Social Media Metrics And KPIs: Everything You Need To Know

Want to learn more about social media metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs)? I’ve got you covered.

As any social media marketer will tell you, if you want to succeed on social media, you need to keep a close eye on the data.

In this post, I’ll break down the most important social media metrics and KPIs worth tracking, explain what they measure, and show you how they can help you optimize your strategy.

But first, let’s start with the basics…

What are social media metrics?

Social media metrics are data points you can use to analyze your performance on social media and measure your progress toward your goals. They track things like reach, engagement, growth, and conversions.

Why they matter

Every creator, brand, and marketer on social media should be tracking social media metrics. Here’s why:

• Measure performance. Metrics reveal how well your social media posts, ads, and profiles are performing.
• Prove ROI (return on investment). Tracking and reporting on metrics allows you to demonstrate the impact of your social media efforts on wider business goals to shareholders and clients.
• Identify trends. Spot emerging patterns in audience behavior and platform algorithms and use this to inform your efforts.
• Optimize strategy. Gather strategic insights to guide your future social media strategy and make data-driven decisions.
• Benchmark against competitors. Compare your social media metrics to other creators/brands or industry standards to see how you stack up.

How to track social media metrics & KPIs

You’ll need the right tools to track social media metrics.

Most social media platforms come with native analytics tools that offer basic, network-specific metrics.

For example, Meta Business Suite gives you standard performance metrics for Facebook and Instagram (e.g. reach, engagement, audience demographics, etc.). 

Likewise, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn all offer their own internal analytics tools.

However, these are all very limited. You don’t get access to the kind of advanced metrics and detailed insights that you need to measure the true impact of your social efforts.

That’s why I’d recommend using a third-party social media analytics tool instead. SocialBee and Social Status are both good choices.

These kinds of tools track significantly more metrics and give you access to comprehensive data on your social media profiles and posts.

Plus, they offer cross-platform reporting, so you can view metrics for all your profiles across multiple social networks in one place, and combine them into unified reports.

If you want to track metrics like mention volume and brand sentiment (more on these later), you’ll also need a social listening tool. I’d recommend Brand24.

37 social media metrics to consider

You don’t have to track every social media metric—that would be silly.

Instead, you should pick out some KPIs (key performance indicators) and focus on those. Your KPIs are specifically chosen metrics that are directly tied to your strategic goals. 

For instance, if one of your goals on social media is to increase your engagement rate, then it makes sense to track social media engagement metrics. If your goal is to drive website traffic and sales, you’ll want to track conversion metrics. You get the idea.

Below, I’ve listed 37 important social media metrics for your consideration, grouped into logical categories according to what they measure.

Let’s dive into it…

Reach metrics

The metrics below are helpful for measuring your social media reach—i.e. how many people see your posts.

1. Impressions / reach

Impressions measure the total number of times a social media post is displayed to someone (including repeat views by the same users).

Reach measures the total number of unique user users who see your post.

Both these metrics give you a good idea of how ‘visible’ your social media content is in social media feeds, which is an important indicator of performance.

2. Follower vs non-follower reach

Follower vs non-follower reach breaks down how much of your content’s visibility comes from your existing audience compared to new users. 

This is helpful as it gives you a sense of how effectively you’re engaging your current followers and shows you how discoverable your content is to a broader audience.

A high non-follower reach is a positive sign as it suggests your content is being surfaced widely to new users through the platform algorithm or user shares. 

3. Organic reach rate (ORR)

Organic reach rate (ORR) measures the percentage of your followers that see your social media content without any paid promotion (i.e. advertising).

It’s a key metric for assessing the effectiveness of your content strategy. 

Post ORR is calculated by dividing your organic reach (the number of unique users who viewed your post organically) by your total followers, then multiplying by 100.  

Your profile ORR is the average of all post ORRs during a given time interval.

A high ORR indicates strong organic performance and tells you your posts are performing well in the platform algorithms. A low ORR suggests your organic content is struggling to gain visibility and you may be relying too heavily on ads.

4. Profile visits

This is a straightforward metric that tells you the number of users who visit your social profile after seeing your content. 

It reveals how effectively your posts drive deeper interest in your brand. If you’re seeing a low number of profile visits despite high post impressions and engagements, it’s a sign that you may need stronger calls-to-action (CTAs) to encourage users to explore your profile.

