Is it worth it? 10 common marketing metrics and how they measure up

It can be challenging to discern meaningful data from the rest. Still, it’s vital to grow your social media efforts effectively. You want to avoid what’s called “vanity metrics,” which are numbers that are usually more easily obtained and less likely to actually make a difference. For example, page likes and followers. 

Today, we’ll sus through traditional marketing methods to answer the age-old question, “Is this worth my time, energy and/or cash?”

Here are the metrics you shouldn’t worry about and the ones you absolutely can’t ignore. 

1. Page likes or account follows

As stated above, page and account like, as well as followers, are often considered a vanity metric, they make you feel good, but they don’t really matter. Likes often don’t translate into engagement, which is the ultimate goal of any social media marketing campaign. Likes and follows can be obtained through various means, such as buying likes or using bots, which do not reflect genuine interest in the brand. Additionally, Facebook’s algorithm has made it increasingly more work for organic posts to reach a large portion of a brand’s audience, making page likes even less valuable. 

Therefore, measuring success in social media marketing should focus on metrics such as engagement rate, conversion rate and reach (we’ll talk more about those later) as they provide a more accurate representation of the campaign’s impact on the target audience.

Bottom line: Don’t waste your time

2. Post likes 

Like page likes, post likes are also easily purchased and have less impact. Platforms that offer different reactions, like Facebook and LinkedIn, have more potential to reflect the success of a post. It takes more time to choose a reaction to a post, which is much harder to purchase and shows more genuine interest in the post itself. 

Bottom line: Proceed with caution 

3. Video Views 

Video views are a great metric to gauge your social media post’s performance. This is especially true for platforms that allow you to see how long viewers are watching your video as well, like Facebook. This gives incredible insight into the effectiveness of your content. 

Bottom line: Worth it 

4. Comments 

Social media marketing lives for the comment section. Few elements of social media matter more than the comments on a post. Not only do they help measure how well the content is performing, but they also allow you to have a conversation with your audience. The only “bad” comments come from bots and trolls, an unfortunate and unavoidable part of the process. For the right audience to see your content, bots and trolls will see it first. 

Bottom line: Worth it

5. Private shares

When followers share your content, you are rewarded significantly in the algorithm. While private shares don’t give any context, they will help boost your post, so it’s seen by a bigger audience. 

Bottom line: Proceed with caution

6. Public shares  

When someone shares your post publicly, not only are you able to see the context of the share (did they love it or hate it?), but you’re also able to join in their conversation as well and see even more comments and interact with new people who likely would’ve never seen your original post at all. That effect is what most social media marketers refer to as spread or impressions, and it’s the mark of a growing social media presence. 

Bottom line: Worth it

7. Impressions 

Impressions, as mentioned above, are when new people can see your content, not just your immediate following. The more impressions your brand has on social media, the more opportunities your content has to be seen by a wider audience. This is precisely the potential of something going viral; the impressions (and reach) are through the roof with tons of people who wouldn’t usually see your content. 

Bottom line: Worth it 

8. Reach 

Reach is the most critical metric to measure. Content earns reach when it drives engagement, so you’re doing everything else right when reach increases. Increased reach is always a good thing when it comes to being successful with your social media marketing, and that’s why all engagement (even the haters!) is considered good engagement. 

Bottom line: Worth it

9. Cost-per-click (CPC)

Running social media ads usually opens up many more metrics to measure and judge performance on, especially on Facebook. One of the best metrics to watch on a social media ad campaign is the cost-per-click or CPC. The more people who find your ad worthy of engagement (like, comment or share), the lower your CPC will be. Ads typically have some sort of call to action, like clicking on a link or to call or send a message, and that’s the click being measured here. The more clicks, the lower the cost for each one, like buying in bulk at Costco. 

Bottom line: Worth it for running ads

10. Click-through rate (CTR)

Also, when running ad campaigns, the click-through rate or CTR comes up in metrics and is more critical than the CPC. This measures how many users actually clicked through your ad. When you compare this metric to reach and even impressions, you’ll start getting a good idea of what success looks like for your brand. For example, if you reach 1,000 people, you’ll get 25 who click through your ad. Then you can measure how cost-effective digital ads are vs. traditional marketing methods. 

Bottom line: Worth it for running ads 

No matter how you use social media for marketing your real estate business, keeping track of your progress is an absolute must if you want to be effective and grow. Use these metrics to decipher how your content is performing and how to improve it. 

Jessi Healey is a freelance writer and social media manager specializing in real estate. Find her on Instagram or LinkedIn.