This blog post is part of a series dedicated to bringing you digital marketing tips from our Director of Digital Marketing, Nikki O’Meara.
When pulling social media analytics for clients I’ve been asked which key metric is most important – overall engagements or likes on the page?
It’s easy to get caught up watching your page likes increase without putting much thought into it. But it’s important to think about why someone liked your page in the first place, and what you can do to keep them coming back.
Page likes are misleading
Here is the hard truth — page likes get way too much attention. They’re simply a part of the bigger engagement puzzle.
Let’s say you launched a brand-new Facebook page. You currently have zero followers, so you’re probably happy if your page is earning a few likes.
But, what does that “like” mean?
Just because someone clicked a button to like your page doesn’t mean they plan on coming back, and it certainly doesn’t mean they care what you have to say.
Focusing on page likes is easy. And honestly, it’s ok at first. You have to start somewhere.
But you shouldn’t stop there.
Engagement is more important
Yes, we want to see page likes go up. But, wouldn’t it also be great to see that audience you’ve built coming back to your page time and time again?
This is where engagement comes in.
As you watch engagement metrics like page visits, post reach, post comments and shares (to name a few) fluctuate, you can better understand your followers and keep them interested in your content instead of scrolling right on by.
Focusing on engagement metrics will allow you to adjust your content calendar and strategy, and better inform the work you put on your social channels and out into the world.
A post about an event not getting much attention but that one-off infographic you posted is blowing up? Pay attention to that. Do more of that and adjust as needed to keep them engaged.
Like with most digital marketing strategies, it all depends on your goals. But in my mind, engagement beats page likes every time. Pay attention to your engagement rate and you’ll have what you need to keep your audience coming back for more.
Questions? You can reach me at nikki@reschstrategies.com.