There are 4.8 billion users of social media on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Rather than slowing down, the number of users is expected to jump by 5.8 billion by 2027. With this information in mind, it’s fair to say that social media marketing remains a key growth strategy for any business. That is if you know how to use social media to your advantage.
In the case of social media, the proof isn’t in the pudding but in the metrics. By understanding the metrics that matter, you can see what’s working for your social media strategy, along with which aspects need a little fine-tuning.
So here’s what you need to know courtesy of our social media marketing experts here at Imaginaire.
Clicks
Just like your mouse has two clicks, there are also two types of clicks to know about in social media marketing.
The first type of click is the number of clicks your social media posts are getting. A low amount of clicks often correlates with low engagement since users aren’t clicking on your media or links. However, the opposite is true when a social media post has a high number of clicks.
The second and arguably most important type of click is the clicks through to your website. That’s because the goal of social media marketing is to get more users on your pages where conversational actions can take place. A low amount of website clicks can suggest the content isn’t enticing enough. It can also show errors with the post such as a link typo. So either way, understanding your clicks whether they are high or low can be extremely helpful.
Engagement
When users engage with your content, they interact with it and pay attention to your brand and overall campaign messaging. This is exactly the outcome you want with any social media post since these platforms are designed to grab attention.
Examples of user engagement can include likes, comments, reactions, post shares, reposts and the click-through rate of each post.
There’s a lot to unpack with engagement, though the goal is always to get the maximum amount of interest for each post. How a message is crafted and in the case of paid social who it targets will directly impact engagements.
Followers
Followers include the number of followers gained and lost.
Using social media analytics, it’s possible to see the growth or decline of followers over time. Plus, identify if there were any specific intervals or actions whereby followers either increased or decreased.
Growing followers on social media is arguably the most difficult part of social media marketing. Hence, the ability to understand what triggers gains or losses can be used to strengthen future campaign directions.
Likewise, if the number of new followers has stagnated in recent times, then engagement campaigns or giveaways can be used to boost numbers.
Impressions
Impressions count the number of times your social media posts have been displayed.
However, a high number of impressions doesn’t automatically translate into clicks let alone conversions. Therefore, you have to look at the impression count and pair this with other metrics to understand if the post is successful or not.
What a low impression count will tell you is that your post just isn’t getting any traction. So, it may need more engaging content and hashtags, or it could even benefit from being boosted with paid advertising.
Reach
Reach is similar to impressions, only reach refers to the number of unique users who view your content.
So in short, reach means how many people have come across a particular social media post.
For instance, if a post has a reach of 41,500 – it means that 41,500 unique users have seen that post.
The higher the reach the better as it means it’s not just the same people viewing the post multiple times, as would be the case with a high impression count.
Sentiment Analysis
If your business has any kind of prominent social media presence, then users likely mention your brand online, including talking amongst themselves and other users rather than directly tagging you.
What sentiment analysis does is determine whether these mentions are positive, neutral or negative.
The goal of sentiment analysis is to understand how satisfied customers are with your brand based on their honest feedback. The findings can be used to strengthen your brand as a whole by identifying areas of dissatisfaction, while also understanding what gives you an advantage over your competitors.
Imaginaire – Social Media Marketing For Businesses UK
Are you looking to improve your social media marketing performance?
Imaginaire is a digital marketing agency based in Nottingham serving clients across the UK and beyond. We provide a wide range of digital marketing services including social media marketing.
For any help or advice on all things social media drop us a message or give us a call on 0115 697 1541.