Cebu Gyud regularly reaches out to local business owners in Cebu. As we engage in conversations with them we constantly hear questions about 'metrics'. Impressions, reach, likes, shares, followers... the list goes on.
But what metrics are truly important? And which ones can be deceiving?
Vanity metrics are statistics that look good on the surface, but don't necessarily translate to meaningful business results. Examples of vanity metrics include follower count, likes, and comments. While these numbers can offer a quick ego boost, the truth is, they often fail to reflect the true engagement and influence of your brand on your business's bottom line.
So, why are vanity metrics important? There are a few reasons. First, they can be used to track your progress over time and see if your social media strategy is working. Second, they can be used to compare your performance to that of your competitors. Third, they can be used to identify areas where you need to improve.
However, it's important to remember that vanity metrics can also be deceiving. For example, it's easy to buy followers or likes. And just because a post has a lot of likes doesn't mean that people are actually interested in what you have to say.
To avoid being deceived by vanity metrics, it's important to focus on engagement metrics. Engagement metrics measure how your audience is interacting with your content. Examples of engagement metrics include click-through rate, comment rate, and share rate.
Engagement metrics are more important than vanity metrics because they give you a better indication of whether your audience is actually interested in what you have to say. And when your audience is engaged, they're more likely to take action, such as visiting your website or making a purchase.
So, how can you use vanity metrics effectively? Here are a few tips:
Track your progress over time. This will help you see if your social media strategy is working and identify areas where you need to improve.
Compare your performance to that of your competitors. This can help you see how you're stacking up and identify areas where you need to catch up.
Use vanity metrics to identify trends. For example, if you notice that a certain type of content is getting a lot of likes, you can create more content of that type.
Use vanity metrics to test and improve your campaigns. For example, if you're running a social media ad campaign, you can use vanity metrics to see which ads are performing the best.
But don't rely on vanity metrics alone. Always focus on engagement metrics as well. Engagement metrics will give you a better indication of whether your audience is actually interested in what you have to say and whether your social media strategy is working.
Here are a few examples of how vanity metrics can be deceiving:
A company with a large follower count may not be getting much engagement. This could mean that their followers are not interested in their content, or that they are buying followers.
A post with a lot of likes may not be getting much reach. This could mean that the post is only being seen by a small number of people, or that the likes are fake.
A brand with a high social media score may not be generating much revenue. This could mean that their social media strategy is not focused on driving business results.
Here's a real-world example:
Let's say you're a social media manager for a small business. Your goal is to increase brand awareness and generate leads. You start posting high-quality content on social media and tracking your vanity metrics. You see that your follower count is increasing steadily and you're getting a lot of likes and comments on your posts. This is great news! But don't get too excited yet.
To get a more complete picture of your social media performance, you need to track other metrics, such as engagement rate and website traffic. Engagement rate is the percentage of your followers who are interacting with your content. Website traffic is the number of people who visit your website from social media.
If your engagement rate is low, it means that your followers are not really engaging with your content. This could be because your content is not relevant to them or because you're posting too often. If your website traffic is low, it means that your social media posts are not driving people to your website. This could be because your posts are not interesting enough or because you're not including links to your website in your posts.
By tracking a variety of metrics, you can get a better understanding of how your social media efforts are impacting your business goals. This information can help you make informed decisions about your social media strategy.
So, the next time you're looking at your social media vanity metrics, take a moment to step back and ask yourself:
Are these metrics relevant to my business goals?
Am I tracking other metrics, such as engagement rate and website traffic, to get a more complete picture of my social media performance?
Am I using this information to make informed decisions about my social media strategy?
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