What Social Media Analytics You Should Actually Pay Attention to

 It's no secret that in 2018, social media is an essential part of your marketing strategy. And if that's news to you then we have a wholeee section of social media posts waiting for you to read right over here! If you already agree with that first sentence though then today we're going to talk about the part that actually tracks how your social media efforts are impacting your business. Ya know, the whole reason you're doing it in the first place!

When we first started working in the social media industry (I'm talking 2008 here) the ROI of social media was prettyyy fuzzy. Businesses knew there was this new technology and that they should probably jump on board, but for the most part, they were relying on the youngin's -- i.e. us -- to figure it out and hope for some magic. Actual analytics were even fuzzier and in the beginning, they really came from doing some good old-fashioned math and low-tech surveys telling fans to let us know they found us on social media. Luckily for you though, we've come a long way since then and now we seem to have the opposite problem when it comes to analytics.. Instead, now we're suffering from analytics overload! 😱So what the heck numbers should you be paying attention to track success? Depending on your goals, these suggestions will vary a little bit but here is my breakdown of suggestions per platform to get you started! P.S. all analytics will come right from the built-in options on each platform too so no need to have a subscription to any third-party apps.

When it Comes to Facebook...

Facebook fans are nice.. but when it comes to your organic strategy on Facebook it's alllll about your page engagement and post clicks. Facebook is the one platform today that organic reach is really slim when it comes to pages, but that doesn't mean you can't be successful. If you want your posts to get bumped up in the newsfeed though you need to pay close attention to your post engagement reactions and post clicks on your content and how that compares to the reach of your posts (which are the impressions). All of these metrics can be found under the default "Overview" section. By looking through this, you'll be able to pull out some of your top posts to find out which have been the most engagement. This is where having a thought-out content strategy will help you piece together trends and shift the types of content you are writing to engage with your audience too.

Another section you want to keep an eye on is the analytics in the "People" section so you can see who actually makes up your audience and if that aligns with your target markets. Also in this section, you'll see 4 different tabs that break things down. I suggest drawing your attention to the "Your Fans", "People Reached" and "People Engaged" sections. Flip through each and see how they compare. Having your target market as fans of your page is great, but if they aren't engaging then you will want to consider changing your strategy and these metrics can be eye-opening sometimes.

When it comes to your paid Facebook strategy, the analytics you'll need to pay attention to will adjust a little based on the goals of your campaign. One type of campaign we run a lot for our clients are post engagement ads that are focused on expanding the reach of posts to a targeted audience beyond those who "like" the page. So when it comes to our campaigns we're really focused on looking at the "Cost per Result" rate. No matter what type of campaign you're running though, this is going to be a good metric to start with to start and understand your conversion rate. Depending on those results, you may want to consider adjusting your copy or target to optimize your campaign. Something that makes this process easier too is to set up A/B tests on new campaigns that vary in copy or the creative. By doing so, it becomes clear quicker which version is resonating better with your audience which you can then optimize further. Generally you're looking for the least expensive conversions with the most amount of results. Getting the most bang out of our campaigns is always top of mind!

When it Comes to Twitter...

Twitter has gone through quite a bit of changes over the last few years and with that the metrics I pay attention have also changed. When it comes to the platform I'm much more concerned with the conversations being generated than just the results of content. In fact, most of our strategies on Twitter are focused more on active engagement and less on content creation. That being said, I recommend reviewing:

• Top Tweets: This will highlight the top posts and give you an idea of what types of conversation engages your audience.
  

• Top mentions: This will give you a look at who has mentioned your brand and which had the most reach.
  

• Followers Dashboard: Because Twitter is all about social conversation I loveee the followers dashboard. There is a wealth of metrics within this section that will break down who you are engaging with, their interests and other interesting consumer buying styles.

When it Comes to Instagram...

Like I mentioned about Facebook.. fans and followers are great but when it comes to making a difference for your business it's alllll about the engagement rates. Quantity of followers is merely a vanity metric and while having 20k+ followers is great, if you have poor engagement, then other than telling people you have 20k+ followers, it's not really going to get you anywhere. Like a lot of things in business, people want to do business and buy products from people they trust and they have relationships with, which is why engagement is really where it's at. It's better to have a highly engaged audience of 1k followers than low engagement rates on an audience of 100k. So to get you there, here are few places I want you to keep an eye on when it comes to finding out what content is working, when your audience is active and what actions they're taking.

• Activity Section: This page holds a lot of great info when it comes to what are the end results of how people are reacting and how many people are seeing your account. Now all of these analytics are calculated on a weekly basis so just keep that in mind. Hoping as Instagram's analytics continue to evolve that they'll add various time periods you can adjust to, because I like options!
  
