what kpis should you be watching, really?

Simply put, Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, are how you track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and campaigns. They can help you get a sense of what strategies and tactics are most effective, and ultimately where you get your best ROI (return on investment).

Not all social media KPIs are of equal importance, however, and your specific goals dictate the KPIs that are most important for you to track.

If you are concentrating on getting sales before establishing brand awareness, you will have some tough luck. On the other hand, measuring conversions on a brand awareness based campaign will lead you astray.

Top of Funnel (TOF) example goal: grow following

At the top of your conversion funnel, you’re focusing on brand awareness and reaching people who are seeing your brand and content for the very first time.

Concentrate on getting your content in front of as many people who fit your ideal target audience as possible. For a TOF goal like follower growth, keep an eye on the following metrics:

by Hunter Hoopes and Jessie Hoyng

• follower count (shocker, right?)

• reach

• impressions

In this stage, just focus on getting your content in front of as many relevant eyes as possible!

Middle of Funnel (MOF) example goal: increase engagements

As your followers begin to move into the MOF zone, you’ll begin developing a closer relationship with your audience. This will lead to individuals connecting with your brand, which you’ll see in the form of reactions, comments, shares, saves, sends, and clicks.

Key metrics to watch when increasing engagements include:

• reach

• engagements

• engagement rate

When we talk about social engagement, it’s easy to only think about inbound engagement (e.g., comments, shares, messages, etc.). But to intentionally increase your engagement rate, develop an outbound engagement strategy in which you genuinely connect with your audience to establish trust for your brand. This means commenting on others’ content, sending strategic DMs, etc. from your brand account. As initial trust is established and your connection is deepened, your followers will move from being just aware of your brand to taking an active interest in your brand.

Bottom of Funnel (BOF) example goal: drive conversions

Finally, after providing your followers with interesting content, initiating conversations, and building trust through engagement, your audience will move towards the bottom of the funnel - a.k.a., conversion time. Watch the following KPIs at the bottom of the conversion funnel:

• clicks

• purchases

• web traffic from social

Keeping a close watch on the right KPIs will help you measure your success, adjust your strategy, and plan for future content and campaigns.