Importance Of Social Media Analytics For Business

Are you starting to market on social media? Or are you beginning to expand your presence online and wonder about all the numbers and analytics? Analytics and metrics are going to be a little different for everyone and every business and on every different platform. Let’s talk about what is the importance of social media analytics for business. ​

Importance Of Social Media Analytics For Business

First of all, like I said, the numbers are going to be a little different for each platform. Some platforms suppress your posts and some do not. At the same time, social media platforms promote posts for a number of reasons as well.
Let’s Consider LinkedIn Metrics And Analytics

I spend a considerable amount of my time on this platform for a number of reasons. One reason is that it is friendly to my content. When I post something it doesn’t always get engagement from other people. But, if I spend more time on the platform my content will get more attention. And, it often gets engagement on LinkedIn.
Side note: I can’t say that for Facebook. If you are using a business page on Facebook, the days of organic traction is pretty much over. And, Facebook doesn’t like it if you use your personal page for business and it can shut you down at any random time for this without notice.
Once I am getting some traction I will start to look at the key metrics for this platform. And, these will be different for other social platforms mind you.
The main metrics to follow on your LinkedIn platform are:

1. People That View Your Profile
   
2. Connections
   
3. Followers
   
4. Views on Posts
   
5. Engagement on Posts - comments first and then likes.
   

These are the most important. And, kind of in order of importance. 

Are Social Media Followers And Likes Even Important?
This is a big question. If you are posting pictures just for fun or for a very small specific group, the number of followers and likes might not be really important.
If you are trying to get more attention for your business, product or service then followers and likes can be important. I should note, however, that number of likes, connections, and followers don’t indicate how successful you will be at your goal.
The number you have doesn’t mean the more you have the more successful you will be. Unless your goal is specifically to have a lot of followers or likes.
What Is Important For Businesses?
Honestly, what is important for business is: Can you take the numbers you do have and convert them to paying clients. And, this might give you a better idea of why people want a lot of followers:

1. If you only have 5 followers, what is the likelihood that you can convert all 5 into a paying client or customer? 1 if you're lucky?
   
2. Now, take the opposite idea. If you have 500 followers, what is the likelihood that you can convert 5 of them into a paying client or customer? Probably easier, right?
   

This is kind of how marketing and sales works…both online and off. The more people you can reach, the more likely you will be able to convert some to paying clients or customers. It’s one reason why people call it a numbers game.
Analytics For Business Content
When you talk about social media metrics and analytics for business in particular it can be hit or miss. The algorithm, people's preferences, and timing can all play a part in your post likes.
Some large brands might post something, get no results and take the post down only to repost it later to see if they can get better engagement. Some people just leave the content up and don’t play that part of the game.
What Do I Do With These Analytics?
What do you even do with all these numbers?

1. I track them.
   
2. I aim for them. I am aiming for 3000 connections on LinkedIn right now. Then I will aim higher.
   
3. I use them for content creation. If I get a lot of engagement for certain posts on LinkedIn, then I can guess that a lot of people like that kind of thing. So, if I write about that topic more often, I could see more and more upward numbers in my posts. Thus, more connections and followers.
   
4. Pay Attention to them. Am I losing or gaining certain numbers? If I am losing, what can I do to change that?
   

This is just a small number of things you can do with these numbers. As a solopreneur, I focus on doing these handful of things with my analytics. These are the most important areas for me right now.
Will You Start Tracking Your Analytics?
You can learn a lot over time, from your analytic numbers. Will you take the time to do the tracking?!
I hope so. :)