In the third quarter of 2024, WhatsApp Business had 966.5 million monthly active users. While Instagram focuses on visuals, X (formerly Twitter) focuses on words. Social media is always evolving, so I think it’s important to periodically check in and make sure your strategy is still effective. This could be monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on your business needs and resources.

We’ve broken down the 21 key social media metrics you need to keep an eye on into six different categories to help keep you organized. Follow along to get a better understanding of each metric and how to track it. To help narrow down your social media reporting to the most important data, we’ve selected the top 21 social media metrics you need to track to understand your social success and where you can improve. Visual content has a higher chance of getting appreciated on social media pages. You should also include images to make them highly effective and interactive. You can also use tools like Google Analytics and Hootsuite Advanced Analytics to measure results across networks from a single dashboard.

In this LinkedIn post, Adam Robinson from R2B2B shares his journey of building a brand on LinkedIn which resonates with many professionals facing similar hurdles. Candid storytelling in this post, coupled with some reflective thought and lessons learned, makes the founder relatable and credible. This not only increases engagement but also builds trust in the audience. Through reporting on social data you’re also able to achieve greater transparency and accessibility through meaningful metrics. “Data-driven decision-making is being built into the culture beyond our social media and web team, because we can build greater transparency and accessibility using reporting and social listening dashboards,” she says.

🌟 What Are The Best Social Media Apps For Businesses?

Section 3 synthesises the studies identified in the previous section and provides a detailed overview. Next section discusses the key aspects of the research, highlights any limitations within existing studies and explores the potential directions for future research. For more guidance, check out our social media management guide to build a strategy that keeps you ahead in 2025. If you’re already on the platform, make sure to watch your TikTok analytics and how to reach your audience. Threads is still finding its place, but its growth proves that users are interested in a new kind of text-based social experience.

Finally, the study found evidence of synergistic effects between individual competence and commitment, which is not found at the organizational level. The data obtained by surveying 220 sales executives in the United States were analysed using regression analysis. Andersson and Wikström (2017) used case studies of three B2B companies to investigate reasons for using social media.

Friday is the best day of the week to share content on the social media platform. But social media has become increasingly crowded, and simply showing up is no longer enough. Now, standing out means more than just publishing — it requires creating value for and meaningfully engaging with audiences. If followers are your most important resource, analytics are a close second. Analytics data allows you to measure and improve your marketing ROI and see if your efforts are helping you meet your goals. Consider your existing audience — the people you’re trying to reach and how you would classify them according to market segments.

AI tools simplify content creation by automating repetitive tasks like caption generation, analytics reporting, and visual design. They allow marketers to focus on strategy while maintaining consistent output across platforms. AI also helps SMM Thai predict trends and tailor content to audience preferences. Speaking of reach, this metric represents the number of unique accounts that see your content. It helps gauge the overall visibility and potential impact of your social media posts.

W Concept brand curates fashion boards on Pinterest, showcasing product categories like bags, shoes, and accessories to a specific audience. This example illustrates the potential of leveraging niche platforms like Pinterest to engage a targeted demographic, such as fashion enthusiasts. GoPro showcases content captured by customers using their product in extreme sports settings.

We also uncovered that the best time to post on Instagram for engagement is generally weekday mornings between 7 a.m. Instagram is a highly visual platform that supports photos, carousels (multi-photo posts), Stories, Reels, and live videos. Facebook is the world’s most widely used social network, boasting over 3 billion monthly active users — more than a third of the world’s global population logging in at least once a month. Social media marketers are spoilt for choice when it comes to platforms — our guide to the top social media sites contains over 20 platforms to consider.

