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It's an ideal time for businesses and individuals alike to conduct a thorough review of their social media efforts as we close 2023. Social media platforms are constantly evolving, and 2023 was filled with disruptive changes. Your review must be based on a completely analytical approach assessing what is occurring online vs what is happening offline.
This mid-year review allows you to take stock of your progress, identify what's working, and make necessary adjustments to meet your goals effectively. You must look at this keenly with the advent of A. I technology, the rebranding of social media platforms as well as the advent of new platforms that can be used to reach your ideal customer.
In this blog post, we'll guide you through the process of measuring success and refining your social media strategy for the latter part of 2023
1. Evaluate Your Metrics
Let's start with the basics. Your metrics are the key indicators of your social media performance. They will show you exactly what is working and what's not.
Here is what you should be looking for:
1. Follower Growth
● Assess your follower count on each platform. Are you steadily gaining followers, or has there been a plateau or decline? Keep an eye on the quality of your followers as well; are they genuinely interested and actively engaged in your content?
2. Engagement
● Analyse likes, comments, shares, and other forms of engagement on your posts. Pay attention to which content types and topics resonate most with your audience. For example, did video content get more traction? Is there a trend in the content that got more engagement and why?
3. Website Traffic
● Use tools like Google Analytics to track how much social media is driving traffic to your website. Are visitors spending time on your site, or are they bouncing quickly?
4. Conversion Rate
● Measure the percentage of social media visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. Are your social media efforts translating into tangible results? Compare your sales data to your boosting budgets and post-performance to get a clearer picture of how many customers you are converting.
5. Content Performance
● Examine the performance of individual posts and content types. Identify your top-performing content and lowest-performing post to determine what sets it apart. Also, ask yourself would this content actually perform better on a new or different platform? In these evaluations you may also notice consistently low performance even with regular changes and good content, a new platform would be worth exploring in this case.
2. Identify Trends and Patterns
With your metrics in hand, look for trends and patterns. Ask yourself questions such as:
● Are there certain days or times when your posts perform better?
● Do specific types of content consistently receive more engagement?
● Are there particular platforms that are outperforming others?
● Is my content relevant to the trends in the market?
● Are there new AI applications that can help me in my content and idea creation process?
● Are there any updates to the core platforms I use? How can I adapt to these changes?
● Where are my ideal customers spending time online and what trends on social media are they engaging with?
Keep track of any trends and see how they can be used in your strategy regularly.
3. Get Your Audience Involved
Engage with your audience through surveys, polls, and direct messages. Ask for feedback on what they like or dislike about your social media presence. Understanding their preferences can inform your strategy adjustments.
This may seem like an intimidating option but what is better than asking your audience directly? This can also be done via Stories with polls or by sending surveys to your most active customers via email.
4. Competitor Analysis
Conduct a competitive analysis to see how your social media efforts are matched against others in your industry. Identify areas where you can stand out or learn from your competitors' successes.
More importantly, pay attention to what did and didn't work for them and see how that information can make your strategy and content better. You’ll likely have similar audiences so understanding what that target audience likes and dislikes will save you a lot of time.
5. Implement Changes
Now that you've assessed your social media performance, it's time to make strategic changes. Ensure you are not one of those companies that have all this data in your back pocket and never use it.
Look at the data and make necessary adjustments to schedules, experiment with new content formats or trends and allocate your budgets differently.
For example: in your research, you may have found that your video content is not performing very well but you may have also observed that your competitors are gaining more traction through straightforward video content showing products.
Create a new template for showcasing your products through video content and implement it for 6 weeks and see if you see any increase in your performance. Better yet, try a new platform and see if the content also performs better there.
A mid-year social media review is not just about measuring success; it's a pivotal opportunity to fine-tune your strategy for maximum impact. By following these steps, you can ensure that your social media efforts are aligned with your goals and primed for success in the second half of the year. Embrace change, stay agile, and watch your social media presence flourish.
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