5. Post frequency

Post frequency is a fundamental, top-level metric that tells you the number of times your brand posts content on your social channels over a specific time frame.

You can calculate post frequency by dividing the total number of posts shared by the number of days, weeks, or months you’re analyzing. For instance, 16 posts / 4 weeks = 4 posts per week).

A high post frequency indicates you’re active on social media, which helps boost reach. A low posting frequency compared to your industry/competitors could be a bad sign as inconsistent posting can cause you to lose momentum.

Monitoring this metric helps you strike the right balance. You don’t want to post too frequently to avoid overwhelming your followers. But equally, posting too little can reduce visibility.

Audience metrics

The metrics below help measure growth and tell you more about your social media audience.

6. Follower count

Follower count tells you the total number of people who follow or subscribe to your social media profile/page.

It’s a fundamental metric that everyone should be tracking to assess their performance and monitor their audience growth over time. 

But remember—it doesn’t tell the whole story. A large following doesn’t always translate to good engagement or conversions, so you’ll need to look at it in conjunction with other metrics for a complete picture.

7. Follower growth rate

Follower growth rate measures the percentage increase (or decrease) in your follower count over a specified period.

Unlike raw follower numbers, your growth rate offers a clearer picture of how quickly your audience is expanding or shrinking.

To calculate it, divide the number of new followers gained by your total followers at the start of the period, then multiply by 100. 

For instance, if you gained 100 followers and started with 1,000, your growth rate would be: (100 / 1,000) x 100 = 10%.

(Gained followers / Original followers) x 100 = % growth rate

A steady or rising growth rate indicates that you’re doing something right. A falling growth rate suggests you might need to mix things up.

8. Unfollow rate

Unfollow rate tells you the percentage of followers you lose over a given period. 

It’s calculated by dividing the number of unfollows by your total followers at the beginning of the specified period, then multiplying by 100.

For instance, if you had 10,000 followers and lost 200, then your unfollow rate would be: (200/10,000) x 100 = 2%.

(Lost followers / Original followers) x 100 = % unfollow rate

It’s important to monitor your unfollow rate as it can highlight issues with content quality or audience alignment, and help you to identify when and why things went wrong.

9. Audience demographics

Audience demographic metrics provide insights into the demographic makeup of your followers, such as their age, gender, location, language, interests, and so on. 

For instance, it could tell you the percentage of your audience that are men vs women. 

This kind of data helps you to better understand who your content is reaching and whether that aligns well with your target audience, so you tailor your strategy accordingly.

If your existing audience demographics don’t match your target audience demographics, it might be time to adjust your content, messaging, and targeting strategies.

Engagement metrics

The metrics below allow you to track how people are engaging with your brand on social media.

10. Likes & reactions

Likes and reactions are the most basic form of engagement on social media. 

This metric measures the raw numbers—the number of likes, loves, laughs, and other reactions your post(s) get in a specified period.

While many creators see reactions as a vanity metric, it’s still essential for gauging overall engagement and content appeal. The higher, the better.

11. Comments 

Comments indicate deeper engagement, as they require more effort than likes. 

A high volume of comments signals that your content is sparking discussion, while a low comment volume may indicate limited audience interest or unengaging content. 

In addition to tracking the raw numbers, you can also extract valuable qualitative data from your comments that can help you refine your content approach.

12. Shares

Shares tell you how often users repost/retweet your content on their own accounts. Because shares boost your organic reach, it’s an important metric for measuring content virality.

A high number of shares is an indicator of strong content performance as people typically only share content they find informative, entertaining, or relevant.

A low number of shares may indicate you need to improve the quality and alignment of your social media posts, or that you should consider adding effective CTAs (calls-to-action). 

13. Saves

Saves tells you the number of users who save or bookmark your posts to come back to later.

They’re a critical metric for social media marketers to keep an eye on this year as recent reports suggest they’re currently being prioritized in many social algorithms.

In other words, if you achieve a high number of saves, your content is likely to get shown to more users, boosting its performance.

14. Engagement rate

Engagement rate measures how actively your audience interacts with your content. It’s the most useful metric for analyzing engagement. 

There’s no industry-standard way to calculate it, but it’s typically done by dividing total engagements (likes, comments, shares, etc.) by either total reach or followers, then multiplying by 100.

