When was the last time you looked at your performance? 🤔
For most people, the answer might be, “I’m not sure,” or “It’s been a while.” Creating content is a full-time job, and sometimes, that makes certain administrative and control tasks—like checking your metrics—take a second place.
Of course, this does not mean that your metrics are not important. In fact, without metrics, you’re essentially flying blind: the only way to confirm your strategy is working and that you are moving in the right direction is by setting measurable goals and tracking them.
Metrics are crucial for your success.
Your Performance Metrics and Your Goals
Two weeks ago, we discussed The Why, What, How, and Then of Content and mentioned how no real strategy or plan can succeed without evaluating results. The key here is RESULTS. To measure results, you need to define clear and measurable goals. Your metrics should help you understand where you’re going. Without defined goals, you’re just collecting data for the sake of data—which can be overwhelming. So many metrics are available, but only a few will help you gauge how well you’re meeting your business objectives.
So, how do you know which metrics to track? Start by asking yourself, What do I want to achieve?
Choosing the Right Metrics for Your Goals
Imagine your goal is to increase website traffic: would it make sense to track Instagram likes? Probably not. If your goal is to increase your current website traffic, you should look at metrics like page views, sessions, and traffic sources. Different goals require different metrics. For example:
Goal: Increase brand awareness
Metrics: Reach, impressions, follower growth
Goal: Drive engagement
Metrics: Likes, comments, shares, CTR
Goal: Generate leads or sales
Metrics: Conversion rates, email sign-ups, ROI
The metrics you track should always relate to your overarching business and marketing goals.
Making Your Data Work for You
Simply collecting data isn’t enough; focus on what matters most. With so many metrics available, it can be overwhelming to look at all of them. Be mindful of what you focus on and take action based on what the numbers tell you.
Set a starting point (benchmark) to help you track your progress. For example:
- If your blog currently gets 1,000 monthly page views, that’s your benchmark. You can now set a goal to increase it by 10% next month.
- If your social media engagement rate is 3%, set a goal to boost it to 4% within the next quarter.
Knowing your benchmarks gives you context and helps you set realistic, achievable goals. It’s hard to evaluate whether you’re succeeding or failing without knowing where you started and where you’re heading.
With your starting point and goals set, analyzing your performance becomes easier and more effective. Numbers talk, and they paint a very clear picture of your content and strategy is doing. Your metrics should help you answer important performance questions like:
- Why are these numbers changing?
- What trends can you identify?
- How does this impact your strategy?
Sometimes, the insights you uncover can lead to unexpected revelations. Maybe a blog post you thought would perform poorly is your top performer. You may discover that a particular social media platform is sending significant highly engaged traffic or that a particular type of post is performing better than others. It is all about understanding your metrics and acting according to your findings.
Data-Based Decisions
At the end of the day, metrics are here to help you grow and guide you to where you want to go. The decisions you make based on data and facts are the ones that will help you continuously improve your strategies.
Understanding your metrics and insights, identifying the ones that matter most to your specific objectives, and using the data you gather to optimize and refine your approach can ensure that every step you take is one toward greater success.
So, let us ask again: when was the last time you checked your metrics? And if it has been “some time,” when will you check them again?
