Posted by Social media analytics is one of the most important tools that a social media manager or agency can have.
They tell you not only how your business is doing, but also how your overall social media strategy is performing. However, if you’re not using them correctly, you’re not getting an accurate picture of what’s going on. Social media analytics can be confusing. There are so many metrics to track, and it’s easy to make mistakes. The mistakes can in the worst case lead to inaccurate insights and wrong business decisions.
In this article, we’ll discuss seven common social media analytics mistakes that you need to avoid!
What is social media analytics and how does it help you?
Social media analytics is the process of measuring, analyzing, and interpreting data from social media channels to help businesses make better decisions about their social media marketing.
By understanding how people are interacting with your brand on social media, you can identify which strategies are working and which ones need improvement. By analyzing your social media data, you can determine which social media content types resonate with your audience, identify key influencers, measure your brand’s reach, and more! You can even use social media analytics to track your competitors and see what content performs the best for them.
Insights gleaned from the analytics can help you fine-tune your social media strategy and produce even more effective content, which can lead to more engagement, traffic, and sales.
1. Common Social Media Analytics mistakes that you definitely want to avoid
When it comes to social media analytics, even the slightest mistake can have a huge impact on your overall results. That’s why it’s so important to be aware of the most common mistakes people make when analyzing their data. Here are seven of the most common social media analytics mistakes to avoid.
2. First of all, are you even measuring how your business is doing?
Are you tracking your social media efforts and performance? If not, you’re making one of the biggest mistakes possible.
Without performance data, you have no way to know what’s working and what isn’t. Worse, you might be making changes that aren’t actually moving the needle on your business goals. Luckily, measuring social media success is easier than ever with Crowdfire, a social media management tool that easily tracks clicks, visits, conversions, and more.
So start tracking already!
3. Focusing on vanity metrics instead of actionable metrics
It’s easy to get caught up in vanity metrics, especially when they seem to be telling you that you’re doing a good job.
However, focusing on vanity metrics instead of actionable metrics can actually do more harm than good. Vanity metrics are measurements that look good on paper but don’t actually tell you anything about your business or how you can improve.
For example, likes, followers, and shares are all vanity metrics. They may make you feel good, but they don’t tell you anything about how well your content is resonating with your audience or whether people are actually taking any action as a result of seeing your content.
Actionable metrics, on the other hand, give you information that you can use to improve your social media strategy. Examples of actionable metrics include click-through rates, conversion rates, and leads generated.
So rather than focusing on vanity metrics, make sure you’re tracking the right actionable metrics to help you improve your social media campaigns.
4. Not tracking the right metrics for your business, and how to find the right ones.
It’s crucial to track the correct metrics for your business in order to make data-driven decisions.
However, this is often easier said than done. To find the right metrics, you need to first understand what it is you’re trying to achieve with social media.
Are you looking to drive traffic to your website? Increase brand awareness? Generate leads? Once you know what your goals are, you can track the metrics that matter most for your business.
For example, if you’re looking to increase website traffic, you would track website visits or click-throughs. There are many different metrics to choose from, so it’s important to find those that align with your business goals.
5. Failing to take advantage of opportunities that you learn from your analytics
One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to social media analytics is not taking full advantage of the opportunities they uncover.
For example, if you notice that a certain post got a lot of traction, you can use that information to help inform your future content decisions. Maybe you’ll decide to create more content like that, or maybe you’ll tweak your marketing strategy based on what you learned.
Another common mistake is not checking your analytics often enough. If you don’t track your progress on a regular basis, it’s going to be hard to see how you’re doing and make any necessary adjustments.
Make sure to check in at least once a week so you can stay on top of your game!
6. Not understanding your customers’ behavior through your metrics
Many social media managers make the mistake of not fully understanding their customers’ behavior, which can be determined by looking at their social media analytics.
By taking a closer look at your audience’s engagement rates, you can learn what content they respond to the most and how to better engage with them. Additionally, understanding your followers’ demographics (such as age, gender, and location) can help you create content that’s more relevant and interesting to them.
Make sure you’re taking advantage of all the data social media analytics has to offer so you can create content that resonates with your audience and ultimately drives results. Failing to do this means you could be wasting your time and resources on content that no one is engaging with. If you’re still struggling with this, then consider collecting customer feedback which helps support the understanding of your metrics.
So make sure you take the time to understand your analytics and use them to improve your social media strategy!
7. Not tracking progress over time
Many social media managers make the mistake of not tracking their progress over time.
By not measuring your success, you’re doing yourself a disservice and making it difficult to improve your social media strategy. Measuring your progress gives you insights into what tactics are working and which ones need to be tweaked or abandoned altogether. Additionally, measuring your progress keeps you accountable and allows you to track your progress in terms of goals that you’ve set for yourself.
Use analytics tools to track your progress and identify areas where you need to make changes.
8. Not adjusting your strategy accordingly
One of the biggest mistakes people make with social media analytics is not adjusting their strategy accordingly.
Your analytics data can help you understand what’s working and what’s not, so you can make changes to your content and marketing strategy. If a particular campaign or post isn’t performing well, for example, you can use your data to figure out why and make adjustments. You can also use analytics to determine your most successful days and times to post, so you can continue to capitalize on that success.
Make sure you’re always analyzing your data and using it to make informed decisions about your social media strategy!
9. Not using social media data to improve other marketing efforts
It’s a common mistake to only look at your social media analytics when you’re trying to determine the success of a campaign.
While it’s important to track your progress and adjust your strategy as needed, you should also be using that data to improve your other marketing efforts. For example, if you notice that a certain tweet had a lot of engagement, try creating more content around the topic for your blog. Analyzing your social media data can help you better understand your audience and what they want to see from you.
Use that information to create more engaging and relevant content across all of your marketing channels, and you’ll see better results in no time.
How to choose the right social media analytics tool
There are a lot of social media analytics tools out there, and it can be tough to figure out which one is the right fit for your business. Before you settle on a tool, be sure to do your research.
The first step is to determine your business’s needs. What data do you want to track? What are your goals for social media? Once you have a better understanding of what you want to track, you can begin narrowing down your options.
Try out a few different tools and see which one feels best suited for your needs, but one tool that superficially exceeds at social media marketing is Crowdfire, a great option for small businesses and content creators.
Crowdfire helps you discover and schedule content, and manage all your social accounts from one place. Plus, their pricing is very affordable — making it a great value for small businesses and startups. And of course, they have a free trial so you get a feel for how it works and if it fits your needs, give it a try!
Wrap up
With social media analytics, you have the ability to track nearly everything that’s happening on your social media channels.
This data is incredibly valuable for understanding how your audience interacts with your brand and content. It’s also important for making decisions about future content and strategy.
However, if you’re not careful, you can make some big mistakes with your social media analytics. These mistakes will end up costing you in terms of time and resources.
It’s crucial to track your social media analytics to determine whether your campaigns are successful and resonating with your audience. However, there are a few common mistakes that many social media managers and content creators make when analyzing their data.
By understanding your social media analytics and avoiding these seven common mistakes, you can create better content. And then, make more informed decisions about your marketing strategy, and improve your overall social media performance.