Are You Also Stuck Analysing Only Vanity Metrics?

Millions of followers, thousands of accesses to the site, hundreds of likes... have you been focusing only on these vanity metrics to analyze and plan your business's digital marketing strategy? Do they reflect the results you want to achieve, or can they just be taking your focus away from other more relevant metrics?

Some numbers say nothing about the business and can even be dangerous, making you believe you are getting good results. If you follow only these vanity metrics (which are usually the easiest ones to visualize), you risk making decisions that will lead you astray.

However, there are actionable metrics, which offer a more reliable and in-depth view of your marketing, giving you insights to understand how to act. Before choosing which metrics to adopt, evaluate your business objectives and where you intend to get with marketing actions.

Site Visits vs. Conversions

It may seem evident that conversions are more important than visits to your site. However, when you see that your site has had a million visits, your eyes sparkle. When that’s the case, it's time to focus on what matters: how many sales (conversions) these visits generated. That's because visitors don't necessarily generate profit for your business. If you use Google Analytics, watch the user flow to understand which pages generate the most leads and conversions.

If you have a blog, analyze the bounce rate (percentage of people who visited your site and left without clicking on anything else) and always try to reduce it. Create relevant content with links to other pages on your site. Also, evaluate the number of shares on social networks, as the search engines’ algorithms value this.

Email Subscribers vs. Conversions

The same logic to the site applies here. There is no point in having hundreds of thousands of subscribers if they do not click on anything in that email if no one is taken to the next conversion stage. You must engage subscribers with content, ads, and calls to purchase, which is why the click-through rate is an important metric to consider for your email marketing.

Followers vs Engagement

You can even have an expressive number of followers on your social networks. However, if only half a dozen of them interact with your content (in likes, comments, and shares), something is wrong. Currently, followers can be purchased by anyone who has the money to invest in it. Even though this may not be your case and your followers are organic, not everyone can be a potential customer.

Important: The data of reach, likes, comments, and shares should not be looked at individually, because they say little. The most important thing is to evaluate the set, which reflects the engagement with your publications. Knowing which content generates the most engagement, you can invest in more similar publications. Focus on engagement metrics like Impressions, Reach, or Story Click-through rates to see how people are not only engaging with your content but how they are sharing your sites.

Many other metrics are available today, and you must adjust your strategy by looking at that data that can tell you something, not just the most popular metrics. By doing this, your investment in digital marketing will not become just another expense but have a purpose. At ProSavvy, we have over 30 metrics that we focus on for our clients based on their goals. If you’re not sure if you’re following the right metrics - reach out! We'd love to help.