Social media conversion rates look at how many people took action in relation to your posts and content. This is an important metric to analyze, as it directly relates to potential customers, sales, and revenue - it is something tangible. In this article, I look at how to track your conversion rates, and how to make an effective analytical plan for your social media marketing.

1. Pick your social platform wisely

Firstly, look at the different platforms you post on. You may put more effort into some platforms than others, for example. 

For instance, you may have a proper business logo (LogoCreator is a free platform you can use to make business logos), cover photo, and profile for Facebook, but no information for your Twitter page.

There is not much point in measuring the conversion rates of platforms that you rarely use!

2. Set strict date periods

Next, there must be a set time period to measure conversion rates. If you do not set an end date for the analysis, you may never have time to assess the results and make improvements.

Set a realistic time period that you feel will provide enough data to make proper assessments from. For example, you could collect data over a period of three months.

3. Choose realistic goals 

After setting dates, you must define a series of goals. There should always be some end goal in mind - otherwise, your social media marketing may be poorly focused.

Examples of goals include gaining X new subscribers to your email newsletter, getting X number of hits to your website product pages, or gaining X direct sales from social media posts. Be clear in your goals and make sure they are realistic in relation to the scope of your business.

4. Define your actions or conversions

Your social media conversion rates must also have defined actions. A conversion could mean any number of positive actions.

As a result, you must be specific. Look at the social media content you produce on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. What potential conversions are there?

Examples of conversions could include new sales, click-through actions to your website or products, or even email newsletter subscribers. There are many tools available that can help with these metrics. 

5. Track the data and record your findings

With this plan in place, it is now time to track the data and record your findings. You must be methodical and make sure that the data is reported accurately. Also, the data should be organized logically so that it can easily be analyzed by anyone looking at it.

6. Assess and improve

At the end of the set period, it is now time to assess your findings. Did you meet your expected goals? If so, by how much? Did you exceed the goals in any areas? Alternatively, were there any areas that you failed? If so, were there any clear causes as to why?

Analyze the findings and use them to improve future social media campaigns. Look at what worked, and what didn’t, and make adjustments as necessary in the future.

Key takeaway: Continual improvement is an important aspect of conversion rates

Now that you have this analytical data, it is important to act on it. Simply understanding your social media conversion rates isn’t good enough. This information must be put to good use. You can use this data to improve your marketing campaigns, and ultimately increase your sales and profit! It’s a win, win!