You’ve got plenty of followers. So why is the notifications tab so dry? It’s possible you haven’t taken the time to look at your social media metrics. While this may seem intimidating or maybe even a little unfamiliar, there’s a method to this madness. This #MarketingMonday, let’s dive into 5 social media metrics you shouldn’t ignore.
REACH
Reach is simply what it sounds like. It’s how far that awesome piece of content traveled once you sent it out into the world. Let’s look at an example. Say you post a How-To video for baking your grandma’s famous chocolate chip cookies. (Are you hungry yet?) The next day, you revisit your Twitter app, and notice that this video reached 1,500 users.
What does that even mean?
You ask yourself how that could’ve happened, considering you only have a following of 1,200. It happened because of reach. Maybe every single follower saw your video on their news feed, and maybe they didn’t. The bottom line is, a certain number of your followers favorited, retweeted, direct messaged, or even quoted your video. And BOOM- 1,5000 people now know how to bake some really tasty cookies.
ENGAGEMENT
Ah, yes engagement – the primary reason why most social media users even own their accounts! Just think about it, social media exists purely to keep you engaged with others. It’s the perfect extension to your brick and mortar or online shop – direct contact 24/7 to your fans. It’s all about interaction.
And that’s why this metric is a favorite.
Let’s go back to our previous example, because it actually goes hand in hand. Reach is achieved by engagement. On Twitter, this will appear in the form of favorites, retweets, or quote tweets. On Facebook, you’ll see shares, likes, and comments. And on Instagram, likes, comments, or even story mentions.
Tracking these types of things are extremely helpful, especially to a digital marketer. It’s important to understand that you can use these numbers to help you distinguish content that works from content that doesn’t. If your video posts are getting over half as much engagement as your photo posts, that might be something to consider when planning content.
FOLLOWER GROWTH RATE
A good business should aim to grow. Your growth rate is showcased as a percentage of new users that follow (or unfollow) your account over a certain period of time. This could be daily, monthly, or even yearly. If your content is resonating with your audience, it is likely that your percentage will be positive.
On the other hand, if the percentage is red with a big negative sign in front of it, you might need to make some changes. Utilizing this metric is pretty simple. If your follower rate is growing at a rapid pace, you’re doing something right – and should keep up the good work. On the other hand, if it’s hitting a downhill decline, you should consider testing new ideas.
For example, if you’ve been posting a lot of text-heavy content, try switching it up with some photo or video. You might even mess with how often you’re posting.
Something you may want to take into account here though, is that there ARE in fact times when a negative follower growth rate isn’t a bad thing. In a situation where you are attempting to hyper-focus on a niche audience, you may find yourself sacrificing some followers. This is simply due to the fact that your goal would be to appeal to and engage with a particular group.
FAN BASE
Your fan base is made up of your accounts most loyal followers. These followers are those that frequently take notice of your page’s activity, engage with your posts, and ultimately sing your praise to the heavens. Whether it’s liking, sharing, commenting, or mentioning, users in your fanbase are impacted by your brand. (Give yourself a pat on the back!)
You might be thinking, “aren’t all of my followers probably impacted by my brand?” So let’s talk about the difference between a follower and a fan. Both users are obviously interested enough to want your content to appear on their news feed. But who will be the one to watch your video from start to finish?
Who’s going to be the one that shares it with the caption, “How cool is this?!” Ding ding ding, you’ve got it – a fan. Fans genuinely enjoy engaging with your brand, which makes them the most likely candidates when it comes to seeing your posts organically. Let’s move on to our last metric.
AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS
Before we look at demographics, let’s talk about your audience. Think of it like a room full of people that came to see your show. To provide some perspective, we’re going to think about content as a show you’re putting on. The faces in the audience are your followers. The people cheering are your fans. But as a whole, what kind of people are actively attending?
This is where demographics comes into play. What do members of your audience have in common? Some important characteristics to focus on when you look at audience demographics are age, gender, location, education, or income. There are plenty more, but these are an excellent starting point.
Tracking this kind of information will help you form your target audience. Then, when you are creating content, you may generate material that attracts that group.
Utilizing and understanding these metrics can easily benefit your brand or business on social media.
