This week in Dr. Freberg’s social media class we have been discussing social media research and data analytics. I hate math probably more than anyone (I switched out of a business major to get away from math), but I happen to love social media data analytics. For the first time ever, I can see how the numbers actually matter. Look at the cool info Pew Research compiled from the numbers.
A lot of math involves solving some weird algebraic theorem that has no effect on the overall scheme of life. On the other hand, social media metrics help us find new trends, increase revenue and build brand awareness. Social media campaigns are lovely, but your employer could care less how creative you are if you can’t translate your campaign into measurable growth.
Here are some important measurements to keep in mind!
Audience Growth Rate: It’s important to know whether you are better off today than you were yesterday. This measurement involves comparing your current audience to your audience in the past. So if you had 500 followers last month and this month you have 600 followers, that means you have a 20% audience growth rate. This number can be used as a stepping stone for future audience growth goals.
Average Engagement Rate: This is where you breakdown the engagement with your audience. How often is an individual posting compared to the rest of your audience? It’s vital to understand what causes these differences as well. Always listen to what your audience has to say.
Response Rates: How fast do you get back to people? Before taking this class I never even considered how essential time is in social media. Time is of the essence and brands are waiting like hawks to swoop in and steal your shine. It’s important to treat your audience like you would a friend. Be timely, polite and resourceful.
Inbound links: Links work like a spider web on the internet. This measurement lets you know who is helping you expand your spider web. Inbound links shows the number of sites linking back to yours. You should show a lot of gratitude to the people sharing your links!
What about formula’s?
There are tons of formulas at our disposal, but here are some must know ones.
Share of voice = Brand mentions / total mentions from all competitors. Share of voice lets you know how you stack up against the competition. Every great fighter knows that you must study your opponents to become a true master!
Audience Engagement = Comments + Shares + Trackbacks / Total Views. This measurement helps you understand how your content is resonating with your audience. Be aware of what content drives the most engagement!
Conversation Reach = Total People Participating / Total Audience Exposure. Conversation reach is not about size, it’s about participation and involvement.
Active Advocates = # of Active Users within past 30 days / Total Advocates. Is it smart for a gym to expand its reach, but not monitor its active users? Absolutely not! In the case of a gym, active users provide feedback on equipment needs. People hop on and off brands like they do gym memberships in January. Always know what your active audience has to say because usually they are your most loyal clientele.
There are numerous measurement tools available on he web, but you must negotiate your way through all the fluff tools. Here is a resourceful article by Sprout Social on some of the best measurement tools to check out.
If you take away anything from this post, remember the 3 wise men of social media measurement tools. Everyone should know the basics! Reach = size of audience, Engagement = total number of likes, shares, comments, etc… and Impressions = how many people saw your post.
I know I did not list every tool or formula available for social media data analytics, but my Professor Karen Freberg shared the metric holy grail with us today. I hope I sparked an intrigue in you to find out more! If you love fun data, I urge you to follow @chriskerns on Twitter. Read Chris Kerns book Trendology and go get a leg up on competition! It’s amazing to witness the amount of brands/companys that lack a social media presence on a particular platform. If you can master data analytics, you can easily create your own career. Go out there and use the numbers to your advantage!
Bobby Alan Brown 