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Social Media Metrics that matter for Small Business
Social media can be a powerful tool for small businesses, but to make it work, you need to know what metrics to track, why they matter, and how to action the insights you gain from them.
What matters to you as a business will also change as you grow. For example, when starting out, you focus on getting engagement and reach. However, a more mature brand may well be focused on community, such as mentions, sentiment, and share of voice.
The following is a guide to help small business owners understand the most important social media metrics to track and how to use them to optimise for better results from your social media.
Understand the difference between tracking social media metrics for impact and metrics to optimise
Tracking impact
Calculating the return on investment (ROI) for social media is crucial for understanding the impact of your efforts. The formula is simple:
Social Media ROI = ((Value generated from social media – Costs of social media investment) / Costs) * 100
The value generated from social media can include increased sales, leads, conversions, or even cost savings due to effective engagement. On the flip side, the costs include everything from advertising budgets and content creation to employee salaries, software subscriptions, and other resources tied to your social strategy.
However, drawing a direct line between social media efforts and business growth isn't always straightforward.
Proxies like engagement (likes, comments, shares) and awareness (reach, impressions) are often used to show progress, as they indicate the initial steps toward your conversion goals.
By tracking these metrics and aligning them with your overall business objectives, you can better assess the true impact of your social media strategy and use the metrics to understand what's working and what's not.
Tracking social media metrics to optimise and improve
When optimising your social media for improvement, the focus shifts from simply tracking success to actively improving how your content drives engagement you're your audience.
Key metrics for optimisation include engagement rate, which measures how well your content connects with users based on the interactions it receives, such as likes, comments, shares, and saves.
A low engagement rate indicates that your content is not performing well, signalling the need to adjust messaging, visuals, or timing.
Another critical metric for optimisation is the click-through rate (CTR), which reveals how effectively your posts or ads drive traffic to a landing page or website.
If CTR is low, it's a sign that your call-to-action (CTA) or content format isn't compelling enough, prompting you to experiment with stronger CTAs, more engaging visuals, or a better alignment between the post and the destination.
Lastly, metrics like audience retention or average watch time on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Stories help you understand whether your content keeps users engaged.
High drop-off rates suggest your content needs to be more captivating or aligned with audience interests.
Customer and community metrics
Tracking customer satisfaction, community, and brand sentiment on social media goes beyond traditional metrics like clicks and likes — it focuses on what your audience think about your business.
Customer satisfaction can be gauged through metrics like sentiment analysis, which examines the tone of comments, reviews, and direct messages.
Positive sentiment means your audience is happy with your brand. At the same time, negative feedback highlights areas needing improvement, from product quality to customer service.
Monitoring the depth of interaction among your followers can help you build and maintain a community.
High levels of engagement, such as meaningful comments, user-generated content, and active participation in conversations or polls, indicate a strong sense of community.
Meanwhile, brand awareness and loyalty can be tracked through mentions, shares, and the growth of branded hashtags, reflecting how often people talk about your brand and recommend it to others.
Developing your own social media measurement plan
Every business is different and will have different social media metrics that are relevant to it. You should choose the metrics that will provide you with the insights you need to help drive improvement and understand what's working towards your goals, e.g., building an email list and driving sales.
The following provides a list of metrics to help you identify what to measure for your business and how you would use the metrics.
- Engagement Rate
What to Track:
Likes, comments, shares, video watches, clicks, and overall interactions per post are divided by your total followers or reach.
Why It Matters:
Engagement Rate shows how well your content connects with your audience. High engagement shows that your content is resonating with the audience, which can help build retention, followers and increase organic reach.
Questions to Ask:
- Are my posts generating conversations?
- What types of content get the most interactions?
- Are there certain days or times when engagement is higher?
Action Steps:
- Focus on creating more content that mimics your high-engagement posts.
- Test different content formats (videos, infographics, stories) to see what drives the most interaction.
- Experiment with posting times and use the insights to schedule when your audience is most active.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR)
What to Track:
The percentage of people who click on your link after seeing your post or ad.
