How to Monitor Your Social Media Campaign

By: Liz Chrostowski

You set up your campaign. You’re done now, right? Nope. Now you need to monitor its effectiveness. I always say the best way to succeed at social media is to test and measure your ads, messaging and overall campaign. So, how do you monitor your social media campaign?

​Monitoring your campaign starts before you even hit publish. When setting up your social ad, think about your goals: What are they? Are you looking to raise brand awareness? Want to gain more web traffic or increase engagement? Setting your goal will help tell the story of your results.
 
Once you have your goal, now it’s time to match that goal to the metrics. If your goal was brand awareness, look at metrics like reach, impression, etc. How many people saw your ads? If the goal was increased web traffic, take a look at link clicks. (Tip: Always include a URL tracking code to your link. This will make tracking traffic and sources much easier.) Finally, if your goal was more brand engagement, look at post shares, comments, likes, etc.
 
Next, it’s time to look at the numbers. Use the social media reporting tools included on the platform itself. Facebook and Instagram specifically include their own reporting tools to look at metrics on posts and ads. A few questions to ask yourself when looking at these numbers: How do they compare to your expectations? How do they compare to similar campaigns you’ve run? Social media is personal to each brand; one company’s success might not directly relate to another. Really focus on your brand: Did you get what you were looking for?
 
If you’re unsure of what some metrics mean, here’s a sheet that explains it all. (link tbd) Social media won’t be perfect the first go-around. It takes time to learn and get used to. Keep following these steps to make your social media advertising as successful as possible. If you need help getting started on social media, ASI® Creative Labs offers Sponsored Social Posts. These posts are shared on the ASICentral® Facebook and Instagram accounts and include full reporting so you can just sit and relax. Contact your account executive to learn more.