Evaluation of any online marketing strategy is an effective way to gather insights for optimizing future and ongoing campaigns. Successful branding relies on the mutual connection between a brand and its consumers, and social media metrics are the best way to analyze that relationship.

Below is a guide to interpreting four key interactions that can be leveraged to achieve your business growth goals.

1. Engagement

Engagement is the sum of interactions a campaign has with an audience. It often comprises numerous sub-metrics, such as likes, comments, page visits or brand mentions performed by the consumer. High levels of engagement may indicate that the intended target audience is being reached or point to an increase in brand awareness. The comments are specifically powerful for identifying opportunities to improve brand value; user-generated content and comments give consumers the power to share their preferences, values and pain points that could otherwise not be inferred from the quantified metrics.

2. Conversion

Conversion rates reveal insights about the effectiveness of the sales funnel. If one or more of the key performance indicators for a social campaign are related to ROI or increased sales volume, conversion can help you dive into the transaction activity. Was there a specific interaction that led to comparatively higher purchases? Where did that consumer journey start? Perhaps it was a landing page or a flashy call to action. This is a great starting point for learning about consumer motives for purchase that can be leveraged in other areas of your online marketing strategy.

3. Followers

Gaining new followers is a common goal of online marketing because it amplifies the potential reach and impact of a campaign. Shares and likes are exponentially more visible as they cross social networks through mutual connections. New companies with the goal of generating traction and awareness might see a massive jump toward their awareness KPIs in correlation with gaining new followers.

4. Traffic

While increased traffic does not ensure positive brand value or ROI, this metric is one of the best ways to analyze the relevance and clarity of the communication distributed throughout your campaign. A consumer journey map can be developed from this starting point. Which leads have the highest bounce rate or conversion rate? How are people arriving to the site and why are they leaving? Traffic metrics are a fantastic source for understanding the customer journey on your website.

There is an infinite combination of metrics that can be analyzed for campaign insights. These four measurements are essential starting points for identifying opportunities to increase brand awareness, customer experience and the effectiveness of your content. Embracing this evaluation process and learning how to properly leverage social insights can generate significant business growth.