How to use social media analytics to effectively expand your network

Statistics show that the average American spends 7 hours and 11 minutes in front of a screen each day and that there are currently almost 12 billion connected devices in the world.

So, it’s more than well established that we spend a lot of time on our devices. And a large majority of that time is on social media. As a professional, social media can be daunting because there’s a multitude of platforms and different strategies for approaching each of them. What I’ve found in my use of social media is that each platform has a different personality and, accordingly, a different audience that migrates towards it. Building an understanding of the platforms and their respective audiences will help you frame your approach towards using them for your professional advantage.  

A key approach to leveraging the power of social media is the use of analytics and maintaining a close eye on statistics and data after posting on each of the social media platforms – this will be key to learning what’s working and what’s not. All social media platforms are run by algorithms, that is, algorithms will dictate if a particular post becomes popular, goes viral or stays stagnant. Therefore, it’s critical for growth to keep records on your posts and highlight which ones work and which fail and then pivot accordingly.

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Maintaining a social media strategy can be daunting and a full-time job in and of itself. However, there are ways to streamline the process, so you can get the greatest return on investment of your valuable time. The key is data and analytics.    

I have expanded my own network to more than 30,000 close followers over just a few of the main social media platforms, and I used social media analytics to reach that milestone. In my opinion, there are five key tips to understanding social media analytics. Utilise these and you will be well on your way:

1. The first step is to access and learn about the specific analytics available for each of the platforms. For example, LinkedIn offers free data under one’s profile options along with deeper, highly detailed analytics when you purchase a premium account. YouTube also has a specific analytics dashboard that is extremely detailed and can be accessed from the main menu. In YouTube analytics, you can determine how long a viewer watched, at what time of day, etc. Facebook, meanwhile, has an analytics platform called “insights”, which showcases audience behaviour and reveals what they are clicking on and trending toward.
2. Once the analytics platforms are located, it’s time to learn as much as you can about your followers. What you’re looking to do is determine who has already engaged with you, and then target that demographic/background for new followers. In other words, if most of your follower requests are 30- to 35-year-old coffee shop baristas, then that’s who you want to target as new followers. Accordingly, if that’s not the target market you’re looking to engage with, your messaging will need to be modified and rescoped.
3. Step three is to set specific goals on what you want to accomplish with social media. This could be, for example, attracting a large number of followers but with distant engagement, or you might want to reach a smaller number of followers who are a very close-knit group. Consider whether you’re looking to expand your reach to new geographic areas, increase visibility, become known in a certain market, encourage purchases through your own e-commerce site, get followers to request your newsletter, etc. These are all key questions to ponder. Once you determine your goals, that will drive your strategy.
4. The next step is to use available tools to help analyse your social media presence and bring together all your data across all platforms in a readable dashboard. This will provide a holistic view that is incredibly beneficial. There are quite a few tools available, but the most popular are Sprout Social and Hootsuite.
5. The last and most important step (which is often overlooked) is to be agile and constantly assess and pivot. If you are spotting a lack of engagement, then alter the time, day, colours, graphics, messaging, etc, until you get back on track. There’s an infinite number of areas to refocus on, but the key is to keep trying until you really home in on what your audience loves. Then keep doing it.

Social media is clearly not a passing fad. On the contrary, it’s almost certainly the future of networking and professional growth. In the four years I’ve been active on social media, I’ve seen great rewards from the time spent delivering content and making connections. There’s no doubt it has led to opportunities in my professional world. Including social media as a regular part of one’s career growth plan will very likely yield dividends and positive results. So, good luck and don’t be afraid to strategise.

Michael Skiba is programme director of criminal justice at Colorado State University Global. He is also the author of The Psychology of Fraud and a regular US media contributor on NBC, ABC and Sirius XM.

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