When people talk about social media marketing, you tend to hear a lot about “vanity metrics.” These are things that look impressive on paper, but that aren't really directly tied to your bottom line.
For example, having 100,000 followers on Instagram looks awesome on the surface.
But if those followers aren't really people who'd be all that interested in your brand, and they're not going to convert, you may as well not have them at all.
But despite all the talk of “vanity metrics,” and all the cautionary advice about not getting too tied up in things that don't matter, things like followers and likes on social media actually can be something that has a real impact on your business.
When someone likes your Instagram post or Facebook post, it doesn't put money in the bank directly. But, likes and follows can provide valuable insights that you can use to hone your advertising and marketing strategies.
That's something that can affect your bottom line.
A recent article from Hootsuite explains how you can get the most out of these so-called “vanity metrics.” While their advice tends to be geared toward larger organizations, there are still some great takeaways for solopreneurs.
Use them to spend smarter on social ads
Use metrics such as likes, comments, and shares as indications of where (and how) you should be spending your social advertising budget. There are two ways to take advantage of what these metrics have to offer:
1. Boost high-performing organic posts
Likes, comments, retweets, and shares indicate that content is resonating with your audience. Capitalize on that momentum by boosting these posts, and you’ll be able to extend the reach of that content even further without breaking the bank.
Since these posts have already garnered engagement they have an element of social proof, which may entice more people to like, click, comment, and share. With Hootsuite Ads, you can use pre-set performance triggers to automatically boost budgets on high performing posts.
2. Make data-driven decisions for your next ad campaign
These metrics can also help inform your future ad spends. Create campaigns that mimic your highest performing organic posts or run a campaign that re-targets people who have previously interacted with your content.
Connect them to business objectives
As outlined in our guide to social ROI, your objectives for social media should align with real business goals. Here are a few examples:
- Business conversions: Our objective is to provide our sales team with high-quality leads through social media.
- Brand awareness: Our objective is to increase awareness of our new product before it launches and take attention away from our competitors.
- Customer experience: Our objective is to turn our customers into loyal brand advocates by improving customer service.
You can read more about social media metrics over at Hootsuite.
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