Let’s Talk Social Metrics.
Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, recently posted a thread explaining that ‘follower counts matter less than view and like counts. If you actually want to get a sense for how relevant an account is, look at how many likes they get per post and how many views per reel.’
Engagement over followers
As social media experts, we can agree that followers don’t always equal great engagement and therefore results. Depending on the desired outcome, engagement can be more important to consider than followers. When users are engaging with your posts (through likes, comments, saves, shares), it shows that they are connected to your content and messaging. This engagement begins to build a relationship between the follower and your brand – making them likely to remember you and become a future customer.
The importance of metrics
Likes, comments, saves and shares from past content should be analysed and used to influence your strategy to ensure it is well informed. Analysing these metrics is also important to reflect on how content has performed – whether it is inspiring users, sparking conversation or educating. These results can be used to inform future strategies and maximise campaign potential.
The value in interacting
Interacting with users and followers is also key to getting the most out of your engagement. Interacting comes in many forms, from replying to comments and DMs, liking and commenting on content and replying to stories from likeminded accounts. Not only will this form relationships with users you regularly engage with, therefore keeping you front of mind for purchases, but the algorithm will also recognise that you are an active account and push your content further to new users.
Key takeaways
Focus on creating content that adds value to your target audience, instead of trying to reach the masses to grow following. Sure, followers are great, but they’re not the be-all and end-all. Metrics including likes, comments, saves and shares are far more important elements to focus on. Engage and interact with your followers and new accounts.
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