Social media is not just cool content, beautiful photos, and a way to “kill time.” Today, it is also a powerful tool for business development. However, when using this tool for commercial purposes, it is important to know what points to pay attention to so as not to waste money. And here KPIs – key performance indicators – come to the rescue. In this article, we will tell you which KPIs are important in SMM, how to set and evaluate them correctly. We will consider how to distinguish useful numbers from unnecessary ones and how to use them wisely to grow your business (for example, why it is more important to pay attention not to the number of subscribers, but to their activity on the social network). You will also learn how to monitor the work of contractors and choose KPIs that really work.
What are KPI in SMM?
KPIs in SMM (key performance indicators) are numerical data that allow you to assess how effectively you manage to promote your business online and how successfully you are moving towards your goals. We can say that this is a GPS for your marketing strategies and campaigns on social networks. For example, you saw that the number of subscribers has increased, or that more applications have come through social networks. These are not only nice numbers, but also an indicator that you are moving in the right direction. These numbers and graphs can also tell you where something is going wrong in the company. If, say, customers are leaving at the last stage of the purchase, perhaps the problem is not in your content on Instagram, but in the work of the sales department.
KPIs that we take in Google Analytics
Key performance indicators of the site depend on its goals. For example, an online store will have more KPIs than a corporate site or landing page. Let’s consider the main 5 KPIs that we take in Google Analytics:
Site traffic dynamics
This KPI shows how many people visit your site and how they interact with it. It helps to understand:
- Is your advertising and marketing working effectively?
- What are your visitors interested in?
- How do factors affect site traffic?
- Is your visitors’ interest in your product or brand increasing or decreasing?
Thanks to Google Analytics tools, this KPI will help you find out not only how many people are visiting your site, but also where they came from, how much time they spent there, and what they were interested in.
Keyword visibility
It shows how well your site’s pages are “visible” in searches for important queries. This KPI is very useful for understanding which queries bring your site’s pages to the top of search engines, as well as for assessing average positions and click-through rates (CTR). The higher your site is in search results, the more likely it is that people will see and visit it.
Conversion rate
This indicator helps you understand what percentage of your site’s visitors take targeted actions (place an order, buy a product).
Traffic sources
This KPI allows you to find out where visitors come to your site from, how effective your email newsletters and social media promotion are, and whether conversion and goal achievement differ between promotion channels. In addition, traffic analysis reveals hidden methods of attracting visitors (for example, it is quite possible that your site receives a lot of visitors from social networks without specific marketing efforts).
ROI (return on investment)
This indicator helps to assess how effectively investments in social networks are converted into profit. In the context of SEO, you should be aware that in the first few months after launch, ROI will be negative, but after about 5-6 months of activity, this KPI will start to grow.
More details about metrics and KPI analysis can be found in the guide here. In the meantime, let’s get acquainted with the key indicators in social networks.
Types of KPIs and Their Metrics
Number of followers and subscribers
This is an important indicator, because it shows that people like what you publish. For example, an increase in subscribers from 1000 to 1500 in a quarter means a growth of as much as 50%. However, you should not chase the number of subscribers alone. If you use giveaways and similar things to gain an audience, this can lead to the fact that you will have a whole bunch of inactive subscribers. They will not like and comment on your posts, and this will not help you increase sales. Additionally, Instagram and Facebook may notice that you have a lot of inactive followers and reduce your reach (reduce the visibility of your posts). So, the number of followers is not the only thing you should pay attention to. It is important to focus on attracting and retaining an interested audience that will actively interact with your content.
Quality of Followers
The quality of followers is their activity and engagement. It is better to have 1,000 followers who actively interact with your content than 10,000 silent (or even fake) observers. After all, active followers are more likely to like, comment on posts and repost them. Also, followers who match the profile of your ideal customer are more likely to make purchases. In addition, a quality audience increases trust in your brand.
Number of Unfollows
In SMM, it is important not only to attract new followers, but also to do everything possible to prevent existing subscribers from unfollowing. Therefore, this KPI helps to assess how well the content meets or does not meet the expectations and interests of your subscribers.
Views
This indicator shows how many times your publication was viewed. This metric helps to assess the overall interest in the content.
Clicks and transitions from posts to the site
This is a key indicator that reflects the effectiveness of content. Clicks and transitions from posts to the site not only increase traffic to the site, contributing to increased sales and brand awareness, but also affect the number of potential conversions, which is very important for business development.
Number of Applications
The number of appeals or requests from potential customers who come to the site through your social media channels helps to assess how successfully your content attracts attention and motivates the audience to act. That is, it is a direct indicator of your target audience’s interest in your products or services. The more applications you have, the more opportunities you have for sales and business development.
Application Cost KPI
This KPI is important for assessing the effectiveness of using the advertising budget in attracting potential customers. It is calculated as the amount spent on advertising in social networks, divided by the number of applications received. This metric helps determine whether there is a need to increase/decrease investments in specific advertising campaigns. This indicator also allows you to compare different social platforms in order to identify the most effective channels for attracting customers at the minimum cost.
Click Cost KPI
This key indicator of the effectiveness of the advertising budget shows how much you pay for each click on your ad. It helps you control the budget, evaluate the effectiveness of advertising for the target audience and optimize advertising campaigns (adjust creatives, set up target audiences, etc).
