Social Media Analytics Red Flags: What You Should Never Overlook

Perhaps you’ve observed some data in your social media analytics reports that don’t seem to make sense?

As with any other tool, your analytics reports won't be of much use to you if you don't know how to leverage them correctly.

In this article, we'll dive into the world of social media analytics, highlighting some red flags to avoid, to help you make the most of your social media marketing. 

Let's get started! 

What Are Social Media Analytics?

As you may have guessed, social media analytics is the process of collecting and analyzing data from your social media channels.  

Sabas Lin, CTO at Knowee, puts it this way: "Social media analytics are like having a compass in the digital wilderness. The thing about any form of data, however, is that collecting it is only one small part of the task. Processing and analyzing this data in a way that produces meaningful insights is the harder and more important part.”

In the next section, we'll look at some of the red flags your social media data analytics may reveal and some steps you can take to correct them.

The Most Common Social Media Analytics Red Flags 

Here are the most common social media analytics red flags to watch out for:

1. Inconsistent Engagement Metrics

Low engagement rates for metrics such as likes, shares, and comments can indicate that your content is ineffective. However, this could also signify some other more fundamental issues.

Volodymyr Shchegel, VP of Engineering at MacKeeper, says: "Effective data analysis requires more than just numbers; it's about interpreting the story behind those numbers. A sudden drop in engagement, for instance, may be temporary, but it could be a signal that there are much deeper issues with potentially serious consequences." 

If your social media engagement rates suddenly plummet when compared to industry benchmarks or in comparison to your previous content, one potential explanation might be that your page may have been shadow-banned for example.

Many social media platforms may deliberately obscure pages that have violated some of their rules or may appear to be engaged in practices they don't support without outrightly banning them. When this happens, you won't likely be informed that your page has been penalized either. This is why it is called a shadow ban.

If you notice any sudden unexplainable changes, this is one of the most likely causes, and you should reach out to the platform's support team as soon as possible to learn what the issue may be.

2. Strange Audience Demographics

The starting point for all marketing should be understanding your target audience. Hopefully, you already have a buyer persona created.

Do your social media analytics show significant discrepancies between your target audience and the audience actually engaging with your content? 

This would suggest a content or brand misalignment, which would be a major cause for concern as your social media investment will likely achieve little or nothing other than burning through your marketing budget.

"Social media can be a powerful tool for small businesses, but the key to its power is getting the basics right, and this means having a really thorough understanding of your audience." As Jeffrey Zhou, CEO and Founder of Fig Loans, puts it. "Any misalignment between your content and your target demographic will likely lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities."

The good news is that fixing this is usually straightforward. A good idea would be to benchmark your content creation efforts against those of your most successful competitors.

3. Platform-Specific Issues

In many cases, the red flags your social media analytics will throw up may have less to do with any mistakes on your end, and a lot more to do with changes or errors on the side of the platform.

For instance, a recent algorithm change may negatively impact your reach and visibility and may require some adjustments in your approach.

Unfortunately, few social media platforms are completely transparent about the workings of their algorithms, so these issues are not always easy to diagnose and resolve.

However, most platforms will at least announce an algorithm update even if they don't shed any light on the specifics. 

Glitches, on the other hand, are typically harder to detect until they've been resolved, but by paying attention to the industry chatter, you may be able to pick up some clues. For example, if other businesses like yours are experiencing similar issues without there having been a recent algorithm update, this might strongly point to a glitch in the platform itself.

4. High Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) 

Is your cost per acquisition for social media ads higher than the average for your industry? That's a huge red flag. This means you're spending more money on ads per user who clicks through to your landing page and becomes a paying customer than your competitors. Ideally, you should spend about the same or less.

Gary Hemming, Owner & Finance Director at ABC Finance, shares this view and offers the following insight: "If you're paying more than your competitors to get the same messages out to the same audience, there's clearly a fundamental problem there, and you'll need to fix it fast.  It's essential to regularly assess your ad performance against industry standards to ensure you're getting the best return on investment, or you'll risk falling behind the competition."

With an unusually high CPA, you should look into the quality and relevance of your ads, as they are likely not a good fit for your audience. To help you get started, here's a handy guide to digital ads for small businesses.

Best Practices for Handling Social Media Analytics Red Flags

Now that we've covered some of the most common social media analytics red flags, here are some tips to help you handle them:

1. Regularly Monitor and Analyze Key Social Media Metrics

Some analytics issues cannot be completely prevented, however, keeping a close eye on things might help you observe issues faster, and respond to them before they've had a chance to develop.

Chris Aubeeluck, Head of Sales and Marketing at Osbornes Law, advises: "At the minimum, you should look to track trends with things like engagement rate, follower growth, click-through rate, conversion rate, and sentiment analysis. Most social media platforms offer inbuilt analytics tools that make it easy to keep track of these." 

2. Benchmark Audience Research and Segmentation Against Competitors

Competitor analysis can dramatically help improve your digital marketing strategy in several ways, including by providing some context for your social media analytics.

As Sergey Taver, Marketing Manager at Precision Watches shares: If your social media content is underperforming when compared to similar content from your closest competitors, then you'll know that there's likely some underlying problem like a shadow ban or perhaps something more fundamental like an erosion of trust or brand power."

Keeping track of your competitor's activities both on and off social media, as you should, may seem complicated to do, but you can use modern tools like web scrapers to significantly enhance your data collection efforts. This will help you gather insights from multiple sources, to help create a holistic picture.

If you suspect your brand’s trust and perceived value may be weak in comparison to your competitors, this article on improving your brand’s credibility using social proof might come in handy.

3. Stay Updated on Platform Algorithm Changes and Best Practices

Keeping up with algorithm changes is one of the most important tasks any social media manager will have. As algorithms constantly evolve, what worked in the past may not work in the present or in the future. 

According to Tom Golubovich, Head of Marketing & Media Relations at Ninja Transfers, "Usually, social media platforms will announce any significant algorithm changes, but for detailed insights, you should stay connected with industry leaders, and relevant social media experts who may have informed opinions on these changes."

4. Conduct A/B Testing to Optimize Content and Ad Performance

If you have the resources, one of the best ways to keep up with algorithm changes is constant A/B testing. Effective A/B tests clearly show what works and what doesn't, so you don't have to rely on guesswork. 

You can do this by creating and testing different versions of your content or ads, modifying elements such as headlines, images, or call-to-actions, and tracking metrics like engagement, clicks, and conversions for each variation. As you do, be sure to apply these conversion optimization tips!

Final Word

As you refine your social media management using the tips we've shared in this article, always keep in mind that the social media field is constantly evolving. With a proactive approach to staying on top of trends and developments however, you'll be able to turn potential pitfalls into opportunities for growth. 

For more tips to help with your social media management, we invite you to learn more about the best practices and strategies for social media marketing.