Follower counts are easy to watch and hard to bank. A few other numbers tell you far more about whether social media is helping your business.
In this guide
- Reach counts people; impressions count views.
- Engagement rate shows how interesting a post was to the people who saw it.
- UTM tags on your links show which posts send visitors to your website.
- Review a few numbers once a month instead of checking every day.
Every platform offers dashboards full of numbers. Most of them are interesting; only a few help you decide what to do next.
Reach and impressions
- Reach: how many different accounts saw a post.
- Impressions: how many times it was shown, counting repeat views.
Reach tells you how far a post traveled. A big gap between impressions and reach means people saw it more than once.
Engagement rate
Engagements are the actions people take: likes, comments, shares, saves and clicks. Divide them by reach to compare posts fairly.
Good to know: A post reaches 2,000 accounts and gets 40 likes, 10 comments, 6 shares and 4 saves. That’s 60 engagements, and 60 divided by 2,000 is 3%. A post with 30 likes from a reach of 500 has a higher rate, 6%, even though it got fewer likes.
Comments, shares and saves usually signal more interest than a quick like.
Clicks and UTM links
If you want people to visit your website, measure that directly. Add UTM tags to the links in your posts and bio, for example:
example.com/order?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=autumn
Your website analytics will then show visits by source and campaign. Free UTM builders make the links for you.
Conversions
The number that matters most is the one closest to money: orders, bookings, calls, sign-ups. Ask new customers how they heard about you, use a code unique to social media, or track online orders from tagged links.
A monthly review
Once a month, write down:
- reach and engagement rate for each platform
- your three best posts and what they had in common
- website visits and orders from social media
Then adjust your content calendar. If a platform isn’t moving any of these numbers after a few months, it may be time to reconsider where you post.
FAQ
Should I buy followers to look established?
No. Purchased followers don’t buy anything, they drag down your engagement rate, and buying fake social media indicators to deceive people is prohibited under the FTC’s rule on reviews and testimonials.
What’s a good engagement rate?
It varies by platform, industry and account size. Compare your posts with each other over time rather than chasing someone else’s benchmark.
Where do I find these numbers?
Business and creator accounts include built-in statistics. Your website analytics show visits from social media and the UTM campaigns you set up.
General information for U.S. businesses, not legal advice. Platform features and rules change often, so check the FTC’s guidance and each platform’s current policies before you act.
