Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and that includes analyzing the data that will tell you what you’re not doing right. It’s not enough just to gather data from your social media platforms, the data needs to be actionable and affect your social strategy.

There are three social media metrics that should always be viewed, understood and optimized for, regardless of social channel. These metrics provide the most meaningful data that will tell you how your posts are performing.

1. Engagement

If a tree falls in the forest and no one heard it, did it make a sound? Engagements include likes, shares and comments on a post. If your content is falling on deaf ears, there can be a variety of optimizations to make, but the first place to look is the content itself. Is your content educational, inspiring, thought-provoking, or connected to a trending topic?

2. Clicks

If your post has a call-to-action and includes a link to additional content or an events page, what is the click-through rate? Optimizing around click-through could be as simple as making your call-to-action stronger, and your sell a little harder.

3. Sharing

This can mean different things to different readers. Did people share it directly from your post, or maybe they mentioned it at a later date?  As you work to establish your organization as a group of subject-matter experts, pay attention to if people are latching on to what you’re posting.

Like the Facebook News Feed algorithm, there is no exact formula for executing social media perfectly. It is a game of trial and error to find your sweet spot. Once in that sweet spot, you’ll hang on to a good organic reach and high engagement just in time to be knocked down again for no apparent reason. The goal of social media is not just eyes, but action. 

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