I've been asked this question multiple times in recent months; what are Social Media Key Performance Indicators? And here is my answer. What are your success factors on Social Media besides selling a product? Tell me what your company wants to accomplish and I'll explain how to measure KPI's. This is a common problem with companies and small businesses. They're using Social Media for all the wrong reason and that is why they can't come up with measurable KPI's.
Success Factors
Match your success factors to an actual metrics and behaviors that you can measure using KPI's. For Example, if you're trying to measure engagement, then what is the KPI you want to track? Is it comments, likes, retweets, shares, or clicks? Try these few KPI suggestions based on common Social Media success factors.
- If you want measure brand awareness, a couple of KPI's to measure such as reach, and exposure. Who's receiving your message and far is it spreading?
- If you want brand engagement, look at retweets, comments, replies, shares, and likes. How often are people participating or talking about?
- Do you want more traffic to a website, track URL shares, clicks, and conversions? Are people from social media going to external site and what do they do when they're on the website?
- Is your goal to increase brand voice or popularity, then track your competition. How is your social conversation around your industry or product about your brand?
So, my long answers to a short question; what are Social Media KPI's? Come up with measurable success factors and you'll be able to measure your social media success using KPI's.