The social media metrics every business should track to measure online success
Vanity metrics are a thing of the past. They might give you a quick boost of confidence, we all love to see a healthy ‘like’ count, but they don’t always tell the full story of your brand's performance.
To truly understand and grow your presence online, you have to focus on the metrics that actually matter.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the key social media metrics you should be tracking if you want a real understanding of how your content is performing and what your community are up to.
1. Profile visits
This metric measures the number of people who have clicked on your profile after viewing your content. If you’re noticing a high number of profile visits, it means people are curious and want to learn more about you and your brand! AKA, you've successfully converted them from viewing your content to finding out more. The next step would be a follow, then to website or enquiry taps.
Don't stop posting strategic content and utilising keywords. Plus, by making sure your profile is up-to-date, engaging and reflects what you want potential customers/clients to see they're much more likely to follow and stick around.
2. Follower growth rate
Thinking your follower count is a vanity metric? Think again. It’s not so much about the importance of the number, but rather the rate it’s growing. It’s one of the best ways to judge your content’s impact to see how far it spreads beyond your immediate audience. A steady increase shows that your content is attracting interest, but also tells you of the potential you have to attract new followers and expand your brand. And if it’s not? Take it as a sign to adjust your strategy.
3. Website visits
For a lot of brands, we use social media as a tool to drive traffic to our website, where the actual conversions can happen. By tracking website visits from your social channels, you can see just how effective your posts are at prompting action. You can use these numbers to see if your call-to-actions are actually working, as well as the overall effectiveness of your strategy and engagement.
4. Watch time
According to the 2024 HubSpot Video Marketing Report, most videos receive between 5,000 to 10,000 views, but it’s engagement and watch time that truly matters. Video content is a huge part of social media, and tracking this stat shows just how long people are sitting down to watch. Maybe you come to the conclusion you need to shorten your reels or make the hooks more engaging. Whatever the numbers show, it’s a good indicator of your audience's behaviour.
5. Accounts engaged
You could have all the followers in the world, but does it really matter if your audience isn’t engaging with your content? This metric measures the number of accounts that are interacting with your posts through comments, likes, saves and shares. Keeping your eye on this will help you to see what type of content your audience loves most, and allow you to tailor your strategy or future posts for an even bigger impact.
6. Story link clicks
If you’ve ever wondered whether sharing or posting to your story is beneficial for your business, Hootsuite reported this month that half a billion users are watching Stories every day! Story links are one of the easiest ways to nudge your following in the right direction, and by monitoring this, you can see the exact number of times people have tapped your link. The more clicks you’re getting is a sign that your audience is most likely taking those next steps towards your brand.
So this year, spend some time exploring your professional dashboard to see what’s working for you, and what isn’t. Remember, it’s not just likes and followers that equal success.