When implementing a social media marketing strategy it is extremely important to be able to track the performance of your efforts. Google Analytics provides insightful metrics to help you keep tabs on how well your social media campaigns and channels are doing. These metrics allow you to make informed decisions on how you want to continue your social media marketing efforts. No one wants to continue allocating valuable resources towards activities that aren’t showing positive results, and Google Analytics can help you make decisions to prevent that. These are 3 Google Analytics metrics that you should be using to track social media performance:
- Last Click or Direct Conversions: The conversion tab in Google Analytics breaks down how much each social network contributes to generating conversions. The last click or direct conversion metric shows the number of conversions for which a specific channel was the final conversion interaction. In other words, this metric shows how many visitors came from a social media channel and completed a goal in the same visit. An effective social media campaign will reap a high direct conversion metric. If a specific platform is not showing progress, you should review tactics being used and discuss with your team whether the platform is worth using and how you will improve your efforts moving forward.
- Direct Conversions Value: This metric shows the monetary value of conversions generated by social media traffic. It allows you to see which social media channels are directly bringing in revenue through conversions. This is great for measuring your return on investment if you are spending a significant amount on your social media campaigns.
- Average Session Duration: The average session duration is the total duration of all sessions divided by the total number of sessions in a given period. A high average session duration could mean that your social media marketing efforts are reaching the right audience, and a low average could mean that you are not targeting the right users through your social media channels. If this metric is low for a specific channel you should again discuss whether you want to try to improve your marketing efforts or allocate your resources to another, more effective platform.
