When is the last time you looked at your social media insights? Like really looked at them.
If your answer is over a week ago, then it’s time to look at them again. Tracking your insights can give you a snapshot of how people are connecting with your content.
So if you want to know if your social media is doing well, check your insights.
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all have ways for you to keep an eye on your data, so that you can go beyond looking at how each post is doing, and see how your profile is doing overall.
But if you opened up your insights and immediately feel lost, it might be because the terms sound complicated.
If you’re thinking, “What is reach anyway? What is the difference between engagement and reactions?” Then keep reading.
We put together a quick list of words you should know, what they mean, and how they all work together.
Metrics
This is the data that is being collected. Your metrics are straight facts.
Analytics
Analytics take metrics to the next level. This is when you look at the facts and analyze what got you to those numbers. Using your analytics, you can learn how to grow and sustain your numbers.
Reach
Reach indicates how many individual users have seen your content. Each user counts once regardless of how many times they’ve seen your post.
Impressions
Impressions = the total number of times your post has been seen. So if we look at your amazing cocktail recipe 10 times, we count as 10 impressions.
Reactions
Reactions are pretty straightforward. It’s when someone reacts to your post aka when they like, love, or favorite it.
Engagement
Like the name implies, engagement is when someone engages with your post. That includes reactions, comments, clicks, and shares.
THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER
Each of these insights can tell you a lot of information on its own. But more importantly, they work together to tell you a lot about how you’re reaching your audience.
Analyzing your metrics helps you to see what you are doing well, and where you can improve. Think critically as you analyze.
If you see a huge drop in your metrics from one week to another, it could be because you need to rethink your content strategy, but it could also be because the previous week was exceptionally high and now your numbers are leveling out.
Right now, the algorithm favors engagement. Higher engagement will help drive your reach. So when more people interact with your posts the social platforms will show your post to more people. The ripple effect is very real.One way to boost engagement? Add a call-to-action. Encourage your followers to engage with your content.
When your reach is higher, your impressions will almost always also be higher. Similarly, when you get more reactions, you’ll see higher engagement levels.
CHECK FOR YOURSELF
Knowing the terms and how they interact is the first step in stepping up your social media game. If these terms still confuse you, it might be time to hire a pro. Hint, hint. Send us an email and we can set up a consultation.