For instance, if a post reaches 10,000 people and receives 100 likes, 20 comments, and 5 saves, then you could calculate your post engagement rate by reach like this:

((100+20+5) / 10,000) * 100 = 1.25% 

Your average engagement rate is the average engagement rate achieved across all your content.

15. Virality rate

Virality rate measures how frequently users share your content relative to its reach. 

It’s calculated by dividing the number of shares a post receives by the total reach of that post, then multiplying by 100. 

A high virality rate indicates that your content is widely resonating and being shared beyond your existing audience, boosting organic exposure and giving your content the best chance of ‘going viral’. 

Brand awareness metrics

These metrics offer insights into your brand awareness—i.e. how aware people are of your brand’s social presence, and what they think of you.

16. Mention volume

Mention volume tracks the number of times your brand is mentioned in conversations across social media channels. A higher mention volume indicates increased brand awareness.

However, a sudden spike in mention volume isn’t always a good sign—it may indicate an emerging PR crisis or negative backlash.

Monitoring mention volume alongside sentiment analysis (which we’ll cover next) will help you determine whether the increased attention is positive or negative.

17. Audience sentiment

Audience sentiment measures the emotion behind your social mentions. It tells you the percentage of conversations about your brand that are positive, negative, or neutral.

Most social listening tools—like Brand24—can calculate this automatically through AI-powered sentiment analysis.

By tracking sentiment, you can gauge public perception of your brand and identify potential PR issues early. Overall positive sentiment signals a strong brand reputation, while rising negative sentiment could indicate trouble.

18. Social share of voice (SSoV)

Social share of voice (SSoV) tracks how much of the total industry conversation on social media your brand owns compared to your competitors.

It’s calculated by dividing your brand’s mentions by the total number of mentions of all competitors in your industry/niche, then multiplying by 100. 

A larger SSoV means your brand is dominating discussions and suggests you’re performing well compared to your rivals.

19. Branded hashtag volume

Branded hashtag volume tracks how often users include your branded hashtag in their posts. 

This metric reveals how much traction your branded campaigns are getting and helps you gauge overall brand awareness.  A higher branded hashtag volume indicates growing participation and brand visibility.

Customer care metrics

The metrics below are helpful for measuring the impact and quality of your social customer care efforts.

20. Response time

Response time measures the average time it takes you or your team to respond to messages or comments on social media.

Having a fast average response time is important for customer service as people tend to want their inquiries and complaints resolved quickly. A slow response time leads to customer frustration and can damage your brand reputation.

Aside from gauging the quality of your customer care, monitoring response time can also help you evaluate the performance of team members. 

By comparing each team member’s response time to your overall brand response time, you can quickly see who’s performing below or above expectations.

21. Response rate

Response rate measures the percentage of messages or comments your brand responds to on social media. 

It’s calculated by dividing the number of replies by the total messages received, then multiplying by 100. 

A high response rate indicates active customer care, while a low rate suggests missed interaction opportunities.

22. Resolution time

Resolution time measures the average time it takes your brand to fully resolve customer inquiries or issues on social media. 

It’s measured from initial contact to final resolution. Faster resolution times signal efficient customer service, while longer times may indicate inefficiencies.

23. First contact resolution (FCR)

First contact resolution (FCR) measures the percentage of customer issues resolved in the initial interaction. 

It’s calculated by dividing the number of first-contact resolutions by the total issues handled, then multiplying by 100. 

A higher FCR rate indicates efficient support, reducing the need for follow-ups, and overall strong customer care.

24. Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)

Customer satisfaction score (CSAT) measures customer happiness with your social support. It’s typically gathered through post-interaction surveys, asking users to rate their experience. CSAT provides direct feedback on service quality, helping you identify areas for improvement.

Conversion metrics

These metrics tell you more about how your social media efforts are converting into customer actions, like link clicks, website traffic, and sales.

25. Clicks & click-through rate (CTR)

Clicks measure how often users interact with links in your social posts, while click-through rate (CTR) shows the percentage of viewers who click after seeing your content. 

CTR is calculated by dividing total clicks by impressions, then multiplying by 100. A higher CTR indicates compelling content and effective calls to action.

26. Referral traffic

Referral traffic tracks the number of website visitors who go to your site after clicking a link on social media. 