Why It Matters:
CTR is a direct measure of how compelling your call to action is. It shows whether your audience is motivated to learn more, visit your website, or sign up for an offer.
Questions to Ask:
- Are my headlines and CTAs clear and compelling?
- Which posts or ads have the highest CTR?
- Are there patterns in the content that drive more clicks?
Action Steps:
Refine your call-to-action by testing different phrases, such as "Learn More" vs. "Shop Now."
- Test different attention-grabbing visuals and headlines to draw clicks.
- Test different landing pages to ensure a seamless user experience once someone clicks through.
- Conversion Rate
What to Track:
The percentage of visitors who take a desired action, like purchasing or signing up for a newsletter.
Why It Matters:
Conversion Rate connects your social media efforts directly to your business outcomes. It's not just about getting traffic; it's about turning that traffic into paying customers or valuable leads.
Questions to Ask:
- What content (posts or ads) are driving the most conversions?
- Are there specific offers or products that convert better than others?
- Are my landing pages optimised for conversions?
Action Steps:
- Simplify the conversion process with clear instructions or easy-to-use forms.
- Use retargeting ads to re-engage visitors who didn't convert the first time.
- A/B test your landing pages, headlines, and CTAs to see what drives the most conversions.
- Reach
What to Track:
The total number of unique users who see your content.
Why It Matters:
Reach helps you understand your content's visibility. If your reach is low, your audience may not see your posts, which can significantly impact engagement and conversions.
Questions to Ask:
- Is my reach growing or declining over time?
- What types of content have the broadest reach?
- Am I using the right hashtags and keywords?
Action Steps:
- Use hashtags, keywords, and tagging strategies to boost reach.
- Collaborate with influencers or other businesses to tap into their audiences.
- Promote high-performing content to expand its reach further.
- Follower Growth Rate
What to Track:
The rate at which your social media following is growing.
Why It Matters:
A growing follower base indicates your brand or account is gaining traction. It's a great indicator of long-term growth potential and audience interest.
Questions to Ask:
- What's driving new followers? Specific content, promotions, or collaborations?
- Are there periods where growth is stagnant or declining?
- How do my follower demographics align with my target audience?
Action Steps:
- Run follower growth campaigns, such as giveaways or special promotions.
- Regularly review your audience demographics to ensure you're attracting the right people.
- Engage with followers through comments, direct messages, and interactive posts like polls.
Metrics across the different social media platforms
The above are 'general' key metrics applicable to most or not all the platforms.
However, each platform will have specific metrics based on the format of the content that you can use on each platform. The following provides a handy list to understand what else you might review for optimisation purposes.
Facebook Metrics
- Reach: The number of unique users who see your content.
Use it to understand the overall visibility of your posts and how well you are penetrating your audience. - Impressions: Total number of times your content was viewed, including multiple views by the same person.
Track to see how often your content is being seen. High impressions with low reach may indicate repeat views. - Engagement: Total interactions (likes, comments, shares, clicks).
Measure content effectiveness and audience interaction. Higher engagement means stronger connections. - Engagement Rate: Engagement divided by reach.
Assess content resonance. A low rate suggests the content isn't resonating with viewers. - Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of people who clicked on a link after seeing your post.
Use to assess how compelling your CTAs are and if they drive traffic to your site. - Page Likes/Follows: Number of people who liked or followed your page.
Track growth and interest over time, especially after specific campaigns. - Video Views: The number of times your video content was viewed (includes 3-second views).
Gauge how engaging video content is and optimise video strategy accordingly. - Messaging: The number of conversations started.
Use this as a signal of interest if relevant to your business.
Visit Facebook Insights
Instagram Metrics
- Reach: Unique accounts that saw your post or story.
Use it to evaluate content visibility and whether your audience is expanding. - Impressions: The number of times your content was shown to users.
Measure the frequency of content views. - Profile Visits: The number of people who visited your profile after seeing your content.
- Indicates interest and potential to convert followers.
Engagement Rate: Total interactions (likes, comments, shares, saves) divided by reach.
