Social media analytics on a budget

So you’ve set up your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. You’re pumping out content, interacting with other users and have even come up with a strategy.

But are you actually accomplishing anything?

Many brands aren’t exactly succeeding on social media; they’re just kind of existing. However, the brands that truly profit from their social media efforts all have one thing in common: they measure their success and make adjustments when necessary. After all, the ability to closely measure progress and failures is what sets social media marketing apart from traditional marketing practices.

If you want to escape from a meaningless social media existence and start making real progress, check out our tips for budget-friendly social media analytics below.

 

Budget friendly social media analytics:

Google Analytics

Social media is often used by organizations to attract audiences to their websites, which is where the real conversions happen (welcome to the hub-and-spoke marketing model). While Google Analytics focuses on website metrics, it also provides invaluable (yet free) insights into whether or not your social media efforts are actually boosting your website’s traffic and engagement.

Analytics include:

• Traffic acquisition sources
• Traffic levels
• Conversion rate
• Visitor behaviour

 

Facebook Insights

At this point, basically everyone has a Facebook page, which means that users are bombarded with more content than they know what to do with. Make sure your content is making the intended impact by monitoring your Facebook page’s reach, engagement and more with this free tool.

Insights include:

• Page likes
• Page visits
• Post reach
• Video views
• Fans
• People reached
• People engaged

 

Twitter Analytics

Twitter can be a powerful tool for businesses who want to connect with audience and share key messages, but only if those audiences are actively engaged. Do your digital strategy a favour by monitoring your Twitter stats with this free-of-charge tool.

Analytics include:

• Impressions
• Profile visits
• Followers
• Tweet highlights

 

Instagram Insights

Which of your photos are like-worthy? Do people even care about your Instagram Stories? Instagram’s free analytics tool (for business accounts) lets you glean insights into your audience’s preferences and mindset. Try experimenting with different kinds of posts and then examine Insights to see what’s working and what’s not.

Insights include:

• Impressions
• Reach
• Link clicks
• Profile views
• Followers
• Likes
• Comments
• Saves

 

YouTube Analytics

Like the rest of the major social media platforms, YouTube also provides its content creators with stats on their reach and engagement. Which of your videos are getting the most views and shares? Look for similarities and patterns within these pieces of content, then use that data to make even more videos that resonate with your audience.

Analytics include:

• Views
• Watch time
• Top 10 videos
• Top geographies
• Traffic sources
• Subscribers
• Likes and dislikes
• Comments

 

Once you’ve gathered your stats, you need to know what to do with them. Check out our previous posts on the four key indicators of social media success and the five metrics that will make or break your digital strategy.