The Top 10 Social Media KPIs Every Business Should Be Tracking - In-depth Analysis

Introduction

As a business owner or manager, you know that social media is a powerful tool for connecting with new customers, reaching your target audience, and building your brand. You might also know that the most significant part of using social media for businesses is the ability to track key performance indicators (KPIs).

Without KPIs, businesses cannot improve their social media marketing strategy or show the return on investment (ROI) of their social media efforts.

There are several different KPIs that companies can track, but which are the most essential? It depends on the company's goals and what they are trying to accomplish with social media. However, there are some KPIs that are generally essential.

But with so many different social media KPIs, it can be difficult to figure out which ones to track. That's why we have created this list of the top 15 social media KPIs that every business should be monitoring.

Whether you are just getting started with social media marketing (social media marketing is a process of creating content to share on social media channels to achieve specific marketing goals) or you are looking to take your social media efforts to the next level, this list is for you.

What are KPIs?

A business must track its progress and performance against certain goals. This is where KPIs come into play. KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, are a measure of how well you are achieving your goals.

Why is social media so critical for businesses?

Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools available to businesses today.

Used correctly, social media can be an incredibly effective way to drive traffic to your website, generate leads, and improve your online presence. It can also help you build relationships with your potential customers, create loyalty and repeat business, and get valuable feedback.

That's why it's so consequential for businesses to scrutinize social media KPIs (key performance indicators). By tracking the right KPIs, businesses can get a clear picture of how their social media campaigns are performing and make the necessary adjustments to improve results.

Which social media KPIs should companies track?

Social media KPIs are useful to businesses in many ways, but not all are equally valuable. The key is to focus on a few key indicators that will give you the right insight into your social media performance.

Some of the most relevant social media KPIs you should track are:

1. Reach 
2. Mentions 
3. Social Media Engagement KPIs
4. Conversion KPIs
5. Bounce Rate
6. Cost Per Click (CPC)
7. Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)
8. Cost Per Lead (CPL) 
9. Website Traffic
10. Leads Generated
11. Revenue Generated
12. Customer Satisfaction/Loyalty
13. Sentiments (positive, negative, neutral)
14. ROI
15. Brand awareness

Reach:

The reach of a social media platform is the number of unique users who have seen your content. It's a smart idea to track both organic reach (the number of people who see your content without you having paid for it) and paid reach (the number of people who see your content because you paid for it to be shared).

This metric is helpful because it gives you an idea of how many people are viewing your content. If your reach is low, it may indicate that you need to improve your content strategy or promote your content more effectively.

Mentions:

A mention is when someone talks about your brand or product on a social media platform. This can be both positive and negative. It's critical to track mentions because they give you an idea of what people are saying about your brand online.

If you see a lot of negative mentions, it may indicate that you need to improve your customer service or address some other issue.

Engagement:

Social media engagement refers to the number of interactions that take place on your social media networks. It is calculated by dividing the number of likes, comments, shares, etc. By the number of followers.

It is very helpful to track engagement as it indicates how interested and engaged your audience is in your content. High engagement means that people are interested in your content and more likely to take action.

Conversion:

Conversion metrics show you how effective your social media marketing is at driving sales or leads. This can be tracked by the number of people who click on your links and then make a purchase or sign up for your email list.

If you are not getting a lot of conversions, it may mean you need to improve your call to action. You may also need to offer something of value in exchange for the conversion.

Bounce Rate:

The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing a single page. This metric is important because it can give you an idea of how relevant and interesting your content is to your target audience. A high bounce rate can be an indication that you need to improve the content or design of your website.

Cost Per Click (CPC):

CPC is the amount of money you spend for each click on your ad. This metric is important because it tells you how much you're spending on advertising and whether it's cost-effective. If your CPC is high and you're not seeing many conversions, this may indicate that you need to adjust your ad strategy.

Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM):

CPM is the amount of money you spend for each thousandth impression of your ad. This metric is important because it tells you how much you're spending on your ads and whether or not you're reaching a large enough audience. A high CPM without many conversions can be an indication that you should change your ad strategy.

