Numbers Matter: A Beginner's Guide to Social Media Analytics

At Chair 8, we are committed to data-empowered storytelling — the hands-on process of using analytics to not only evaluate performance, but to also prepare your brand for the future in a proactive and measurable way. 

For our social media clients, this means an Account Manager is consistently creating analytics reports, comparing those numbers with regional and industry benchmarks, and making informed, strategic decisions for future campaigns. By regularly evaluating these Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), we form a feedback loop that keeps us accountable for the content being created and helps you achieve your brand’s overarching goals. 

However, we understand that data can be intimidating. That’s why we’re providing you with a blueprint for getting started with analytics! 

Quantitative Success
Hard numbers are often a great way of measuring your success online. You can measure dozens of different metrics on social media, but you should focus on those that answer the following questions:

• Are we reaching the right people?

  • Reach indicates how far your post is actually traveling and the number of eyes seeing it. You can measure reach by tracking followers and post impressions.

• Are we engaging with the right people?

  • Engagement measures the number of interactions a post receives. The actual KPIs measured for engagement vary by platform but generally include likes, comments, shares, link clicks, mentions, and profile visits.

• How many of our social media fans are actually becoming “customers”?

  • Conversions measure how well your social media efforts are supporting the brand’s overall performance goals. Because brands have varying stakeholders, the exact KPIs differ for each post but may include website visits, purchases, form submissions, etc.

Qualitative Success
In addition to hard numbers, you should be using qualitative measures to identify the underlying meaning and interpretations behind those numbers. For example, quantitative reporting might tell us how many times your brand has been mentioned on social media, but qualitative reporting will look at “why” you were getting those mentions.

• Sentiment Analysis - Social sentiment is the perceived positive or negative mood toward social media content. Some things you may evaluate during sentiment analysis include top themes, emojis, and hashtags people used when speaking about your brand, as well as specific complaints raised on social media that need to be addressed.

• Stakeholder Surveys - If at any point you wish to learn more about how your social media can better serve a specific audience, you can send out a survey to that specific group of stakeholders. You can also ask your followers directly via Instagram Stories what type of content they would like to see more.

Are you interested in digging deeper into social media analytics for your brand? Contact Chair 8 to learn more about how we can help!