The Complete Guide to Social Media Analytics
Nowadays, a digital marketing strategy is only possible by tackling a brand’s social media platform presence. This is no surprise since over 3.8 billion social media users are present worldwide. It is an enormous audience pool that cannot be missed by any business out there. As a brand, a part of your social media strategy would be to put enticing content out on these platforms to reach your audience, but another element is social media analytics.
Social media analytics are the metrics you use to measure performance on social media. This is usually done when you are running a campaign or at the end of it. There are many ways you can measure your brand campaign’s performance by analyzing likes, shares, conversions and reach. These are the few basic parameters that you can measure. Other more detailed social media metrics can measure ongoing engagement and ROI using different analytical tools.
Surprisingly, only 43% of companies have cross-platform analytics. A social media analytics guide is vital in numerous ways to a brand. For example, these analytics can show you exactly who your target audience is and how they spend their time on social media. You can also pinpoint which one of your social media accounts receives the most attention and traffic. When you are putting out content on these platforms, these analytical tools analyze posts and highlight what receives the most engagement and conversions.
You will also have a better insight into what kind of content does best on what platform so that you can adjust your content strategy accordingly. Social media campaigns can also be reviewed to determine what works well and appeal to your audience. This is usually done while the campaign is running or after having completed its operational cycle. Finally, analytical tools can help you build a robust and effective social media strategy that aligns with your business goals. These goals can range from marketing to sales to service management.
So social media analytics metrics are essential for the success of a brand that is trying to reach more consumers and also be established on various platforms. This is a momentous task when you need the correct data. So let us explore the kind of information you will receive if you pursue the analytical approach to social media marketing.
The Different Kinds Of Social Media Analytical Reports You Need
First, let’s break down what exactly a report like this consists of. These reports will have data, such as the engagements and impressions your content has received once posted. That data will be gathered from all the platforms you currently operate in. Depending on your social media analytical tool, you can get one report at a time from one platform or a collective from all social media platforms you post on.
This benefits you because each report is customizable, meaning you can extract only the data sets that are interesting to you and valuable to the brand. Below are some important metrics you can measure using social media analytics tools like HubSpot.
These metrics are:
Audience Analytics Report
This report will show you how many followers you have on each of your social media accounts. It will also show the number of new followers you’ve gained over time, such as last month or year. An example of this report is given below.
Published Post Analytics Report
This report displays the number of social media posts you have uploaded to different platforms over time. Here is an example of this report:
Interactions Analytics Report
This report shows the number of likes, reactions and comments on all published social media posts. This summarizes all the interactions between the post and users at any given time. Here is an example of this report:
Sessions Analytics Report
This report shows you how many web sessions occurred on your website. It’s based on how many consumers were directed to the brand’s website through social media. You can view an example of this report below.
In addition to tracking clicks, shares and impressions, social media analytics metrics also let you know much about your customers. The following section will discuss how to understand your customers using analytics.
Understanding Your Customer Better With Analytics
Social media analytics can provide you with insight into your customers’ behavior, preferences, and buying patterns. Once you have cracked the code, you can tailor your content to attract more loyal customers. The following metrics can be analyzed through social media analytics tools to benefit your brand:
Audience Size
Social media analytics will show your audience size, including how many people follow your pages. This tells you how many consumers view your online content. Remember that an enormous number of followers on social media does not always mean you receive a lot of engagement on the content you upload. So, perform an audit of your audience pool to understand them better and curate content that is more targeted toward their interests.
Engagement Statistics
This metric has been mentioned before, but only because it is detrimental to giving your content the exposure it deserves. You want your content to be engaged proactively; the more engagement you have, the better exposure you receive for your brand.
Customer Demographics
Knowing the consumer profile that appeals to you the most is vital for your brand on social media. Once you have narrowed down the criteria of who to target with campaigns, it can be easy to find more of the same kind of consumer. This can be based on the age, income, geography and job a consumer holds in the real world. This metric saves you time since you will focus on consumers who will most likely give you a conversion through your social media.
