How do you measure social media reach?

You measure social media reach by: Use platform analytics to monitor impressions and reach metrics. Observe hashtag performance closely. For subjective insights, conduct surveys.

How to Measure Social Media Engagement: A Beginner’s Guide

Written by: GRIN Contributor

Reviewed by: Quinn Schwartz

Reading Time: 10 Minutes

GRIN also recommends this free guide:

The ROI of Influencer Marketing

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So, you’re itching to master the art of measuring social media engagement, huh? Well, strap in because GRIN’s got the inside scoop on crafting up a social media post that will have those hearts coming in without having to do any viral, awkward TikTok dance moves (you’re welcome).

At GRIN, we understand that navigating social media is like a jungle…wild! It leaves the savviest of folks scratching their heads and questioning, “How did that go viral?” and “How can I do that?”

But fret not, because social engagement is the secret in the digital world for getting those eyes glued to your post. So, let’s get engaged with social media as we explain how to measure social media engagement!

What is a social media engagement?

Social media engagement includes responses to your social media posts, such as likes and reactions, comments, shares and retweets, mentions, and tagging.

Likes and reactions: Likes and reactions are crucial when it comes to social media engagement. They are how your audience expresses their feeling for a post by liking it or using emojis to react like the heart, laughing emoji, or thumbs up to name a few.

Comments: As a brand, you want your comment section to be popping. Followers and viewers utilize the comment section in a post by sharing their thoughts, feelings, and feedback. Be sure to respond to them as well. Just be careful of those internet trolls.

Shares and retweets: It’s a real treat when someone shares your content on their page/stories or retweets it. Individuals typically do this if they find your content informative or funny, especially when there’s a cute animal involved.

Mentions: Mentions are a great way for your posts to gain attraction. It involves users tagging their besties in order to get them to react, talk to or bring attention to a post.

Tagging: I can’t be the only one who still fears getting tagged in an unflattering photo of yourself that your mom posts on Facebook, right? If you don’t know what tagging is, it’s when someone tags an individual or locations in their posts. It can help that individual or location have more invisibility.

A man on a phone with a symbol for like engagement in an example of how to measure social media engagement

What is a social media audit?

A social media audit is an evaluation of your social media profiles, content, and performance. While the word “audit” sounds scary, it isn’t as intimidating as it seems.

So, how does one do an audit? It isn’t as complicated as it sounds, I swear!

Gather as much quantitative data as you can. I’m talking likes, comments, shares, and any other data you can identify to analyze trends and discern patterns in your audience over time.

Identify your followers’ demographics. That doesn’t mean just knowing the age and location of your audience. You need to understand them on a deeper level. What are their interests and behaviors? When are they most active online? Understanding these factors will help you tailor your strategy to their preferences.

Are your social media profiles consistent and complete? Each of your profiles should accurately reflect your brand’s identity, voice, and tone. This will help you build brand recognition and trust among your audience.

Assess the impact of your content. Be brutally honest with yourself. Does your content inspire action, foster community, and enhance your brand’s image? You need the answer to be “yes” in order to make the greatest possible impact.

Keep an eye on the competition. See what similar brands or industry leaders are doing on their platforms. This will help you understand what works well in your sector and identify new areas of opportunity.

Keep in mind that a social media audit is not a one-time thing. Regular audits keep you on pace with the latest trends and help identify content gaps you didn’t even know existed.

Based on the insights you gather from your audits, you can turn your posts into heart magnets, making your content more engaging and maybe even…viral.

5 social media engagement metrics to keep an eye on

Impressions

The old saying goes that first impressions are EVERYTHING! That also includes the digital realm. It’s how a brand can evaluate the total of users who come across a brand’s content.

Reach

Reach is a tad bit different than impressions because it involves the total number of individuals who have ACTUALLY viewed the content.

Audience growth rate

When measuring the audience growth rate it takes patience. You have to measure the growth over time in order to analyze the impact of your content. (It helps to add dog and cat memes… kidding… or am I?)

Did you think that being in the social media world involved math? I didn’t either. However, it’s a simple formula:

New total followers / original total followers x 100 = growth rate % (not that hard, right?)

Engagement Rate

It isn’t a measurement on who is getting hitched but it’s the measurement of the total of audience members who are digging a brand’s content by using those sweet likes, comments, and reshares.

Response Time

We all know we love a speedy response and so do your social media audience members. Be sure to measure how average on how long it takes your brand to reply to comments, messages and mentions on all social media platforms. Your followers will thank you for it and the analytic gods will favor your posts making it more accessible for new eyes.

7 tips for increasing social media engagement

Tip 1: Have content that SLAYS.

Whip up content that’s as valuable as a Erewhon smoothie, as relevant as today’s tea, and as visually stunning as an Instagrammable food presentation. My advice is to mix up your content with a variety of media like photos, videos, and infographics.

Tip 2: Routine is everything.

Stick to a posting schedule as reliable as your go-to car karaoke jam. (We all have that song.) Anyways, don’t be afraid to experiment with different posting times that can potentially sync with the most views.

Tip 3: Get involved.

Utilize all those fabulous social media tools like polls and asking questions to get your audience to engage with your content

Tip 4: Use hashtag magic.

Sprinkle those hashtags like confetti to boost your visibility and reach new crowds.

Tip 5: Join forces

When you team up with influencers or brand buddies, it’s like assembling the Avengers but like for brand awareness.

Tip 6: Share the love.

Let your followers shine by showing off their unique content on your social media. It’s all about creating that community.

Tip 7: EXPERIMENT, EXPERIMENT, AND EXPERIMENT

Don’t be afraid to experiment with your posts to see what is working and what is mid.

Key takeaway: Always keep an eye on your social media engagement so you know what’s working and what isn’t.

After diving into this blog, I hope everyone feels like a social media engagement guru and isn’t afraid of the word “SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT.” (I may or may not have been.) Anyways, the biggest take away we hope that you leave with is that it’s all about self-assessing your social media content.
Once you gather all the data on your social media presence, you can assess what strategies are leaving your content dripping in high engagement and which strategies are not a slay.

Now, venture forth and rack up those likes!