It is no secret that social media marketing has a lot of metrics, like a lot, and each platform has its own metrics that seem to be changing constantly. From engagement to reach and impressions, and do not forget about website clicks or likes on each and every post. 

Even as an Austin digital marketing agency, it can be overwhelming for our staff members at times! It can be even harder to try to explain that the amount of “likes” on a social media post is not the only thing that is worth the investment. 

It is common for a client to ask, “how many likes do we have?” The answer is pretty straightforward with 10, 20 or even 200, but it does not always equal success. How many people saved the post, shared it or even clicked to the link in your bio from that post? 

All of these metrics are just as important, if not more important for social media marketing because “likes” is a vanity metric. It makes everyone say, “Oh they have 100 likes on their post” but it does not mean that is the end-all. 

Here is a great example of why likes might not necessarily be the number one thing to focus on! 

A client of ours is just getting started on social media platforms with Facebook and Instagram and the amount of likes is a bit low, but on the other hand, the company has three potential leads from their social media accounts! Even with a lower amount of likes and followers, the social media strategy set in place was still able to provide them with an early possible win! They are only three weeks out of the gate and no presence before this, which is pretty awesome. 

That is the perfect example of why our Austin digital marketing agency does not just look at the number of likes on a post, but the overall success of the post. 

What are other measures that should be taken into account? 

Organic reach

Organic research is important on social media because this is how a consumer can find your products and services, but on social media channels, organic reach is continuously getting harder and harder. This is due to algorithms that have changed from a couple of years ago to an emphasis on ad spend and advertising on social media channels! It is estimated that only 10 percent of a company’s Facebook followers will see their content on a given day! Yup, only 10 percent! 

This is why organic reach is important to understand. If a post skyrockets and similar posts like that continue to do better with organic reach, then continue to post that type of content. This tells marketers and companies alike what is and is not going to work! Sometimes the content might be great, but your audience just might not be interested in that topic! 

This brings us to the next metric, which is to always track engagement! 

Engagement! 

As likes have disappeared from most business’s Instagram pages, this metric is one that simply does not work on this social media channel anymore. What other metrics are important? 

Engagement and this is true for all social media platforms. This is because the more shares, comments and clicks a post gets, the better the organic reach will be! You need engagement and to engage back with consumers for a post to do better. 

The engagement rate can be a key indicator of the content that is driving traffic to the website or increasing sales! Whatever the overarching goal that was set into place for the social media marketing strategy, engagement on a post can help to achieve these goals! 

Page likes and followers! 

This one could also be a bit more controversial metric that is measured because having 10,000 followers does not mean anything if the reach and engagement are nonexistent, but for those companies who are just starting, this could be a measurement worth while. 

If the Facebook page following is low or the page likes taking a considerable amount of time to grow, it is worth looking into the campaign to see how things are going. This could mean that different content might need to be created or the audience is off. 

These are three metrics that all companies should worry about when it comes to their overall social media marketing strategy! For help getting started, call an Austin digital marketing agency!