Social media metrics are important but aren't the end-all-be-all of social analytics. Likes and follower counts can be an indication of your audience size and engagement, but they barely scratch the surface. This two-minute read breaks down why social media managers and analysts need to look beyond the numbers.
Social media used to be solely for duck-faced selfies and heavily filtered coffee pictures.
Today, however, it's a source of income for many creators and a marketing tool for any brand that doesn't still use carrier pigeons.
media update's Joreke Kleynhans spills the tea on looking past metrics on social media.
Quality over quantity
In an ideal world, your social media accounts would have many very interested and engaged followers.
Realistically, the quantitative aspect of this might take months or years to achieve. On the other hand, the qualitative aspect can be nurtured from the beginning.
An account that focuses on building quality relationships with its audience early on is more likely to succeed than a brand that prioritises the number of its followers over quality.
Relevance and reach
A large audience is less valuable if they are irrelevant to the brand or creator’s niche.
Generally, smaller audiences that show more interest in your content are more loyal and responsive — that's why micro and nano-influencers are so successful!
Reach and impressions hold important insights into the effectiveness of your content distribution strategy and the visibility of your content. Accounts with low reach compared to their follower counts need to evaluate where improvement is needed in their content strategy.
Brand mentions and sentiment
Sentiment analysis provides insights into brand perception and reputational success. While any brand wants its name mentioned across social media, the sentiment of mentions matters even more than the number thereof.
Thousands of mentions that have negative sentiment would be classified as a PR crisis, while 10 positive mentions are an indication of success!
Just because likes and followers are visible and easy to quantify doesn’t mean that they paint a complete picture of social media success; any brand can benefit from digging deeper into its analytics.
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*Image courtesy of Canva