Fine-tuning social media strategies is an essential skill, similar to analyzing a website’s performance through Google Analytics. This lets you determine which aspects of your online strategy thrive and which require more focus and improvement.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive deep into the intricacies of gauging and enhancing your online interaction, with a special focus on two giants of the digital domain: Facebook and LinkedIn.
Engaging on Social Media Platforms
Engagement on social platforms is gauged by how users respond to your content. Picture it like a party where you want attendees to mingle, have fun, and spread the word about what you’re promoting.
So, the focus is on crafting content that stimulates conversation, sharing, and retaining attention. This is the essence of your online success, like hosting the best digital party!
Tracking Facebook Engagement Metrics
Measuring engagement here is relatively straightforward since the platform efficiently collates and presents necessary data. However, it’s crucial not to get lost in the data deluge. Choose the right metrics to track, such as:
- Exposure: The number of users who viewed your posts on their feeds;
- Clicks: Users’ interactions with links or images;
- Shares: The number of times users have forwarded your post or advertisement;
- Comments: Total number of comments;
- Likes: The count of users who favor your pages.
A holistic analysis combines various metrics to get a more comprehensive view of user engagement. A high exposure might be due to significant advertising spend, but if there are minimal comments or shares, your content might not be resonating as intended.
Steps to Access Facebook Reach Data
To access analytics:
- Log in to your account page;
- Click on ‘Insights’ from the top menu;
- Use the options on the left to delve into specific statistics such as likes, exposure, page views, page actions, demographics, posts, etc.
Define a date range and either view results on-screen or download them for deeper analysis.
Optionally, you can sort data based on demographics like gender and location and track engagement trends before and after specific ad campaigns.
Determining Your Facebook Monthly Engagement Rate
To gauge your monthly engagement on Facebook, you’ll need to evaluate it based on the interactions your posts receive and the total number of followers on your Facebook page. Here’s how to do it:
- Sign in to your account and navigate to your page;
- Go to Facebook Page Insights. This is accessed by clicking the “Insights” button at the top of the page;
- Within Page Insights, select the time frame for which you wish to compute the monthly engagement (e.g., the past 28 days or a specific month);
- In the Insights section, you’ll see data on various metrics, including engagement, reach, and interaction.
Compute the engagement figure for the period you’ve chosen. To figure out the monthly engagement rate, use this formula:
Engagement Rate = [(Total likes + Total comments + Total shares) / Total page followers] x 100
For instance, if the combined total of user interactions (likes, comments, shares) for your chosen period is 1,000 and you have 10,000 followers on your Facebook page, the engagement rate would be:
[(1,000 / 10,000) x 100] = 10%
So, your monthly engagement rate for this time frame is 10%.
This calculation offers a snapshot of your Facebook page’s engagement for a specific time frame. If tracking for a specific month, ensure the right time frame is set in Facebook Page Insights. This tool provides invaluable data for assessing page performance, encompassing metrics like engagement, reach, and more.
Assessing LinkedIn Engagement Dynamics
Evaluating LinkedIn engagement mirrors the process detailed for Facebook. First, pinpoint the metrics you wish to monitor. Then, refer to the platform’s analytics dashboard to assess their performance. The analytics dashboard can be located by selecting it from the menu positioned above the company page’s cover image.
A standout feature of LinkedIn is its automatic computation of an “engagement coefficient.” This metric amalgamates audience interactions (reactions, likes, shares, comments) with clicks and new followers, and divides by the total number of post views, providing a ratio between passive and active user actions.
Understanding LinkedIn Metrics
LinkedIn’s analytics can be divided into three primary sections:
- Visitors: Metrics that relate to the number of users who view your company’s page. This can further be segmented by the specific parts of the page they visit;
- Updates (Your Posts): Metrics connected to your posts, encompassing views, clicks, reactions, comments, shares, and engagement rates;
- Followers: Fundamental metrics that offer insights into your follower base, including information on when new followers join.
Just like with Facebook, you can apply date ranges to your chosen metrics, allowing you to perceive engagement shifts over time.
Determining Your LinkedIn Monthly Engagement
To figure out your monthly engagement rate on LinkedIn, you’ll need to calculate it based on the interactions (likes, comments, shares, etc.) your posts receive and the number of followers you have.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Sign in to your LinkedIn account and navigate to your profile;
- Head to the “Activity” tab of your LinkedIn profile. Here, you can view your recent posts and their respective engagement metrics;
- Choose the specific post(s) for which you want to calculate the engagement. You can also opt to calculate the engagement for all your posts collectively over a month.
For each post, note down the following metrics:
- Number of likes;
- Number of comments;
- Number of shares;
- Total number of followers (this information is available on your LinkedIn profile);
- Next, calculate the total engagement for each post by adding up the number of likes, comments, and shares;
- Sum up the overall activity across all posts you want to include in the monthly engagement rate computation;
- Calculate the monthly engagement rate with this formula:
Engagement Rate = (Total Engagement / Total Followers) x 100
For instance, if the total engagement for the posts you’ve chosen is 500 and you have 5,000 followers, the engagement rate would be:
(500 / 5,000) x 100 = 10%
Therefore, your monthly engagement rate for these posts would stand at 10%.
Understanding Your LinkedIn Engagement Snapshot
Remember, the aforementioned calculation provides a quick glimpse of engagement for the selected posts and doesn’t consider all the posts on your LinkedIn profile. For a comprehensive view of your overall LinkedIn engagement over a month, you’d need to repeat this process for every post you’ve shared during that timeframe.
LinkedIn also offers some insights about your posts and overall engagement on their platform. For a deeper dive into these details, consider exploring the “Analytics” feature. This can provide further information about how well your content is performing and how engagement trends over time.
Ideal Engagement Percentages for Facebook and LinkedIn
Engagement standards for Facebook and LinkedIn can differ based on industry and content type. A study conducted analyzing nearly 3,000 Facebook pages found that the average post engagement rate was 3.22%.
Some marketing experts believe that achieving a 1% rate is commendable. But, if you’re clocking in an engagement rate above 5%, that’s considered quite impressive.
For LinkedIn, experts generally regard any engagement rate above 2% as solid and anything over 10% as outstanding.
Elevating Social Media Engagement for Law Firms
Law firms often encounter unique challenges when interacting on social media. This could stem from factors like the formal training lawyers undergo, the frequent use of legal terminologies, and the perceived ‘dry’ nature of legal content. To enhance your law firm’s social media engagement, consider these tactics:
- Share Personalized Stories: Let your audience see the faces behind the titles. Share anecdotes about hobbies, activities, and personal journeys of your team, making your brand more relatable;
- Stay Genuine: Authenticity plays a key role in connecting with audiences. Ensure your actions align with your words;
- Use Clear Language: Sidestep dense legal jargon and convoluted sentence structures. Communicate as you would in a casual conversation;
- Incorporate Visuals: Visual content, like images and videos, often resonate more than text-heavy posts;
- Time Your Posts Right: Examine your data to pinpoint the best times to post for your specific audience;
- Add a Fun Element: Craft content that caters to both the informative and entertainment needs of the audience. Engaging snippets can elevate your brand’s reach and resonate with prospective clients.
Conclusion
Assessing and enhancing social media engagement is a foundational aspect of succeeding in the digital landscape. Both Facebook and LinkedIn offer user-friendly dashboards to track progress and tools to gauge the impact of changes as time progresses.