Some researchers argued that social media can influence brand awareness (Ancillai et al. 2019; Hsiao et al. 2020). For instance, Hsiao et al. (2020) investigated the effect of social media in the fashion industry. Another group of studies investigated the effect of social media on the level of sales and consumer purchase intention (Ancillai et al. 2019; Itani et al. 2017; Salo 2017; Hsiao et al. 2020; Mahrous 2013). For example, Itani et al. (2017) used the theory of reasoned actions to develop a model that tests the factors affecting the use of social media by salesperson and its impact. By collecting data from 120 salespersons from different industries and using SmartPLS to analyse the data, it was found that attitude towards social media usefulness did not affect the use of social media. It was found that social media use positively affects competitive intelligence collection, adaptive selling behaviour, which in turn influenced sales performance.

Agencies and SMBs don’t have the luxury of throwing content at the wall and hoping something sticks. Clear, measurable goals help you focus your efforts, justify results to clients or execs, and avoid the burnout of posting for the sake of visibility alone. In his book, Vaynerchuk covers how to do this, as well as connect with your followers and customers on a deeper level through social media.

It also makes your content more shareable, increasing your reach organically. You could go ahead and try to establish a presence on five to six platforms at once, but it gets chaotic and overwhelming pretty quickly. While this may work for personal accounts, it’s not the best approach for businesses. The other thing to consider is that your social media pages will most likely show up on page one of a search result when someone is looking for your brand. Google uses over 200 ranking factors to decide which content to show high in search engine results.

One of the key advantages of content marketing is that you can do it on virtually any budget. Many businesses who engage in SEO marketing also engage in PPC advertising on Google. Paid ads on Google appear above organic search results and that positioning advantage can drive even more traffic to your website. In a survey conducted by Search Engine Journal, 49% of respondents reported that SEO delivers the highest return on investment (ROI) of any digital marketing channel. You can get started with SEO on your own for free by learning more about Google Ranking Factors or with the help of top SEO tools and software.

Additionally, it was mentioned that some of the B2B companies use social media as a recruiting tool, and tool which helps to collaborate globally (Andersson and Wikström 2017; Dyck 2010). 1 that social media usage is affected by internal (e.g. attitude towards social media, technical skills of employees) and external factors (e.g. pressure from stakeholders) of the company. Also, the figure depicts the effect of social media on the business (e.g. sales) and society (e.g. customer satisfaction). Keinänen and Kuivalainen (2015) investigated factors affecting the use of social media by B2B customers by conducting an online survey among 82 key customer accounts of an information technology service company. Partial least squares path modelling was used to analysed the proposed hypotheses. It was found that social media private use, colleague support for using SM, age, job position affected the use of social media by B2B customers.

Other video types popular on the platform are challenges, lip-sync videos, lifehacks, and memes. The content that usually works best on LinkedIn is educational content and thought leadership pieces. It’s ideal for B2B companies, career-related posts, and networking.

Choose Your Platforms

Scrub Daddy responds to comments in a humorous and playful way, which aligns with the type of content the brand posts. Other posts from the airline are also either memes or relatable content that fits TikTok’s conventions, such as POV (point of view) videos or using popular audio. Perform an in-depth analysis of your audience characteristics, such as age, gender, location, interests, and behaviors. Segment these personas into groups and create personalized content for each group.

Makeup lovers and Rihanna lovers are in abundance on TikTok, making it a great platform for Rihanna’s cosmetics brand to have a presence. [newline]They also offer powerful targeting options so you can reach the right audience and make the most of your budget. Social ads are an inexpensive way to promote your business and distribute content. Spotting negative sentiment is the first step to nip problems in the bud. And on the flip side, rewarding or celebrating your big fans and cheerleaders may encourage more people to show your brand a little love.

Another study by Ancillai et al. (2019) used in-depth interviews with social selling professionals. [newline]There are over 5.2 billion social media user identities, meaning 63.9% of the population has created at least one social media account. As long as you create the right strategy and target the right people, you should see success with social media marketing. The key is to pick the best platforms and influencers for your brand, both of which can be automated using the right influencer marketing tools. While short-form videos are growing, long-form content still holds strong on YouTube, showing that users want both quick entertainment and in-depth insights. Use both formats as part of your YouTube marketing strategy to maximize audience retention and discoverability. And brands that fail to adapt will struggle to scale their engagement and growth.