Cost Per Lead (CPL):

Cost per lead is the amount you spend on advertising for each lead generated. This metric is important because it tells you how effective your advertising is at generating leads. If your cost per lead is high and you aren't seeing many conversions, this may indicate that you need to adjust your advertising strategy.

Website Traffic:

This is where you count visitors to your website. It's important to track this metric so you can see how many people are interested in your business. Lack of website traffic can be an indication that your website needs to be promoted more effectively or that your content needs to be improved.

Leads Generated:

This is the number of people who've expressed interest in your product or service. This metric is important because it gives you an idea of how effective your marketing is at generating leads. If you aren't getting many leads, this may indicate that you need to adjust your marketing strategy.

Revenue Generated:

This is the amount of revenue you're generating through sales. This metric is important because it tells you how effectively your marketing is driving sales. If you aren't seeing many sales, this may indicate that you need to adjust your marketing strategy.

Customer Satisfaction/Loyalty:

This is a measure of how satisfied your customers are with your product or service. This metric is important because it gives you an idea of how likely your customers are to continue using your product or service. If you see a high level of customer churn, this may indicate that you need to improve your product or service.

Sentiments (Positive, Negative, Neutral):

Sentiments refer to the emotions people feel about your brand. This metric is important because it gives you an idea of how people feel about your brand and whether or not they'd recommend it to others. If you see a lot of negative sentiment, it may indicate that you need to improve your customer service or address some other issue.

ROI:

ROI is the return on investment you get from your social media marketing. This metric is important because it tells you how effective your social media marketing is in generating sales or leads. If you're not seeing much ROI, it may be an indication that you need to adjust your social media strategy.

Brand Awareness:

Brand awareness is the measure of how familiar people are with your brand. It's important to track this metric because it gives you an idea of how well your marketing is working. If brand awareness isn't very high, this may indicate that you need to promote your brand more effectively.

Of course, which KPIs you track will depend on your social media goals. But these are some of the most common metrics that companies track.

Tracking these KPIs will give you a good idea of how well your social media marketing efforts are doing and where you need to make improvements.

What are the benefits of tracking social media KPIs?

Tracking social media KPIs offers many benefits, such as insights into which content is most popular with your audience, which social media platforms are generating the most engagement, and measuring the brand awareness achieved through your social media marketing campaigns.

Tracking social media KPIs can also help you identify opportunities for improvement and optimize your strategies over time.

What's more:

• Improved decision-making - by tracking KPIs, you can make more informed decisions about where to allocate your resources for maximum impact.

• Better resource allocation - when you know which activities are generating the most engagement or website traffic, you can allocate your resources more effectively.

• Improved ROI - by tracking social media KPIs, you can more accurately measure your return on investment and make necessary adjustments to improve results.

• Increased accountability - by tracking social media KPIs, you can hold yourself and your team accountable for results and identify areas for improvement.

How can companies track social media KPIs?

There are many ways companies can evaluate social media KPIs, such as using:

• Native tools that are provided by social media sites (e.g. Meta Business Suite).

• Social media management tools such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social.

• Third-party analytics tools (e.g. Google Analytics).

• Excel or Google Sheets.

• A CRM system.

• Google Data Studio.

What are the most common mistakes companies make when measuring social media KPIs?

Some common mistakes companies commit when tracking social media KPIs are:

• Not setting clear goals - without clear goals, you can't properly measure success.

• Focusing on too many KPIs - trying to track too many things at once will only lead to confusion and make it difficult to identify areas for improvement.

• Not reviewing results regularly - if you don't review your KPIs regularly, you won't be able to identify trends and adjust your strategy as needed.

• Not taking action based on insights - monitoring KPIs is only valuable if you use the insights gained to improve your social media strategy.

• Relying too much on vanity metrics - metrics like likes and followers can be misleading and don't necessarily indicate success. Focus on meaningful metrics that give you a more accurate picture of your performance.

Conclusion

There exist many different social media KPIs that businesses can measure, but which are the most critical? In our opinion, these are the three most significant social media KPIs that businesses should monitor: Reach, Engagement, and Conversions.

By monitoring these three metrics, companies can get a clear idea of how their social media presence is performing and what areas need improvement.

If you need help with social media marketing, feel free to contact us. We are the leading social media marketing agency in Kenya, we can help you grow your business with effective social media strategies.