How Can I Even Tell Whether Social Media Is Working or Not?

Social media and sales are basically Ross and Rachel: it’s complicated, and yes, they’ve been on a break more than once. Social media isn’t a sales funnel, well, not directly. It can become one with the right cadence of organic posting, and with paid ads it can be pushed further, though how well ads do depends on the specifics of your creatives. A lot of it comes down to visual appeal. But before any of that, you need to know if it’s working. This blog covers the numbers worth tracking, which ones matter most for new owners, and how to keep it from becoming a full time job.

Start with a plan, then measure

You can only measure performance after you’ve followed a consistent plan driven by an intentional strategy. If you post randomly for two weeks, the numbers won’t tell you much. Plan first, post consistently, then look at the data.

The KPIs to track

Engagement metrics

• Likes: The lightest form of approval.
• Comments: Show people care enough to respond.
• Shares: Your content is spreading beyond your followers.
• Saves: People want to come back to it.
• DMs: Often the strongest signal of real interest.

Engagement rate (ER%)

ER% turns raw engagement into a percentage, so you can compare posts fairly. Two common versions:

• ER by impressions: Engagements divided by impressions, times 100. Use it to judge how a specific post performed with the people who actually saw it. It’s useful for reels and other content that reaches beyond your followers.
• ER by followers: Engagements divided by followers, times 100. Use it to see how your existing audience responds over time, or to compare accounts of a similar size.

Formulas vary between tools, so pick one and stick with it.

Visibility measures (important for new owners)

• Reach: Unique accounts that saw your content.
• Impressions: Total views, including repeats.
• Video views: How many times your videos were watched.

Growth metrics (also important for new owners)

• Followers: New and total.
• Profile visits: People curious enough to check you out.
• Link clicks: People taking the next step.

Do followers matter?

Not much at first. Over time, a good follower count is needed to show social proof and to start guiding the algorithm to push your content to new people. It also helps measure brand loyalty, to an extent.

Paid ad metrics

• CTR (click-through rate): Clicks divided by impressions, times 100.
• CPM (cost per mille): Cost per 1,000 impressions.

Why you should never buy followers

Buying followers is a very bad measure of success. Your account gets flagged, and your reach gets suppressed heavily. Bought followers also don’t engage, so any engagement rate based on followers drops. A smaller, real audience beats a large, empty one.

Tips and tricks

• Look at trends, not single days. Review monthly, not hourly.
• Compare against your own past, not someone else’s account.
• Tie each KPI to a goal. Awareness goals point to reach, and interest goals point to saves and DMs.
• Study your top 3 and bottom 3 posts every month for patterns in format, topic and hook.
• Read your comments. They explain what the numbers can’t.
• Use free native analytics first, like Instagram Insights or YouTube Studio.
• Change one thing at a time so you know what caused the difference.

Do I have to do all this myself?

No. A few tools exist for this:

• Sprout Social: A social media management platform covering publishing, engagement, analytics and reporting (Sprout Social). G2 lists it from $199 per user per month, billed annually (G2).
• DashThis: Reporting dashboards, categorized by G2 under social media analytics. G2 lists it from $49 for 3 dashboards (G2).

Prices change, so check each site. Or let an agency handle the reporting, which is part of what we do.

Conclusion

Social media isn’t a magic sales button, but it’s measurable once you have a plan. Start with visibility and growth, add engagement and ER%, and bring in paid metrics when you run ads. Check in monthly, and don’t chase vanity numbers.

FAQs

• Is social media a sales funnel? Not directly, but it can become one with consistent organic posting and paid ads.
• Which metrics matter most for new owners? Visibility (reach, impressions, video views) and growth (followers, profile visits, link clicks).
• Should I use ER by followers or by impressions? Use impressions for individual posts, and followers for account-level trends.
• Do followers matter? Not at first, but they help with social proof and algorithm reach over time.
• Should I buy followers? No. It can get your account flagged and your reach suppressed.

Read next: how to plan a content bank and calendar, and marketing buzzwords decoded.