  Profile views are a good metric to look at because this essentially tells you how many people may have seen your post on their newsfeed and actually decided to click on your account to learn more. Most people are consuming your content in their feeds so this metric shows you've peeked their interest enough for them to look at your account.
  
  Next up, website clicks. This one lets you know how many people actually click on your website in your bio. "Link in bio" ring a bell with anyone? This metric will help you track how many people are actually taking you up on that offer.
  
  The last section includes reach which is kind of similar to audience size and tracks the number of unique accounts that saw your posts vs impressions, which are the standard metric of how many people's feeds you appeared in.
  

• Content Section: The "Feed Posts" section has a wealth of info for you to review. In the overview, you'll see your top posts based on impressions but if you click "See all" you'll get a lot more metric options. While I monitor metrics on a regular basis, I like to compare things for the bigger picture on a monthly basis and this section will let you do just that. At the very top you can click the top banner and pick the filters you'd like to see your content organized by. I like to look at engagement the following based on the last 30 days: Website clicks (to see which posts made people click our website), Engagement (to see which posts resulted in the most likes/comments), Follows (to show who started following based on which posts), and Saved posts (to see which posts were saved by others). While I'm analyzing the data, I like to look for patterns in content topics, the length of the captions (were they long or short and sweet) and the hashtags used on each. Try and find patterns between the analytics to pick up on what type of content is performing best for your audience so that you can adjust your future content. Social media is alllll about trial and error and adjusting as you go and these metrics are gold!
  
  On the stories side of things I look through the metrics as well focusing on the impressions of stories and how consistent they are on series, replies (shows which stories are engaging) and then exits (to see which content people are skipping past).
  

• Audience Section: Last but not least I suggest skimming through your audience section regularly. This will give you a good idea of key demographics for your current audience and then the section I pay the most attention to is the active hours. Our daily users tend to be pretty similar day-to-day but the hourly section can help you shift when you should be posting content. Maybe your followers take a little more time to get going on Monday mornings but are early birds on Wednesdays. Keeping an eye on this section can help you with your content posting schedule to get the most eyeballs on your content as possible.

When it Comes to Pinterest...

I have to start with the fact that I loveee that Pinterest swapped followers from being the focus to average monthly viewers and average engaged users monthly. Pinterest is a platform that has always been more geared about the content than actually getting people to follow you just based on the nature of how it's set up so I think this makes SO much more sense. We always explain that Pinterest is more like a search engine than other social media platforms so this has been a refreshing change. So that being said, those two numbers are a great starting point for your metrics and to get a basic look at the health of your account.

Once you get into your analytics here's what to keep an eye on:

• Your Pinterest Profile Section: This will give you a good overview as a whole of which pins of yours have had the most impressions over the last 30 days with the breakdown of clicks and saves as well as the boards with the top impressions. I like to peek at this section first to see what type of content is resonating best.
  

• Activity from your Website Section: This page is my bread and butter when it comes to our strategy because it's specifically focused on the content from our website. To be successful on Pinterest you need to actively pin and post a lot of mixed content, but at the end of the day it's your content that you're hoping gets picked up and this section will tell you yours stats specifically from your content. This is a great way to get a look at other accounts that have pinned your content that is performing well too.

Don't Forget about your Website Analytics

Metrics from your social media accounts are fabulous but they only show you one side of the puzzle so don't forget to check your website analytics too! This is especially important to keep an eye on if you're using opt-ins or lead pages too because while you may be able to see how many people visiting your page from your Facebook ads or what not, seeing conversions or where they drop off is another piece of the puzzle. By keeping track of everything you'll be able to see if you need to change the layout of your page or adjust things on your website as well. 

The section you'll want to keep an eye on is your traffic referral. This will give you a clear breakdown of who is visiting your website and from which platforms. Depending on your platforms or analytics the title/layout may be a little different but this is the section you'll be looking for. Squarespace makes it really easy to see exactly which platforms people are coming from and the percentage of your referral traffic that makes up. This is a great way to analyze which platforms are actually having an impact on getting people interested in your business as well. If you're putting a ton of effort into Twitter but are only getting a few clicks a month but a ton from Pinterest, then it may be time to switch your focus so be sure to look at these as well.

I totallyyy get analytics can be a little overwhelming, but once you have an idea of what you should be looking at and tracking month over month, it becomes a faster process to really getting a handle on what your audience is responding to and what is actually helping your bottom line. The key is to always work smarter not harder and hopefully this guide will help you do just that!

P.S. Exciting news! We launched the free #GoingBold Facebook Group and would love for you to join us! Come on over!

