Like What?

Are you familiar with the term vanity metrics? These are misleading measurements and calculations that may be fun to brag about but don’t reflect the true performance of your brand. 

Here’s an example.

You are using social media to grow your business. You launch a new campaign that was popular. You get tens of thousands of likes and hundreds of shares, but… so what? 

What kind of people interacted with your social media posts? Do likes and shares build trust with your brand and credibility for your goals? How do likes and shares translate into results for your business?

The pursuit of social media likes can be a blinding metric to determine the success of your content with your audience.

The pursuit of social media likes can be a blinding metric to determine the success of your content with your audience. So what if your posts get a lot of likes. If you don’t understand why your posts connect with your audience, you’re unlikely to generate sales no matter the number of likes your posts received. 

People know immediately when they’re being asked to buy into something that’s not relevant to them. Producing content without a clear purpose can result in a mismatch between your audience and your overall goals. 

Consider this: every time you post on social media, you send a signal about your brand. This signal represents your trust, your credibility, and your overall reputation. Even if you have content that drives phenomenal likes, what happens when you start asking your audience to make a purchase? Do they disengage and unfollow your channels? Do they fill up their carts and follow through to the sale? 

Every time you post on social media, you send a signal about your brand. This signal represents your trust, your credibility, and your overall reputation.

Take a close look at your social media metrics. Determine which posts are getting more likes and engagement and use this to build deeper relationships with your audience while introducing them to offers that are most relevant to them. Achieving the right balance between content that drives engagement and content that drives results is the ultimate goal. 

Obviously, this is a hard-earned privilege and a challenging thing to understand. Trends in social media are constantly changing and the “popularity contest” can make it tempting to post more “likable” content instead of “actionable” content. However, by focusing on content that is relatable and credible, you can introduce offers to your audience that generate new sales without jeopardising the integrity of your brand.