It’s an important metric to keep an eye on if your goal is to drive website or landing page traffic. You can measure it using tools like Google Analytics. 

27. Bounce rate

Bounce rate is the percentage of users who leave your website shortly after arriving, without taking any further action. 

It’s measured in website analytics tools. A high bounce rate from social traffic may indicate mismatched content expectations or poor landing page experiences.

28. Conversion rate

Conversion rate measures the percentage of people who complete a desired action (e.g., purchase, signup) after clicking a link on your socials. 

It’s calculated by dividing conversions by link clicks, then multiplying by 100. A high conversion rate indicates that your social content is effectively driving meaningful actions.

29. Revenue & sales

The total sales or revenue generated from social media.

Revenue and sales metrics measure how your social media efforts are impacting your bottom line. 

They tell you the income your social campaigns are generating for your business, helping you to justify your marketing spend.

It can be tough to track revenue and sales from social media accurately. You can measure direct sales from social-specific links or attribute revenue through UTMs and platform analytics.

However, measuring indirect sales is trickier, as many of the people who you reach on social media might not buy straight away—they might come back weeks or months down the line.

Paid social media metrics

These metrics help you measure your paid performance on social media.

30. Ad cost (CPC, CPA, CPM)

Ad cost metrics measure the cost of your paid social media campaigns. This is usually done using one of three metrics:

• CPC (cost per click) tracks how much you pay for each click on your ad.
• CPM (Cost per mille) tracks how much you pay for 1,000 impressions.
• CPA (Cost per acquisition) tracks how much you pay for each conversion/sale.

Ideally, you want all of the above to be as low as possible. A lower CPC/CPM/CPA indicates better ad efficiency and shows you’re getting more for your money.

31. Ad reach

Ad reach measures the total number of unique social media users who see your paid social media content. 

Higher ad reach indicates broader visibility, which is a good thing—but only if those views are converting to actions. If you’re reaching plenty of people but they’re not converting, you may need to change your targeting options.

32. Return on ad spend (ROAS)

Return on ad spend (ROAS) measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on social ads. In other words, it tells you how much value you’re getting for your money.

It’s calculated by dividing total ad revenue by total ad spend. 

For instance, if you spend $1000 on ads and generate $500 in direct sales revenue from those ads, your ROAS is 5:1 (or 500%). 

Anything above 1:1 or 100% indicates a profitable campaign.

Video performance metrics

These metrics help you to measure the performance of the video content you share on social media.

33. Video views

Video views measure how many times the videos you share on social media are played, including partial views.

It’s a fundamental performance metric that can help you gauge the effectiveness of your video thumbnails, titles, and hooks.

34. Watch time

Watch time tracks the total amount of time viewers spend watching your video content over a given period. 

It’s a cumulative metric that reflects both video length and viewer retention. Longer watch times indicate strong viewer interest, boosting content visibility in platform algorithms.

35. Completion rate

Completion rate measures the percentage of viewers who watch your video the whole way through—right to the end. 

It’s calculated by dividing the number of full views by total views, then multiplying by 100. A higher completion rate indicates engaging content that keeps your audience’s attention, while a low rate may suggest viewer drop-off or lack of interest. 

36. Viewer retention

Viewer retention is a metric that tells you the length of time people typically spend consuming a given video before clicking/scrolling away.

It’s usually expressed as a percentage. For instance, a viewer retention rate of 55% means that, on average, viewers watch 55% of your video before leaving.

Ideally, you want to aim for as close to 100% here as possible. The higher your viewer retention, the better your video content will perform.

37. Thumbstop rate

Thumbstop rate measures the percentage of social media users who stop scrolling through their feed upon seeing your video and watch it for at least a few seconds.

It’s calculated by dividing the number of video plays greater than 3 seconds by the total video impressions, then multiplying by 100.

A high thumbstop rate indicates that your content grabs attention effectively, making it a key metric for assessing visual appeal and hook strength.

Final thoughts

That concludes our complete guide to social media metrics.

To recap, it’s important to track metrics to measure and optimize your social media performance. The best way to do that is with a third-party analytics tool like Social Status.

There are dozens of metrics you might want to track, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed, so focus on those that are most relevant to your goals. These are your KPIs (key performance indicators).