A Step-By-Step Guide to Create a Social Media Portfolio

After Squarespace added the Google Search Keywords option to the analytics we learned some really valuable info about what people were searching for before landing on our website! Some of that info was what we were expecting, but something that surprised us was that one of the top searches was for social media portfolios! And we get it too... Putting together your portfolio or updating it can be daunting. No matter where you are in your career. Trust us, we've been at it for nearly 10 years now! 

That being said, we noticed a need and today we're giving you a full guide on tips for creating (or updating) your portfolio. So if you're in the biz and you're looking for some help then read on because I'm giving you the 411 on what we've learned about creating a social media portfolio that converts and how you can create one too.

Outline Your Project

Case studies are all about showcasing the work that you did but the way you present it matters! For the most part, you're usually showcasing your work to someone who is interested in hiring you. Whether that's a client for your business, or if you're job-hunting you may be showcasing your work to a new employer. No matter what the case, in our experience you want to hit that sweet spot of showcasing enough info to give them a good idea of the project without writing a novel. Short and sweet is generally best! 

In our case studies, we have 4 main sections including:

• The Project: Which highlights the duration of the campaign (whether it's complete or a benchmark -- we'll talk more about that later) and the package which we link back to on our services page so they can see pricing and inclusions.

• Overview: In this section, we break down the key objectives of the campaign. Whether that was to increase awareness of the accounts, increase engagement rates, influencer marketing outreach, etc.

• Strategy & Tactics: Working in social media, you're always finding the balance between showcasing that you are an expert in the field without giving away allll of your techniques -- that is why people hire you afterall. In this section, we break down some of the key strategies like creating a consistent content strategy and taking styled lifestyle images.

• The Results: This is the most important part! Numbers talk, and we're not just talking about an increase in followers or likes. Yeah, those numbers may be important for clients but working in the industry we know there's a lot more metrics than that. Consier including anythinggg that showcases the difference your efforts have made for the brand. Maybe this is how many influencers you partnered with, or the average number of user-generated photos that were submitted. That on top of average weekly post engagements and increases in website traffic. Breaking these down into simple and easy to follow metrics for the non-social media crew is important too.

Bullet Points are your Friend

Piggy-backing off of the short and sweet note. Bullet points are your friend when it comes to case studies. This makes your case studies easier to skim through and pull out key information. Often when people are browsing your portfolio they're doing just that, skimming your work so this is important. 

Results are the MOST Important Part and Even Better When Shown Visually

As we mentioned above, results are the MOST important part of your case studies. You want to showcase that not only do you understand the industry but you can make some magic happen too. This is why tracking your analytics regularly throughout your campaign and taking before numbers are crucial too. Another tip when it comes to showcasing results is showing visuals whenever you can. Adding visual components takes your results to the next level, plus it breaks up the text which makes them easier to look through. Instead of just saying you secured 15 Instagram takeovers with influencers, give that number and then showcase some of those! Did you manage an Instagram account and help an account create a cohesive feed? Showcase some of the photos you took or a before and after screenshot of what the account looked like when you started vs mid-campaign. Anything you can share to show your work in action is always a benefit.

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Psst! We’re also giving you the exact social media questionnaire we send our clients fo’ FREE!
Get it here!

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Update Regularly (Even if you're mid-campaign)

One of the biggest struggles for working on portfolios is often making the time to actually work on them. We get it.. you're so busy doing the work that you forget to actually update your portfolio. Something we like to do is update our portfolio on a quarterly basis so that we can make sure we're including recently completed campaigns as well as making sure current client campaigns have up-to-date benchmarks.

Something we get asked a lot is what should you do if you're still working with a client? That shouldn't stop you from showcasing it in your portfolio! We have some clients we've been working with since the beginning of Bold & Pop but that doesn't mean you can't highlight those campaigns. Instead, we add a notation at the top of the project and note it as an ongoing project and include the benchmark amount of time for the results included. We do regular reports for our clients so we just update these numbers regularly so that we can accurately present the results we've had to date.

Make Sure You Have Permission to Share

One tricky situation that can come up while working on social media campaigns is making sure you have permission to share results publically -- especially if you're putting it right on your website like we do. In all of our agreements, we have a clause that we can share results in our portfolio but sometimes we're working with clients that have NDAs or that do not want their information shared publicly. Not all is lost though! Some of our clients have allowed us to share results excluding their brand name and any branded photos on our website. Or, they allow us to share their case studies on an as-needed basis privately. It's all about working with what you've got!

