5 tips for getting started with social media analytics

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Examining social media analytics can be an intimidating task for anyone who first attempts to look over them. It’s almost like navigating through a vast, dark forest. However it’s important to understand how to interpret and use data to help get a grasp on how to better communicate and satisfy your publics.

To help you navigate through the world here are my five tips for getting started with social media analytics.

  1. Establish Goal

Before you can begin looking at any analytics, you need to establish goals for your social media campaign. In other words, what are you looking to achieve through social media?

A goal can be as simple as increasing brand awareness or increasing visitors to your website. Having a clear goal will help you get started on understanding which social media metrics are important to your overall goal.

  1. Establish a potential strategy

Brainstorm a potential social media strategy that will help you achieve your goal. I use the word ‘potential’ because after looking through your analytics you might find information that could inspire a different, or improved, strategy.

Your initial strategy will help you pinpoint what metrics you need to measure or examine. One common strategy is to create a posting schedule that follows a consistent posting pattern. To create an effective posting schedule you need to examine the number of impressions and reach your posts are receiving and what days seem to be the most effective.

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  1. Research analytic tools

Social media platforms all have numerous analytical tools you can use, however, not all tools are built the same. Facebook and Twitter offer their own free social media analytics tools that present great information. But for other social media platforms you will have to rely on third party apps and websites, that might cost money, to gather analytics.

It’s important to research these tools and make sure they offer the information you will need to carry out your strategy.

  1. Gather and organize data

Once you have chosen which tool to use and have the information in front of you, it’s time to organize this information based on the metrics and measures that will help you achieve your goal and carry out your strategy. I highly recommend organizing or exporting your data into Excel spreadsheets.

  1. Conclude and rethink strategy

After looking over your data, write up a report of key findings and things you didn’t expect to find.  Also, reevaluate your initial strategy and see if you can improve with your new set of data or maybe even create a different strategy.

I hope my five tips have offered you direction on your social media analytics examining path. This can be a timely and intimidating task, but if you get through it, you will find great information that will help your overall communication plan.

by Alan Cuevas, assistant account executive