Industry Influencers
You need more than just understanding your customer to have an impact on social media. You also need to build a relationship with influencers in the industry. These influencers are vital in extending a brand’s reach as they usually have a large following and advertise your products on their platform. You might not have to seek them. If your content is gaining traction, you might have influencers gravitating toward your brand pages.
Social media analytics is excellent at identifying potential customers and highly functioning influencers through their presence and habits that are exhibited on social media. Some tools like Meltwater can also match you with influencers that would match your brand message the best. This is done by the tool reviewing the analytical data collected from your social media.
5 Important Social Media Analytics Tools For Businesses
You might find this section useful if you’re wondering what social media analytics tools are helpful for your business. The analytical tools will assist you in gathering data and suggesting strategic changes to make to your marketing approach. Here’s a list of some of the most important tools to consider.
HubSpot
This tool will break down consumers’ journey on your social media. The analytical tool provides marketing insights that are tailored to your brand and can help you understand what elements affect your bottom line.
Tweet Reach
Don’t let the name fool you; this social media analytical program is designed to help you monitor Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. It allows you to access quick reports that analyze elements like engagement and conversions.
Buffer
This tool can help you grow your social media presence. It will measure your performance on numerous platforms and create detailed reports to improve your brand reach and engagement.
Hootsuite
It’s a popular tool among marketers because it allows you to create customized reports based on over 200 metrics. You can monitor your brand’s social media accounts and the campaigns you run on them, as well as get easy-to-read reports that serve as benchmarks for proving ROI.
Sprout Social
This tool is another great way to figure out what your audience needs. It can help you understand how your followers interact with your content on any platform. The data it gives you can help improve how your audience engages with what you post and what tactics to adjust for better results.
There are several social media analytics tools available to brands and businesses. Each tool provides a different data point and functionality, so it is wise to figure out what you want to achieve in your marketing strategy and implement a tool accordingly.
How Social Media Analytics Tools Can Improve Your Social Media Marketing Campaigns
So now you have the tools to use analytics, and it’s time to explain how to put them to work for your business. Here are some factors to keep in mind:
Choose Your Objectives Wisely
When running a social media campaign, you always have a specific goal. Your goals can range from increasing brand awareness to improving sales to growing your audience. The analytical data you focus on is based on the objective of your campaign.
For example, if you’re running a social media campaign to grow your audience, you will pay attention to analytical data around the brand’s reach. You might focus more on engagement and click-throughs if you’re running a brand awareness or web traffic campaign. Once you know your campaign objective, it is easier to measure its success through social media analytics.
Select Effective Channels
Being present on every social media platform might sound like a beneficial idea, but it is time-consuming, and you can think of better ways to use brand resources efficiently. By using social media analytics, you can observe which platforms give you the best results and which aren’t fruitful.
Through the data you receive, you can make an informed decision on which platforms will give you the best ROI for your brand.
Tracking
Monitoring the results you receive through paid ads on social media is vital in measuring the success of a campaign. You also need to track the results from ads on your website. Social media monitoring tools will help advertisers review content engagement, whether over a specific period or within a short period. You can use this analytical data to compare it with your competitors in the same industry and measure the campaign’s success.
These tools can help A/B test your content to determine which posts will perform best on different platforms. For example, some content might be better for Instagram, while other posts should be shared on Twitter. These analytical tools highlight the best results for your content and suggest where your resources should go in a marketing campaign. This can be used to test different images, CTAs and formats for your content. Analytics also provide data about your most profitable platforms through performance tracking.
Strategic Adjustments
While you gather data on your campaign using social media analytics, insights you receive during the campaign can help you make data-driven decisions. This could be to change certain aspects of the campaign while running to ensure it is more impactful on the audience. This analytical data can be used in real-time and will save you from getting unfavorable ROIs at the end of the campaign. These decisions would be made not on feelings but on proven data.
This guide will show you how to track your social media analytics and how this information can help your business succeed. You need to understand what works best for your brand and business, then stick with it. Monitor your results regularly and make adjustments when necessary.
If you feel overwhelmed sifting through data and managing your business, there is always a solution. Digital marketing agencies like SV Digital handle every aspect of your social media marketing needs and provide excellent results.
