by By: Michael Eiden
Social media analytics have become an important tactic for businesses to analyze its social media practices. This is an excellent way for businesses to see if its current social media strategy is doing well, and what they made need to improve on in the future. The question is: what story does social media analytics tell? Using analytics can allow for businesses to get in front of fresh eyes, while entertaining the existing ones. What do you do with the data once you have it? Analyze it? No it’s all unstructured and in a mess, it then takes time to organize your data into something you can view as helpful and easy to understand, with business software solutions like data preparation from this website structuring your analytics just became automated.
Many brands have been able to solve their social media issues by using social media analytics. Hootsuite effectively used their social media analytics to key on where they needed to improve, and in a timely manner. Even a strong social media marketing firms have trouble with social analytics. By conducting this search they realized the need to increase engagement, and they were able to discover their target audience for engagement: other social media pros.
Social media analytics are also used to compare competitors and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. Simply Measured, a social media analytics group, conducted a social media analysis on various sports media companies’ channels to figure out which brand excels in each field. They analyzed five major brands on engagement, followers and impressions. Simply was able to show that Bleacher Report knows their audience, and strategy, by using a combination of content in one post (as seen below). 
Overall, social media analytics can show business where they need to improve, or where there are currently doing well. Businesses that are able to recognize where they need to improve allows them to create new goals. Many companies go in with an idea of what they want to do, or solve, from this analysis. In most cases, the goal is formed after the analysis is conducted. The analysis creates the story for the business and they are able to choose what to do with the new information.
Michael can be reached on:
Twitter: @mikeeiden11
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/michaeljeiden
Works Cited:
Hitz, Lucy. “Which Sports Media Giants Are Scoring Big on Twitter? | Simply Measured.” Simply Measured RSS. N.p., 23 Feb. 2015.
Stein, Jaime. “How We Increased Our Twitter Engagement Rate by 180% in Two Months.” Hootsuite Social Media Management How We Increased Our Twitter Engagement Rate by 180 in Two Months Comments. N.p., 02 Feb. 2015.
Great post Michael!
I have developed an interest in analytics since I starting doing PR internships. Figuring out where a company is most effective and where it can improve on social media is critical to staying relevant with current and future audiences. With Facebook’s built in “Insights,” we have it easy getting information on our posts, however other platforms like Twitter and Instagram leave room for interpretation on how posts engage with people. I was excited to learn about tools like Hootsuite and Simply Measured, which help close that gap and provide actual evidence of success and failures. I’m looking forward to trying out these tools in our final projects. Great thoughts!
Analytics are definitely an important tool! I can’t tell you how frequently I’m looking at them to determine how The Emerald’s social media accounts are performing. We measure a lot of audience engagement there, and the difference in statistics across the different types of SM platforms is pretty incredible! I don’t think many people/businesses/companies understand how much of their traffic is coming from social these days, and looking at social media analytics can show them that.
Michael, I love that you stress the importance of social media analytics in this post. In this extremely digital era, social media is imperative to the success of most businesses. And these businesses are not always privy to the way social media works. By measuring their analytics, they can decide what is or isn’t working, and then develop a more strategic plan going forward. Social media analytics are so much more than just looking at likes, comments, or retweets. That is why as future PR pros it is our job to become familiar with measuring and interpreting this data in a way that is helpful to our future clients, and the clients we are working with in class.
Michael,
I thought your article really encapsulated why analytics are so important to use when monitoring and listening for a brand. On the note of Simply Measured, which platforms does it measure? I do not know much about the software and would be interested in learning more about it!
Michael-
Really enjoyed your post. It is definitely really important for companies to “know their numbers” in order to find their maximum efficiency as a brand. Without knowing the specifics it would be hard for companies to figure out what aspects of their brand they need to change and what aspects are currently working well for them.
I also LOVE that video of Damien Lilliard free styling. So multi talented :p
Used to myself think analytics sounded horrible- like a direction I’d never want to head in, and save for the math-minded. However, as strategists, I think the data digital platforms can provide us with is indispensable, and absolutely crucial to the formation of a bigger picture. Gut feelings about how thinks might be can’t compare to the actual connections these figures represent, and the solid insights that come from them.
Michael,
Great post! Analytics are such an important tool for companies to utilize as it can help them maximize efficiency for content for they create. If a company doesn’t check in on how their posts are performing, they will not be able to fix their mistakes. Good job!
Good, informative post! Analytics are clearly one of the most important things in terms of SEO and improving your social media strategy. I would have loved more tips on how to do it though. Any other suggestions for tools to use and how to use them?
Hi Michael,
Great post! It definitely is important that we are all versed on how to use analytic-collecting tools and understand the importance of analytics. I have found in my experiences that many companies post blindly and without strategy on their various platforms. Many have told me that they don’t need to hire someone to do their social media for them because “It’s so easy, you just post whenever” which is SO far from the truth. It’s frustrating knowing how we can help others so much with these simple tools yet many just don’t see the importance yet. Hopefully some will read your post and understand soon!
-Alysia