{"id":1572,"date":"2020-02-14T08:33:55","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T08:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/britopian.com\/?p=1572"},"modified":"2023-11-19T08:22:39","modified_gmt":"2023-11-19T08:22:39","slug":"measure-influence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britopian.com\/influencer-marketing\/measure-influence\/","title":{"rendered":"How is Social Media Influence Measured? It’s Complicated."},"content":{"rendered":"
Social media influence refers to an individual or brand’s ability to impact opinions, attitudes, and behaviors through online presence and engagement on social platforms. In today’s digital era, influence has become a valuable commodity that can make or break reputations and drive real-world outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike traditional media, social media allows regular people to accumulate influence and become thought leaders in their industry or community. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have democratized influence, moving it beyond the control of celebrities, politicians, and corporations. This shift has enabled a new class of “influencers” to emerge across various niches who attract engaged followings based on their knowledge, authenticity, and content quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For brands, businesses, and public figures, prioritizing social media influence is now a strategic imperative. Cultivating a solid presence allows them to interact directly with target audiences, increase visibility, shape narratives about their brand, drive website traffic and conversions, and catalyze tangible growth. The level of influence built on social media has a direct correlation to real-world success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given the immense value of social media influence, concrete metrics are needed to quantify and track someone’s online impact. While no single measurement tells the whole story, these are some of the top benchmarks used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n By monitoring this blend of quantitative and qualitative data points through analytics, influencers can benchmark success, guide strategy, and maximize the return on investment from social media influence. The numbers provide concrete insights into resonating with the right audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Effectively tracking and measuring social media influence requires utilizing a mix of native platform analytics, third-party tools, and specialized influence-tracking software. Each provides unique data to compile a comprehensive assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Logging into the native social media platforms themselves, like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, gives access to their built-in analytics dashboards. These provide foundational follower counts, engagement rates, reach, and demographic data tied directly to owned profiles and content. While limited in depth, native analytics offer a baseline snapshot of performance. Brands should regularly check their first-party data.<\/p>\n\n\nMetric<\/th> Description<\/th> Additional Considerations<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Follower Count<\/td> Total number of followers on social media platforms<\/td> Evaluate follower authenticity and quality. Remove fake and bot accounts from count.<\/td><\/tr> Engagement Rate<\/td> Percentage of followers who like, comment, share, etc.<\/td> Benchmark against industry averages. Measure over time to see trends.<\/td><\/tr> Mentions and Links<\/td> References or links to influencer’s profile\/content<\/td> Track volume and sources of mentions.<\/td><\/tr> Content Reach<\/td> Total views, shares, reshares of content<\/td> Identify which content goes viral. Measure reach on multiple platforms.<\/td><\/tr> Sentiment<\/td> Tone, keywords and phrases used to describe influencer<\/td> Conduct sentiment analysis to quantify. Monitor changes in sentiment over time.<\/td><\/tr> Conversions\/Sales<\/td> Total sales or leads attributed to social media<\/td> Use tracking links and promo codes. Connect conversions to ROI.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Tools and Platforms for Measuring Influence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n