase Your Reach
Reach is the total number of unique viewers to see your social media content. Track the expansion of your reach to grow your audience.
- Reach: Number of unique viewers to your social media sites.
- Impressions: Number of times your content is displayed.
- Brand mentions: The number of times your company is tagged on another account.
- Account mentions: Amount of times your social media page is tagged on another account.
Social Media Metrics To Increase Conversions
Conversion metrics analyze the effectiveness of converting social media viewers to customers. Conversions prove the value of social media campaigns and drive viewers down the marketing funnel.
- Conversion rate: Records the percentage of viewers who have completed a desired action.
Conversion Rate = (Number of Conversions / Total Number of Visitors or Clicks) × 100
- Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of viewers who click on a specific link on your social media accounts.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) = (Number of Clicks / Total Impressions) × 100
- Cost per conversion (CPC): Analyzes your campaign’s success by calculating the total paid for an advertisement.
Cost Per Conversion (CPC) = Total Cost of Campaign / Number of Conversions
- Bounce rate: The percentage of social media visitors who leave your page after viewing only one post.
Bounce Rate = (Number of Single-Page Visits / Total Number of Visits) × 100
- Blog/email subscribers: The number of viewers opting for a blog or email subscription after visiting your social media account.
- Referrals from social channels: The referral traffic you get from social media to your website.
Social Media Metrics To Increase ROI
Return on investment (ROI) metrics evaluate the performance of an investment. Invest in your social media accounts to provide profitable gains to the company.
- Cost Per Thousand (CPM): In paid advertising, it’s the cost an advertiser pays for one thousand views or impressions of an advertisement.
CPM = (Total Cost of Campaign / Total Impressions) × 1,000
- Revenue from social channels: The total income received based on social media campaigns.
Social Media Metrics To Increase Customer Experience
Customer experience metrics gauge the consumer’s journey with your company. Positive customer experiences on social media encourage loyalty, retain customers, and expand reach. Positive customer experiences on social media encourage loyalty, retain customers, and expand reach.
- Response Rate: The percentage of comments that a company responds to from a given campaign.
- Response Time: Average time it takes for a company to respond to customers on social media.
- Customer Satisfaction: Measures customer fulfillment with the company’s product and services via social media interactions.
- Customer Reviews/Testimonials: Posts from consumers about their experience with your company’s products or services.
4 Paid Social Media Metrics Tools To Track Performance
Social media performance tools gather information produced by social media platforms and analyze the activity on each platform.
Social media performance tools allow your team to view the effectiveness of each platform. Evaluate data within seconds and identify ways to improve page performance all on one tool.
1. CoSchedule Calendars
CoSchedule’s Calendars include social media analytics reports to view performance on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
If you have a large team, this tool also organizes projects and campaigns from one centralized place.
Key Features:
- Comprehensive Performance Overview
- Channel Comparison
- Top-Performing Messages
- Trend Visualization
- Customizable Reports
- Campaign-Specific Insights
- Mid-Campaign Adjustments
- Campaign Comparison
2. Sendible
Sendible is an all-in-one social media metrics tool for agencies designed to help manage and monitor social media performances on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter (X). This tool provides in-depth analytics and brand reporting along with 200+ customizable analytics modules.
Key Features:
- Performance Insights
- Engagement Monitoring
- Report Sharing
- Branded Reports
- Direct Scheduling
- Post Idea Generators
- Customizable Content
- Regular Updates
3. Sprout Social
Sprout Social’s is a social media metrics tool designed for cross-channel analysis. This tool offers in-depth insights into social media performance across multiple networks from a single platform.
Key Features:
- Cross-Channel Analytics
- Customizable Reporting
- Performance Metrics
- Advanced Analytics
- Audience Insights
- Influencer Tracking
- Competitive Benchmarking
4. Buffer
Buffer is a social media metrics tool that provides in-depth insights and customizable reporting for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. This tool helps you measure and enhance your social media performance from one dashboard.
Key Features:
- Cross-Channel Analytics
- Comprehensive Reporting
- Content Analysis
- Audience Insights
- Performance Metrics
- Advanced Recommendations
3 Free Social Media Metrics Tools To Track Performance
1. Meta Business Suite
Meta Business Suite is a free social media metrics tool that connect to your Facebook and Instagram page. This tool tracks organic and paid traffic across these channels. We recommend this for smaller businesses who dont have the budget for a 3rd party software.
