Social media channels can be an effective way of expanding your business’s reach and sales potential if you can properly manage them. Companies want to capitalize on the benefits of social media, but many do not have the systems in place to fully realize their goals. Without an effective social media monitoring platforms, you will never understand what you need to do to make your social media channels more successful. Here is what you need to know about social media analytics and the tools used to master them.
What is Social Media Analytics?
Before we dig into the best social media analytics tools, let’s look at social media analytics in general. Social media analytics is a form of measuring the performance of social media channels so that you can determine which strategies are working and which strategies are not. By knowing what works, you can develop social media content that is targeted at the goals that you want to achieve.
Social media analytics consists of key data points that you can use to measure performance. For social media accounts, some of the key performance indicators (KPIs) you should measure include:
- Engagement: How many people are interacting with your accounts.
- Brand/Audience Reach: How many people are seeing your accounts and from where.
- Lead Generation: How many people who see your account follow through with other steps.
- Customer Acquisitions/Sales: How many people that see your accounts become customers.
- Impressions: How many individual views your accounts have on a periodic basis.
- Audience size: How many people follow your accounts.
- Audience growth rate: How fast your audience is growing.
Each of these metrics shows a different aspect of your social media channel’s performance. It is important to measure them on a regular basis so that you can track changes in performance alongside changes in content and other areas. Diligent research and analytics can help you find the thing that makes your company stand out and become a leader for customers.
Hootsuite Analytics
One of the most well-known social media analytics tools, Hootsuite Analytics has a well-earned place at the top of the list. It is a robust platform that gives you countless options to measure analytics. Although it is a paid tool, the number of resources and the ease-of-use that you get in return justify the price.
Hootsuite is a great choice for anyone that has multiple social media channels to manage. It integrates with nearly every platform and can pull analytics into one interface to make it easy to see what is happening across all channels. The amount of information that it can collect is astonishing, giving a comprehensive picture of your performance despite which platform you are using. You can also compare the different networks to see which one’s perform well and why. Plus, you get access to customization features, so you can develop your own reports and analyses.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is also a well-known analytics platform, and many companies of all sizes rely on it to see how their social media channels are performing. Google Analytics provides a wider platform than Hootsuite and focuses on a comprehensive system. Company sales funnels usually start with social media channels and filter down to the company’s website or similar assets to handle sales. Google Analytics can be installed on multiple parts of the sales funnel, including social media channels and websites, so that you can track customer follow-through in multiple parts of the process.
One of the biggest benefits that Google Analytics has over other options is that it is free. That is a considerable advantage for any company of any size. On top of that, it is compatible with most web-based applications. You can use it to refine multiple parts of your company’s sales operation through customized sales campaigns using Google’s resources to improve overall lead generation.
Brandwatch
Social media analytics platforms tend to be large, robust systems. Smaller companies may struggle to implement them successfully. Sometimes, a lighter option is needed for smaller companies. Brandwatch is a smaller, lighter option the some of the other leading systems. However, it is just as powerful.
Brandwatch focuses on fewer performance metrics, but it does give the option of choosing a template of metrics to analyze. You can still tailor the system to show you what you need to know, but with less effort than other systems.
Brandwatch is one of the best social media analytics software options that you can choose because it can be expanded as you grow and your needs change. It can integrate with Google Analytics and Hootsuite for expanded functionality based on your needs. Few of the other leading options are able to do that, making Brandwatch unique among the leading social media analytics tools.
Postoplan
Postoplan is another social media analytics tool, which you can use to manage your entire social media strategy. This tool helps you track analytics, statistics, and metrics for your accounts in real-time and supplies you with tips on improving the performance of your social accounts. Postoplan integrates with the most popular social media networks, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also use it for Messengers, such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Slack. On top of that, there is an option to create an entire content calendar - Postoplan already has pre-set post ideas and a content library for you.
Get Help with Social Media Analytics
Social media analytics can be tough when you are just starting to get into it. Fortunately, we can help you with that. At KitelyTech, we have an experienced team of social media specialists who can help you choose the right social media analytics tools, set them up, and monitor your channels monthly. Give us a call at (800) 274 2908 to schedule a consultation with our social media team.
