According to the 2020 CMO Survey, only 30% of CMOs believed they could prove the impact of social media efforts quantitatively.

So if you find it challenging to prove the value of your social media campaigns, you’re not alone. The key to successfully measuring the impact of your social media efforts hinges on leveraging social media analytics.

At ListenFirst we’ve helped leading brands across the world determine their most relevant KPIs. We’ve learned a thing or two over the years and have a few tips to get you on the right track.

There are three critical steps to ensuring you have the right elements in place to measure your social media marketing program effectively. You’ll find the steps below, along with tips to get you started. 

Identify the metrics that align with your business goals.

When it comes to setting KPIs that will have an impact, less is more. 

Start with your business goals. How do those translate into social metrics or outcomes? For example:

• Do you want to grow awareness? Consider metrics related to audience growth. 
• Are you set on increasing brand affinity and loyalty? Review engagement rates. 
• Is brand love your focus? Look at social sentiment.

Follow a thoughtful process when determining the metrics that are important to your business. 

Use social media analytics to set realistic benchmarks.

It’s critical to outline your goals and do industry research prior to determining the most logical KPIs for your brand. 

Of course, you want to look at historical trends for your brand as well as for your competitors. But there’s also a lot to gain from reviewing other aspirational brands who’ve accomplished what you are after. Even if the brand is not a player in your industry, validate that what they’re doing is something that may have translated to their success. 

Then ask yourself what’s a reasonable expectation for your brand based on the historical data and performance across other brands?

Download our report How to Maximize Social Media Analytics for more details on how to identify the metrics that matter. 

Track your KPIs frequently

Reporting is key. Once you have your KPIs set, you have to constantly track them. 

Reporting that allows you to see all of your cross-channel data in one view is essential. You’ll also want to set up reporting that will allow you to see the most important metrics, including your benchmarks and historical trends, at a glance.

Dashboards are a great way to communicate the story the data is telling to your key stakeholders. ListenFirst recently added configurable dashboards to the platform, giving users the opportunity to build a series of dashboards to best match their team’s goals.

Read more about configurable dashboards.  

If you’re like most brands and increasing your investments in social media, be sure you have a plan in place to know if you’re moving the dial. Follow these three important steps and let us know how we can help along the way.

Starting in September 2021, ListenFirst users will have access to a new platform experience. Notable features now available in the new ListenFirst experience include the ability to:

• quickly find the data you need
• build configurable dashboards
• uncover key takeaways automatically
• create brand roll-ups on the fly
• dive into the analytics and share meaningful visuals quickly

We breakdown our most exciting enhancements below.

Configurable Dashboards

When you first log in to your ListenFirst account, you’ll get a quick glimpse at the performance metrics most important to you. Configurable Dashboards make this all possible. Our new dashboard feature allows customers to create specific combinations of ListenFirst data to match their team’s unique use cases and workflows. 

It’s easy to add an analysis tile to your favorite dashboard, or to multiple dashboards. It’s your choice. From there you have easy-to-understand, beautiful reports to share with other ListenFirst users.

You’re in Control with Instant Insights

Tired of burning precious hours attempting the work of a trained data analyst? Instant Insights, is a new analytics feature that quickly shows how brands perform across social media. It’s all in a single view! 

Leveraging years of intelligence gathered from working with the largest brands in the world, Instant Insights utilizes machine learning to deliver analysis like no other. Users can benchmark performance and uncover valuable takeaways in natural language. Even configure multiple brands and content filters on the fly. 

A Modern and User-Friendly Design

We worked hand-in-hand with ListenFirst customers to ensure the new interface would provide easy access to the data needed most. This resulted in a more streamlined workflow paired with modern design. Save time with more intuitive navigation, clean data visuals and more ways to share key metrics and insightful takeaways with others.

Experience the Enhancements for Yourself

Throughout the month of September, users will be given the opportunity to switch between the new and legacy UI. So, the next time you log into your ListenFirst account, look for the toggle button at the top right.

Don’t be shy. Dive into the upgraded experience for more flexibility, faster insights and access to powerful dashboards. New feature walk-thrus will be available as you explore the platform, but for a deeper understanding of the new workflows, check out the knowledge base dedicated to the Platform Redesign found in the Help Center. 

It’s no secret that companies struggle to quantify the value of their social media programs. In a Forrester Research survey, 56% of respondents state that “difficulty proving the value of social within our organization” is their top challenge. With the myriad of social data available, it can be hard to put structure around the various metrics and KPIs. 

Join guest speaker Jessica Liu, Senior Analyst at Forrester Research, and Meghan Cahill, VP of Client Success, as they set out to help companies gain more confidence in their social measurement abilities

How does your brand measure up against the industry benchmarks?

Is there more CPC value on Twitter? Are competitors having more success with video content on Facebook or Instagram? Is the loss of organic reach on Facebook more or less than what the rest of the industry is experiencing? How often is the audience Saving posts on Instagram?

The ListenFirst Industry Benchmarks Report for Consumer Brands answers all these questions and more, arming your team with the competitive insights necessary to make sure your social media content is being seen by the widest, most relevant audience.

Using exclusive, anonymized and authorized data from the large network of consumer brands that partner with ListenFirst, this report is an invaluable cheat sheet, spelling out exactly how your brand performance on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter measures up against the rest of the industry, both around organic and paid.

How can the TV industry see the most success on social media?

A recent study conducted by the independent research firm of Hobson & Company identified what aspects of social media research and analytics are most valuable to the TV industry, and why.

This case study highlights the findings of the study with ListenFirst customers, providing ways in which the TV industry can quantify the business value of social media, including:

• Improved access to social data and insights
• Smarter spending across media and creative
• Informed strategic decision-making
• Proactive brand protection
• Industry and data expertise thought leadership

How can Retail marketers see the most success on social media?

A recent study conducted by the independent research firm of Hobson & Company identified what aspects of social media research and analytics are most valuable to the retail industry, and why.

This case study highlights the findings of the study with ListenFirst customers, providing ways in which retail marketers can quantify the business value of social media, including:

• Improved access to social data and insights
• Smarter spending across media and creative
• Informed strategic decision-making
• Proactive brand protection
• Industry and data expertise thought leadership