Have you ever shelled out money on Facebook for a boosted post or two? How were you able to tell if those posts really brought you sales? 

What were once fun apps and websites where we could keep in touch with our friends and post photos without insecurity are now the most important tools for corporations and small businesses alike. As a social media agency, we recognize how complicated social media analytics can seem. 

The Rundown on Social Media Analytics

Social media analytics allows both businesses and freelancers to measure how well they’re performing online and how many people they’re reaching. A vital tool for the modern entrepreneur or even political figure, social media has grown into far more than we could have ever foreseen when we were just posting silly photos on Instagram and Facebook. That being said, social media analytics can be incredibly confusing. Here are the basics:

What It Is

Put simply, social media analytics is the way your business can measure and quantify just how well your social media marketing strategy is working. Graphic designers, content writers, and sales strategists are all a part of the investments that go into taking social media seriously for your brand. So how do you know you’re getting your money’s worth?

You can’t know your social media ROI (return on investment) without having something to measure. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram have become such hotspots for sales and marketing that these platforms now have internal analytics sections for marketers and creators to view privately so they can know what content is working and what’s not.

How It Works

Now that you know what social media analytics are, you’d think businesses and freelancers everywhere would be using the built-in analytics tools on social platforms. Well, you’d be wrong.

The truth is that these tools go underutilized for most businesses, especially small ones like restaurants, contractor groups, and local salons. While knowing what these analytics are and what they measure is helpful, the reality is that small businesses often can’t afford to put together an in-house marketing team solely dedicated to their social media. Sorting through analytics requires hiring and training educated professionals, not to mention having employees develop strategic action plans that can then be executed to address the room for improvement your analytics may show. While just about anyone can figure out how to post a picture or a story onto their IG, most don’t know how to decipher the more in-depth metrics that Instagram provides account owners.

For example, one of the important things to know about when utilizing social media analytics is the settings on your account. If you set your business’ IG account to reflect the type of business that it is, like “Italian Restaurant”, “Shopping & Retail”, or “Public Figure”, Instagram can direct more targeted users to your account and even give you more data and in-depth analytics.

Social media analytics works by showing you metrics like click-through rates (CTR), percentages showing growth, trends, graphs, and raw numbers, such as the total number of likes, shares, or saves on a post. 

Why It’s Important

How do you fix a problem if you don’t know where it’s coming from? We think this quote from Christopher Crawford at Socialbakers sums up the importance of social media analytics nicely:

“The bottom line to analytics is that they give you instant feedback about how your company is performing across social media channels and whether the strategy your teams are executing is effective. Overviewing performance KPIs is crucial to control and success of your social media campaigns.”

Social  media analytics will tell you exactly whether or not your strategy is working, giving you time to turn around and try something else. Without using the tools you have at your disposal, your online performance and real-life sales will dip before you know it, bringing you even bigger problems.

The right tools and the right team are as important as the right method of calculation when it comes to determining social media ROI.

As a Miami social media agency, we specialize in social media analytics and social media ROI. Give us a call today for your free consultation.