A Quick Guide to Social Media Analytics

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January 21, 2022 Marketing

With over 4 billion global users, social media is not an area businesses can afford to ignore. In all fairness, when done right, social media marketing creates a fantastic environment for brand-building and connection.

Plus, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, even TikTok have well-designed systems that allow businesses to build awareness and find new leads. True, it can be difficult to break the ice, especially in a highly competitive niche, but once you find your audience, you can set yourself on a path for growth.

The sheer magnitude of such platforms is intimidating, especially for new entrepreneurs, but it’s important to keep in mind that most people are always on the lookout for something new. For instance, did you know that 83% of Instagram users say they discover new products on the platform?

So yes, there is room for newcomers! However, in order to be successful, you need to understand how the platforms work, what the audience is looking for, and how to make your brand more visible.

All these and more can be done with the help of well-designed social media analytics software. Now, there are so many options out there (including each platform’s built-in analytics) that it can get confusing. To help you get right on track, here are a few tips to get started with the right foot forward.

Choose the Right Tools [Features to Look Out For]

A quick analysis of the best marketing analytics software on the market right now will show you that some of the most coveted features have to do with collaboration and centralization. You want a software tool that can bring together all your social media channels and campaigns in one place.

Also, you need a platform that allows you to make adjustments on the fly on each of the campaigns (based on well-tracked KPIs), and one that provides the right tools for your team as well.

You should also look for an analytics tool that provides awareness when it comes to what’s going on in your niche.

You want to know what’s going on with your own content and ads and those of your competitors. This goes beyond tracking various metrics and will let you know what content resonates well with the audience and the people and publications that are most likely to share your content.

When it comes to the competition, you should look for an analytics tool that can give you some insight into the type of content that works best for them and their marketing strategy. This information is extremely valuable as it allows you to learn from other people’s mistakes and successes.

Another feature to look out for is integration with Google Analytics (GA). This feature lets you see how much of your social media traffic actually translates into website visitors.

From here, you can blend the two analytics data and learn how many people who come from your social media campaigns become paying customers.

The competition data and integration with GA is not something the built-in analytics of social media platforms offer. So while these tools can be useful at first, if you want to market your business based on a holistic view of the market and your brand’s place in it.

Wrap Up

The main purpose of analytics software (regardless of the data it is analyzing) is to provide you with insight into your audience’s behavior and ways of thinking.

Social media analytics, when used correctly, can tell you what your target audiences care about, their preferences, and orientations (among others). Plus, since it comes from real sources, this information is a lot more accurate than any of your own observations of the market.