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Go beyond vanity metrics!
Learn what social data really matters for business growth
Ashton Henry
May 20, 2024
This week, we're diving deep into the realm of social media analytics. Figuring out what to post shouldn’t be a guessing game! By analyzing certain metrics, you can identify what resonates with followers so that you can recreate more content that meets your goals, like increasing brand awareness or getting more customers.
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QUICK BITES
Focus your social analytics on different metrics depending on your goals.
If your goal is to increase brand awareness, focus analytics on reach and engagement metrics 👀
If your goal is to get more customers, track offline metrics like how people heard about your business 💰
If your goal is to provide value through educational content, track shared and saved content that can indicate what resonates most with followers 📚
If your goal is to upsell existing clients, track engagement metrics that can help gauge community interaction, which can indicate receptiveness to offers 📊
BRAND BUILDING
Using Data-Driven Insights to Boost Your Brand
🖨 How to Replicate High-Performing Content
When it comes to knowing what content resonates with your followers, the answer is simple: follow the data! Use analytics to identify your high-performing content, then analyze the elements of that content (e.g., visuals, tone, topics) so that you can replicate it in the future.
I tell my clients to look at the past six months of content to see what performed best in terms of reach, and then to analyze reach week-over-week, or every two weeks, to gauge how new content is performing relative to past posts.
However, it’s important to look beyond basic reach metrics, like impressions, as this only tells you who saw a post, not who engaged with it. Engagement rate per impression (the percentage of people who engaged after seeing a post) is a more useful metric provided by tools like Sprout Social.
Also look at metrics for shared and saved posts to determine if your followers are finding true value in your content. Shared content reaches more people through direct recommendations, rather than just scrolling feeds.
Worried about repeating yourself?
Don’t stress. Followers will typically only see about one in every four or five posts, so don’t get hung up on feeling like you're saying the same thing. Just focus on repeating the content that is truly engaging for followers.
👥 How to Get More Customers
A lot of business owners forget that social isn’t the end game. In most cases, you want to get people OFF your social media and get them to your website, booking page, or to call you.
These conversions are what drive revenue. So when your goal is to get more customers, not just followers, it’s important to look at both online and offline data to see what’s driving conversions.
Online metrics like engagement and reach can be captured through social media analytics to see what's performing well digitally. But it's also important to track offline data, like asking new customers how they heard about your business. This could be done by including a question when booking appointments or making purchases.
Tracking referral sources offline provides valuable insight into where real-world customers are coming from and which content or channels are actually driving new business beyond just online interactions.
Wondering WHEN to post?
The short answer is, it doesn’t matter anymore. People are on social media all the time now. Using analytics to see when your followers are most active isn’t really a recommended strategy anymore. Instead, focus on creating quality, goal-aligned content whenever it's ready to share. Just post it!
TOOL TIME
Free analytics tools are perfectly fine for many small business owners operating their own social accounts. But when you start really ramping up, many of my clients find that a paid tool that aggregates performance data from all of your social accounts is worth the investment.
My favorite social analytics tool is Sprout Social.
What it is: Sprout Social is actually more than just an analytics tool. It’s a comprehensive social media management platform designed to help businesses streamline their social media activities.
How to use it: Use the analytics tools in Sprout Social to monitor social media performance, such as engagement metrics, audience growth, and campaign results. The software pulls data from every one of your social accounts and provides a snapshot of performance, but it also allows you to drill down into metrics for deeper insights.
Why I love it: One of my favorite features of Sprout Social is that it tracks more in-depth metrics like, “engagement rate per impression.” This metric filters out impressions that didn't result in engagement, which is important because we don’t just want followers to see our posts; we want them to act on them!
The other thing I love about Sprout Social is the competitor reporting that analyzes your content performance compared to your peers.
Is it worth it? Sprout Social has pricing tiers starting at $199/month with a free trial. While it’s a paid tool, I feel like it offers extremely valuable insights beyond free analytics.
In April, one of the blog prompts Social Club members receive is about problem-solving to attract your ideal client. Think, “5 Tips for Styling Your Hair with Your New Beachwaver” or “How to Combat Rising Homeowners Insurance Rates.”
The beauty of topics like these is that they’re perfect for repurposing into social media video content, especially carousel posts like I talked about in the last newsletter!
Want more tips for effortlessly repurposing content and done-for-you social media captions? Join the Social Club!
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