This could involve using A/B testing to experiment with different types of posts and messaging styles, allowing you to understand what resonates best with your audience. You can also use paid initiatives to boost organic reach, but maintaining consistency in content quality and timing is the bedrock of a successful strategy. If you throw some user-generated content and testimonials into the mix, this will add authenticity to your message, giving real-world examples of your brand’s value. This means writing posts in a clear and engaging manner and using active language to communicate your ideas. If you want your content to feel approachable and relatable, it’s best to avoid jargon and aim for a conversational tone.

By now, you probably understand that social media is a fantastic way to promote and grow your business. It’s no surprise that retail is sitting smack bang at the bottom of that list, given the direct response nature of buying products online and how it can be directly attributed to Facebook advertising spend. This information can frame your approach to marketing your product or service offerings to this group of people. Now that you have your questions and topics, create a list of the possible words and phrases your audience might be using to discuss this area of interest. Keep in mind that people often use slang on the internet or misspell words, so try to include some fringe key terms in your list too. Social media is an excellent platform to share helpful content that proves your expertise.

In terms of parasocial interactions in social media influencer marketing (Cluster 5), the multitude ways in which parasocial interactions could be curated represent a potentially fruitful avenue for future exploration. At present, the general focus has been on the influence of social media influencer credibility and the congruence of such interactions to follower expectations and perceptions [108]. The second foundational theme denotes the influence and impact perspectives for social media influencer marketing. The articles in this foundational theme represent a collection of insights in relation to influence and impact. Other examples of influence and impact outcomes include attitudes and behavioral intentions [37], engagement [120], perceptions Lee & Watkins, [67], and purchase decisions [31].

Thanks to advancements in DIY and remote video production, you don’t need massive budgets to be successful. All you need is a laptop or smartphone and a few tricks of the trade, like video length best practices and editing tools. One of the best ways to stand out on social media is to have a distinct brand voice. Chances are you’ve seen a post from a particular brand that just feels like, well, theirs. Coming up with a content strategy might seem like a lot of legwork, but in reality, it all boils down to your goals.

Complete our training, and you’ll soon be ready to execute an advanced social media marketing plan for yourself, your clients, or better yet—your employer. Many organizations jump into social media marketing or develop a social media marketing plan without thinking much about the outcomes. It doesn’t make sense to invest time, energy, or money in social media without understanding the benefits. This can help you refine your own brand’s voice and the types of content you post. But remember that one of the main reasons any brand thrives on social media channels is the authenticity of their presence. It’s about being specific and true to your brand, not copying anyone else or trying to fit in.

Deciding which social networks to use should be based on where the competition is, your target audience’s presence, and how consumers interact with that specific platform. From short-form videos to hourlong documentaries, YouTube has it all when it comes to video content. The platform covers nearly every genre you can think of — education, business, technology, pop culture, finance, and more. YouTube is a great marketing tool if you want to educate your audience. Video content has a high retention rate, as many people remember information better when it’s in video format over text.

Plan your posts using a calendar that outlines what you’ll post, when, and where. Get the latest social media news and Buffer content sent straight to your inbox every week so you always know when new features launch and how to make the most of them. Responding to as many of these interactions as possible is essential, but it can be tricky when you’re managing a sea of notifications. That’s where Buffer’s Engage tool is really handy — it will help you stay on top of all your comments and messages, nudging you when you haven’t replied. You should be regularly tweaking and building on your strategy to hit your goals.

Use these reviews to determine what’s working, what needs improvement, and what new opportunities to explore. Social media trends are always coming up, especially on short-form video platforms like TikTok. Don’t be afraid to join in, but you still have to be intentional about how you do it. Time-saving tools to help you prioritize your social interactions — so you can connect with the people who matter most. Ollipop also posted “32 machines times $25K per machine yikes” on one of Poppi’s videos, feeding into the fire. Before the 2025 Super Bowl, probiotic soda brand Poppi sent 32 influencers vending machines for their gameday watch parties.