How Have You Used Social Media Analytics to Shape Your Strategy?

How Have You Used Social Media Analytics to Shape Your Strategy?

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, seven industry experts, including CEOs and a Head of Marketing, shared their unique methods for harnessing the power of analytics to shape their strategies. From leveraging user-generated content insights to informing podcast topics with performance data, dive into the innovative ways these professionals are staying ahead in the digital game.

• Leverage User-Generated Content Insights
• Analyze Performance by Content Category
• Utilize Sentiment Analysis for Strategy
• Optimize Content Types Based on Analytics
• Shift to Human-Centric Documentary Content
• Strategize Using Follower Demographics
• Inform Podcast Topics with Performance Data

Leverage User-Generated Content Insights

We developed a custom analytics tool that tracked not just the number of interactions, but also the sentiment and context behind them. For instance, we discovered that posts featuring user-generated content (UGC) had significantly higher engagement rates and positive sentiments.

Based on this insight, we initiated a campaign encouraging users to share their experiences with RecurPost, which we then highlighted across our social media channels. This not only boosted engagement but also built a stronger sense of community among our users.

Additionally, by analyzing the times and days when our audience was most active, we optimized our posting schedule to ensure maximum visibility and interaction. This data-driven approach allowed us to tailor our content more effectively, resulting in a noticeable increase in user engagement and satisfaction.

Analyze Performance by Content Category

We've structured our content in 'categories' in the social media scheduler we're using, based on topics or content types/formats. We're able to look at performance per category to better balance out our content mix.

Utilize Sentiment Analysis for Strategy

One innovative way I've used social media analytics to inform our strategy was by leveraging sentiment analysis. We started tracking the sentiment of comments and shares on our articles to understand how our content resonated emotionally with our audience. This was a step beyond basic metrics like likes and shares.

I remember a specific instance where we analyzed the sentiment around articles on remote-learning tools. The insights revealed a predominantly positive sentiment but highlighted accessibility concerns. Armed with this information, we created targeted content addressing those concerns and provided solutions. This boosted engagement and built trust with our audience, demonstrating that we listen and respond to their needs. This approach was pivotal in refining our content strategy and enhancing our community's experience.

Optimize Content Types Based on Analytics

Social media analytics have been key in helping us at TrackingMore fine-tune our strategy and significantly improve our marketing strategy. We've used social media analytics to analyze the types of content that perform best with our target audience. Using the insights derived from this analysis, we've found that written content is the most impactful content type.

Therefore, we've increased our efforts at writing better guide articles and customer success stories and sharing them on our LinkedIn profile to generate engagement with our target audience. In addition to the articles we share on our website, we've also experimented with LinkedIn articles, which have also been well received.

Shift to Human-Centric Documentary Content

We showed the humanity of businesses, like a documentary, rather than bland aesthetic videos or advertising.

Followers have become a less reliable metric this past year. Impressions and Engagement are the new golden ponies for successful social media campaigns. Instagram's CEO, Adam Mosseri, has said it best: 'If you get people talking, and you get people sharing, you'll see growth.'

This is easier said than done. For a local coffee shop, we had to shift into this new wave of algorithm-driven engagement. We used to post daily 'cinematic' videos to hopefully stop the scroll of someone and give them a dose of peaceful aesthetic. This got likes. Over time, we discovered this campaign was nothing worth talking about or sharing, though.

So we switched it up. The human face and voice are far more attractive than any pretty product videography shot. And, there's a clear trend towards 'imperfect' content that is not crazy well-polished but just presents something of value.

I came in every two mornings to catch the owner or one of the baristas making a drink. I'd ask them questions or work with their sense of humor to start the morning, all while the camera rolled. I'd take these clips home and do some comedic edits.

We grew our views by 40x by doing this.

It presented the daily struggle of a coffee shop, and the little jokes and moments that people connect with. All the while, the baristas are making their favorite drinks. The product is still being advertised. This contributed to an overall 'customer loyalty' where baristas became recognized by newcomers. The shop's charm was more visible in short-form 'documentary' day-in-the-life clips than any cinematic shot I'd ever done.

Show the flaws. Show the humanity, the progress that we're all working towards, and your content will pay off.

Strategize Using Follower Demographics

We are constantly analyzing our followers' demographics and interests. We use this data to strategize our campaigns in paid-search campaigns through Google Ads and other paid-search platforms. It allows us to discover new audiences to target, enabling us to find new customers we would not have had otherwise.

Inform Podcast Topics with Performance Data

We look at our analytics to see what content is performing well to identify great podcast ideas. If people are very interested in a topic, that means we know we need to create an extended episode for our audience.