How to Understand & Use Your Social Media Analytics

Understanding your social media analytics report is the foundation of a great social media strategy. But what are social media analytics that you need to be aware of, and how to track them?

What are social media analytics?

Social media analytics refers to the process of gathering and analyzing data from social media platforms (like Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.) to understand how people interact with your content, brand, or topic.

There are different type s of social media metrics, that correspond to different goals and types of social media campaigns. Let’s quickly go over some of the most important ones. 

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Engagement

Engagement rates are the easiest ones to understand. They represent the number of likes, comments, shares, and saves.

These metrics are useful for understanding your content strategy better, and building a community. 

For example, if you’re getting a lot of traffic on your website, but very few reactions when you share the same content on your social media channels, it might mean that the people following you on social aren’t really invested in your brand, and you need to start working on building more brand awareness.

Audience demographic

You might think of audience demographics as a mere  However, they provide valuable insights for your social media efforts on a rolling basis. 

For example, before launching a new product, you should definitely consider who your audience really is and whether they even have an interest in a new product.

On the other hand, audience demographics might also suggest an untapped market, or help you improve your customer service efforts (e.g. understanding which social media accounts are best for communicating with your customers directly). 

Reach and impressions

Reach represents how many unique users saw your social media content, while impression rates demonstrate how many times your content was displayed (even to the same people).

As far as social media analytics, these might be the most difficult to understand and use. They depend largely on the ever-changing social media algorithms, as well as the set up for your campaigns. So, a big reach and impressions count doesn’t necessarily mean your content is high-quality.

So, it’s best to track these data points over time as well along with other social media analytics to get the full picture. 

Follower growth

Another simple and highly useful metric is the follower growth. It goes without saying that when you’re running a brand awareness campaign, these metrics represent real gains. 

This will show you if your social media activities are truly relevant to your target audience, and help you adapt your content strategy accordingly. 

However, it’s arguably even more important to track the number of followers you’ve lost and what might have been the cause. 

Click-through rates

If your social media goals include customer acquisition and brand awareness, click-through rates will provide highly actionable insights.

For example, if your reach and engagement rates are high, but CTR rates are low, you might want to adapt your call-to-action or copy. Also, these metrics will help you understand your audience’s needs beyond social media, whether that pertains directly to your product, or perhaps a lead magnet that is going to move them along your marketing funnel. 

Competitor analytics

Instead of jumping on every social media trend that comes your way, it’s much wiser to follow the industry closely. Tracking your competitors’ performance will help you identify what’s relevant to your niche. Competitive analysis can also help you spot potential social media marketing opportunities they might have missed. 

Best social media analytics tools

Now that you know what they are and what they mean, it’s time to understand how to track social media analytics. There’s more than one tool that you can use, s

Google Analytics

Although most people use Google Analytics to track the performance of their website, it’s actually a great social media reporting tool that helps you to understand how social media contributes to your website traffic. 

If this sounds useful, this is how to set up social media analytics reports on Google Analtyics. 

Step 1: Install Google Analytics on your website

Make sure GA4 (Google Analytics 4) is installed on your website. You should have a GA4 property and the tracking code (G-tag) added to your site's <head> section.

If you're using platforms like WordPress, Shopify, Wix — there are usually easy plugins or settings.

Step 2: Set up "UTM Parameters" on your social media links

When you post a link to your site on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc., add UTM tracking to the URL.

A UTM-tagged link looks like:

https://yourwebsite.com/page?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spring_sale

Here are a few vital UTM tags to use:

• utm_source → where the traffic comes from (e.g., instagram, facebook)
  
  
• utm_medium → type of channel (e.g., social, paid_social)
  
  
• utm_campaign → name of your marketing campaign (e.g., spring_sale)
  
  

Step 3: Go to your traffic reports in GA4

In your GA4 dashboard, go to:

• Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition
  

Here you can see the traffic sources, sessions by platform (session = visit to your website ), sessions by social media platform, and engagement rates (bounce rates and conversions from social media visitors). 

You can also create custom reports and track things like social traffic over time, conversion rates by social source. 

Step 4: Set Up Conversions (optional)

If you want to track if social visitors buy something or sign up, set up a conversion event, you need to go to:

• Admin > Events > Create Event (for a signup button click, purchase, etc.)
  
  
• Then mark that event as a Conversion 

Meta Business Suite

If you’re not already using this social media analytics tool, you need to get started immediately. 

Meta Business Suite allows you to manage and track campaigns across three major social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

It’s free to use, but you will need to create a Facebook Business Account to use it. 

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is definitely one of the best known social media analytics tools, trusted by brands such as HP, Eventbrite, Canva, and many more. 

It offers a full array of features including scheduling tools, social media analytics, tools, competitor analysis and many more.

There are several pricing plans available. However, for the purposes of a small business, the cheapest, Standard plan at $199 is probably enough. You get 5 social media profiles, all types of reports except keywords, as well as unlimited customer support, which can be quite handy while you’re getting used to the platform. 

You can also get a 30-day free trial, which is a fantastic option in case you’re wondering whether you need a social media analytics tool anyway. 

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Hootsuite 

Hootsuite is a well-established social media management tool that combines post scheduling, monitoring, and analytics in a single dashboard.

It supports all major social networks and offers performance metrics, engagement data, and customizable reporting templates. Hootsuite is especially popular among agencies and enterprise teams that require collaborative workflows and scalable solutions.

There are 2 pricing plans at $99 and $249 a month. While the most affordable offers plenty of features, one downside is that it doesn’t support custom social media analytics reports.

Later

Later is a social media platform geared toward visual planning and content scheduling, particularly for Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. It includes performance insights, link-in-bio tracking, and engagement metrics, making it a favorite among influencers, eCommerce brands, and creators focused on aesthetics and storytelling through visuals.

Starting at just $19 a month, it’s a lot more affordable than some of the other options. However, be aware that analytics tools are somewhat limited with this plan. Moreover, their new social listening tools are only available with the custom Enterprise plan meant for big corporations.

Buffer Analyze

Buffer Analyze focuses on delivering clean, easy-to-understand social media analytics for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. It's designed for smaller businesses and solo creators who want to track engagement, reach, and content performance without being overwhelmed by complex dashboards.

Its simplicity and affordability make it a solid option for users just getting started with social media insights.

Conclusion

We hope this helps you understand how to track social media analytics, and what are social media analytics that are most relevant to your business. 

Whichever platform you choose, it’s important to stay on top of your social media analytics reports and adapt as necessary.

For more helpful tips on how to achieve success with your social media campaigns, be sure to check out our guide on why design matters in social media. For more design inspo, discover to design a high-performing social media post, and this list of social media ad examples to help you create your own.