Helps assess how engaging your posts are.
- Saves: Number of times users saved your post.
Shows the value of your content and its relevance for future reference. - Story and Reel Views: Number of times this content was viewed.
Track to understand the engagement level of time-sensitive content.
- Follower Growth: Increase or decrease in followers over time.
Use it to track your audience growth after specific posts or campaigns. - Interactions: The total number of actions users took, including likes, comments, shares, and profile visits.
Measure overall content engagement.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of users who clicked links in your bio, stories, or ads.
Helps determine the effectiveness of driving traffic to external content.
LinkedIn Metrics
- Impressions: Number of times your content was shown to users.
Track the visibility of posts and articles. - Engagement: Includes likes, comments, and shares.
Use it to measure how much your content resonates with professionals. - Follower Growth: How many new followers has your page gained over time?
Track to measure audience growth. - Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of users who clicked on links in your posts or ads.
Evaluate the effectiveness of your calls to action. - Video Views: The number of views for video content.
Use to assess the engagement level of video posts. - Post Clicks: The number of times users clicked on your post (including images, links, and profiles).
Helps gauge interest beyond likes and comments. - Engagement Rate: Interactions divided by impressions.
Assess how your content resonates with the LinkedIn professional community. - Profile Visits: The number of people who visited your profile after seeing your content.
Indicates interest and potential to convert followers.
View LinkedIn Insights
Pinterest Metrics
- Impressions: The number of times your pins were shown to users.
Track how often your pins appear in searches or feeds. - Engagements: Includes saves, clicks, and closeups on a pin.
Measure how much your pins encourage interaction. - Saves: Number of times users saved your pin to their boards.
Shows which content is valuable for future reference. - Pin Clicks: Number of clicks on a pin to view it in closeup.
Helps understand which visuals capture attention. - Outbound Clicks: Number of times users clicked on a link to visit your site from Pinterest.
Use to track website traffic driven by Pinterest. - Engagement Rate: Engagements divided by impressions.
Measure the percentage of interactions relative to views. - Audience Growth: The number of people who started following your account.
Track to see how your audience is growing over time. - Top Pins: The pins with the highest engagement or impressions.
Use it to identify content that resonates best with your audience.
Visit Pinterest Analytics
Threads Metrics (This is still a developing platform, so key metrics might evolve)
- Replies: Number of responses to your thread.
Measure engagement and audience interaction. - Likes: Number of likes on a thread.
Use it to track the popularity of your content. - Reshares: The number of times users shared your thread.
Track how often your content is being spread to new audiences. - Followers: Number of people following your profile.
Measure audience growth and interest. - Thread Views: Number of views on a specific thread.
Track the reach and visibility of your content.
View Insights in the Threads app
TikTok Metrics
- Video Views: Number of times your video was viewed.
Use to track how engaging your content is based on view count. - Profile Views: Number of users who visited your profile.
Indicates user interest after viewing your content. - Followers Growth: Increase or decrease in followers over time.
Measure audience growth, especially after viral content. - Engagement: Total likes, comments, shares, and saves on a video.
Track overall engagement to measure content performance. - Average Watch Time: How long users watch your video before scrolling.
Use to assess content retention and tweak videos for better engagement. - Completion Rate: Percentage of users who watched your video until the end.
Indicates how engaging your video is—higher completion rates often mean better content. - Hashtag Performance: Engagement and views generated through specific hashtags.
Helps optimise hashtag strategy for visibility. - Traffic Source Types: Where your video traffic comes from (e.g., For You Page, profile, or hashtags).
Analyse where your views originate to optimise future content for the right audience. - Shares: How many times has your video been shared by users?
Indicates content is resonating enough to be passed along.
View Insights in the Threads app
Taking Action on Social Media Metrics
Tracking social media metrics is essential, but the real power lies in what you do with the data. Use these key questions to dig deeper into your performance and make adjustments to improve over time. Focusing on these actionable steps allows you to optimise your social media strategy to drive better results for your small business.