It's worth noting too, if you are side-hustling you definitely want to be careful about this as well especially if you're working full-time at another firm. Even more important if you're working on your own on the DL. Make sure you review your employee handbook or talk to HR to make sure you are allowed to showcase work you have done outside of your office. If you're interviewing at other firms, then having a private portfolio you showcase is not typically a problem, but if you're branching out on your own be very careful because you don't want to misrepresent that you represent that client independently to others. Plus, it can get you in a sticky situation with your employer (or past employer if you end up leaving). We can speak from experience that when we first started Bold & Pop, we had to scrap our case studies from our previous agency because that would nottt have gone over well in our situation. That can seem a little scary at first but like I mentioned, you just have to get creative about how you showcase your experience.

Showcase Variety

Last but not least, showcase some variety in your case studies. That can be the different types of projects you include or the types of clients you've worked with. The social media industry is so diverse and every campaign is often different so showcase that! By doing so, you're allowing others to see how versatile your work is and the range of services you can offer. You certainly don't have to highlight everyyyy project you've ever worked on, but in some ways, more can be better because it makes it easier to direct potential clients to specific case studies that may be similar to what they're looking for. 

I hope you guys found this helpful! If you want a little more social media portfolio inspo feel free to check out our portfolio below. Or if you have other questions drop us a comment below or give us a shout!

P.S. Exciting news! We launched a free #GoingBold Facebook Group and would love for you to join us! Come on over!

Why You Shouldn’t Count Micro Influencers Out

When it comes to influencer marketing, most brands think that the more followers an influencer has the better. While that may be the case for some, micro influencers often offer a much greater benefit to brands… especially when you’re working on a budget! We get that you want the most eyes on whatever you’re trying to promote but a lot of factors come into play when determining the success of an influencer campaign. Today we’re breaking down why you shouldn’t count micro influencers out and how they can actually provide you with more for your campaign!

What’s a micro influencer?

If you’re unfamiliar with influencer marketing, there are bloggers and others on Instagram with a large following that can “influence” their followers. Many brands will seek these influencers out to help promote their product or service since they’re a trusted source for their followers.

Macro influencers are those people with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers. The number varies depending on who you ask but it’s typically those with 30k+ followers on Instagram.

Micro influencers are those that have less than 30k followers. (Again, that number may vary depending on who you ask.)

Why should you work with micro influencers?

1. Cost

One of the first factors that comes into play for influencer marketing campaigns is cost, especially when you’re a startup and small business. Other than the cost of the product you're providing for a feature or review, many influencers require compensation as well. Creating thoughtful content for your brand is time consuming and how they make a living so it only makes sense for them to charge for their efforts.

As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, the larger the influencer the more they will charge. Macro influencers often charge anywhere from $2,000 to $50,000 for just one post (that can range greatly depending on the influencer). And this means they’re usually out of the budget for most small businesses.

However, if you target micro influencers, you have a much better chance of either working with them solely in exchange for your product or for a much smaller fee. So while a macro influencer has a huge network, you can have the same effect by working with numerous micro influencers. Think about it, instead of paying just one macro influencer with a specific audience, you can work with numerous micro influencers for the same or lower cost while reaching the various audiences of those influencers. Potentially expanding your reach even further!

2. Engagement Rate

Macro influencers have a huge following but if you compare their engagement rates with micro influencers, micro influencers often have a higher rate. Research has shown that as the number of followers increase, engagement starts to drop. On average, micro influencers with a following under 10k have an engagement rate of 4% compared to only 1.7% for influencers with an audience over a million. This is often because these micro influencers are working on building their brand and audience meaning they spend a lot more time developing their network and relationships with their followers.

Because they are focused on cultivating these relationships, there tends to be a lot of transparency and trust between them and their followers. And this leads to a much more successful campaign for you!

When a micro influencer posts about your brand or another, their followers are much more likely to check out your brand because of their relationship with their followers. This often means that they will purchase more quickly from you than if another influencer posted about your brand.

3. Frequency of Posts

Since micro influencers are working on growing their own brands, they often make the most of the brand partnerships they work on. This means they will often post more than just one post per campaign. This means that their loyal followers not only see your product once but twice, three times, etc. And statistically, the most often your brand pops in front of consumers, the more likely they are to ultimately purchase.

We’re not only sharing this information based off common knowledge, but also based off our own experience with influencer marketing campaigns. If you’ve seen our case study for Ash&Willow, you’ll see that we worked with numerous influencers (many on more than one occasion) AND they posted about certain products more than once. This combined with their high engagement rates and loyal audience often lead to more sales than working with larger influencers. Take a look for yourself!

But listen, working with micro influencers doesn’t automatically mean that the sales will start rolling in from your campaign. It is just one piece of your marketing plan and the main focus should always be to spread brand awareness first. This will ultimately lead to more sales without coming across as spammy. Check out our other tips for a successful influencer marketing campaign and if you’re looking for help with your campaign, contact us today to chat!

P.S. Exciting news! We launched the free #GoingBold Facebook Group and would love for you to join us! Come on over!