Key Features:
- Unified Dashboard
- Performance Metrics
- Ad Spend Analysis
- Demographic Insights
- Visual Reports
- Strategic Optimization
2. Analytics Within Each Platform
Social media analytics tools calculate the success of social media efforts. These tools allow you to analyze social media metrics for an improved brand presence online.
Each social media platform hosts its version of an analytics tool. Within each platform, you can view data collected for you based on your specific platform activity.
With this free social media metrics tool, you can quickly view the statistics of that account and pinpoint page performance.
However, each platform only allows you to analyze data within a specific time frame for that particular account. These tools let you solely view numbers rather than analyze the data for improvement.
For example, Instagram has a built-in analytics tool called Instagram Insights that provides specific data for each post, Reel, and Story.
3. Tracking Spreadsheet
Tracking sheets manually record social media metrics. Spreadsheets are free tools to collect data in one place. However, spreadsheets take time to insert all the data and analyze it to be valuable information.
For example, the content upgrade spreadsheet allows you to track specific variables on multiple platforms.
How To Track Social Media Metrics On Every Platform
Measure the metrics for specific channels to manage critical activities within the platform. These 7 channels are the tops social media platforms for businesses:
Facebook Social Media Metrics
Over 200 million businesses use Facebook’s apps and free tools. Create a business account on Facebook to reach potential customers, gain audience insights and boost brand recognition.
Track Facebook metrics to analyze the company’s success on this social media platform. Here are the Facebook metrics to track:
Facebook Metrics
- Post Engagement
- Post Reach
- Post Impressions
- Follower Growth
- Click-Through Rate
- Page Likes
- Video Views
- Follower Demographics
Instagram Social Media Metrics
Instagram is booming with elements – stories, for-you-page posts, advertisements, and reels – for businesses to reach a wider audience. 81% of Instagrammers use the platform for researching new products and services.
Measure Instagram metrics to grow your social media presence and provide value to the company.
Instagram Metrics
- Follower Growth Percentage
- Story Engagement
- Reels Engagement
- Post Engagement Rate
- Post Comment Rate
- Website Traffic
- Follower Demographics
- Shares
Twitter(X) Social Media Metrics
With Twitter being the #1 platform for discovery, take advantage of “tweeting” for your business to increase brand recognition.
Twitter metrics provide insight into your social media campaign strategy to understand your audience better.
Twitter Metrics
- Top tweets
- Tweet impressions
- Tweet engagement
- Conversions
- Mentions
- Followers
- Video views
LinkedIn Social Media Metrics
LinkedIn runs successful business campaigns through posts and analyzes the data from each campaign. 40% of B2B marketers surveyed indicated LinkedIn as the most effective channel for driving high-quality leads.
LinkedIn Metrics
- Brand Mentions
- Profile Views
- Follower Growth
- Impressions
- Referral Traffic
- Unique Visitors
- Engagement Rate
- Click-Through Rate
TikTok Social Media Metrics
TikTok provides a platform for businesses to post short videos that facilitate positive customer relationships. TikTok users feel closer to brands they see on the platform.
Analyze these TikTok metrics to track the benefits of using this social media platform:
TikTok Metrics
- Post Reach Percentage
- Follower Growth
- Engagement Rate
- Comments
- Referral Traffic
- Hashtag Performance
- Average Watch Time
- Top Posts
Pinterest Social Media Metrics
Pinterest is a hub for marketers to promote their content and business through images. Advertisers can reach more than 200 million people on Pinterest.
These Pinterest metrics measure a company’s activity on the social media platform:
Pinterest Metrics
- Referral traffic
- Monthly Viewers
- Impressions
- Saves/Repins
- Outbound Clicks
- Engagements
- Clicks
- Top Pins
YouTube Social Media Metrics
81% of Internet users have used YouTube to connect with businesses via videos. How-to’s, tutorials, or video streams can promote your business to potential customers.
Investigate YouTube metrics to inform video business strategies.
YouTube Metrics
- Watch Time
- Average View Time
- Engagement
- Impressions Click-Through Rate
- Returning Viewers
- Unique Viewers
- Subscribers
- Traffic Sources
