Applause Metrics: What to Do Beyond Measuring Social Media Followers

Likes, Pluses, and Retweets.

These social media metrics are a standard in the major programs, such as Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook. But these can also hinder analytic capability when businesses over focus on them.

It is easy to brag about how many retweets your blog posts receives or how many people begin to follow you. Volume Metrics = Ego Metrics = Vanity Metrics.

But simple volume numbers do not connect meaningful online activity to your business objective. The best experts who run blogs and media sites are concerned about segments of traffic, how well their posts are being exposed to their audience. Think of it another way; You want analysis that reflects closely to your intended audience or site goals.

So seek to develop measurement rates that permit useful comparisons that can guide your social media usage meaningfully. The comparison can be a rate or from an intended audience for a product or services.  For example:

• percent of likes from a specific region in which your business is choosing to operate
• likes from women if your products and services are meant for female consumers

Web analytic tools such as Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, and Piwik can provide a number of reporting options that can be arranged to enhance your business objectives. The end result should be a dashboard that helps indicate more than volume metrics.

In short, treat your metrics like a KPI when plausible. For learning about how to select a KPI, take a look at this Zimana blogpost for KPI starter ideas.