How can you measure social media success without vanity metrics?

1 Define your goals

The first step to measure social media success without vanity metrics is to define your goals clearly and realistically. What are you trying to achieve with your social media presence? How do you want to influence your audience's behavior or perception? How do these goals support your overall business strategy? Depending on your answers, you might have different types of goals, such as brand awareness, lead generation, customer service, or community building. Each goal should have a specific and measurable outcome that you can track over time.

2 Choose your metrics

The next step is to choose the metrics that best reflect your goals and show how your social media efforts are contributing to them. These metrics should be relevant, reliable, and actionable, meaning that they help you understand your performance, identify areas of improvement, and make informed decisions. For example, if your goal is to generate leads, you might want to measure metrics such as click-through rate, landing page visits, form submissions, or email sign-ups. If your goal is to improve customer service, you might want to measure metrics such as response time, resolution rate, customer satisfaction, or retention rate.

3 Set your benchmarks

The third step is to set your benchmarks or standards of comparison for your metrics. Benchmarks help you evaluate your progress and performance against your own expectations, your competitors, or your industry. You can use historical data, competitor analysis, or industry reports to establish your benchmarks and see how you stack up. For example, if your benchmark for click-through rate is 3%, and you achieve 4%, you can celebrate your success and analyze what worked well. If you achieve 2%, you can identify the gaps and optimize your strategy.

4 Analyze and optimize

The final step is to analyze and optimize your results based on your metrics and benchmarks. You should monitor and report your metrics regularly, using tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, or Sprout Social. You should also look for patterns, trends, and insights that can help you understand what's working and what's not, and why. Based on your analysis, you should optimize your social media strategy by testing new ideas, adjusting your tactics, or refining your goals. You should also communicate your findings and recommendations to your stakeholders and team members.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?