Finding out if your social media efforts are effective requires you to analyze metrics. Social media analytics can be as comprehensive as necessary and there is a lot of data that can be ascertained. The ultimate goal is to understand the performance of your social media accounts and how you can improve upon them. Let’s examine some of the metrics that are often used by brands endeavoring to strengthen their social media outcomes.
Tracking Your Audience
Most brands have a target audience and endeavor to appeal to that demographic. Through social media analytics, you can find out if you are actually reaching the people you want to reach. The obvious reason is for the purpose of having a tighter and more effective marketing strategy. It’s possible to have a large following of people that are not actually engaging with your content because it does not speak to their needs. There are tools available that can provide you with a breakdown of your audience, including their age, gender, education and location, among other details.
Analyzing Content
If you’re posting a lot of content on social media, you probably know that it can become a masterful undertaking. Effectiveness on social media requires you to post frequently, which means you must develop a lot of content. With that being the case, you should want to analyze whether or not that content is yielding the desired results. For instance, if you post a lot of images on Instagram, you can find out if it’s more effective than other types of posts. If your competitor is posting a different type of content and receiving a more positive response, you can find out through social media analytics.
The analysis of content requires you to assess metrics for all socials. Fortunately, NetBase, a leading social analytics company, provides a way for you to gather that type of data with ease. They also have a reporting function that allows you to review reports with the metrics of content, including which content is most effective. It can provide you with the information necessary to integrate a different type of content into your social media strategy. Perhaps your demographics will appreciate video posts over text posts.
Measuring Sentiment
Sentiment in social media analytics is basically understanding what people are saying about your brand. An assessment of sentiment can provide information about whether people are speaking positively or negatively about your products and services. There is also a possibility that neither is happening, which is also a problem. That means there is minimal engagement. One benefit of measuring sentiment is being able to determine an appropriate response. Many brands have mastered the art of responding to negative feedback in a way that’s appropriate and not overblown.
When done right, a response to a customer’s problem can actually build your brand. This happens when prospective customers see that you’re willing to take ownership for mistakes and respond expeditiously. Measuring sentiment is a tool that can be used to engage with customers much more effectively. Whether it’s a complaint or a compliment provided by a customer, your response matters.
These are examples of the metrics you should analyze. However, it really depends on your brand and goals. For instance, you might decide that it’s more important to understand your competitors. You can choose to make this a more significant focus because doing so can provide a wealth of information for use in your own marketing endeavors. If your competitor has a particular weakness, you can communicate your strengths in that area during your social media endeavors.
