14 Social Media Metrics You Need To Track in 2025

Let’s face it – we’ve definitely reached a point where simply showing up on social media is not enough. Sure, using all the latest CapCut templates and trending Instagram audios could be a recipe for success, but if you don’t measure your progress, you’ll never know for sure if your content is making waves or just floating by unnoticed. 
 

That’s where social media metrics come into the picture, helping you turn all those raw numbers into actionable insights and see what is working and what can be improved. No matter if you’re a solo creator or brand, tracking the right metrics for social media marketing eliminates guesswork and paves the way to success.

What are social media metrics and why are they important?

In a nutshell, social media metrics are data points that help you measure your content's performance on social media across multiple platforms. They help you see which of your posts are grabbing attention and sparking interest, how fast your community is growing, and how good you’re getting at converting casual scrollers into paying customers – among many other things. 
 

Metrics are not arbitrary; each one of them is usually connected to a specific goal. For instance, if your top priority is to increase your brand’s visibility on social media, then you’re most likely to focus on metrics such as impressions, reach or mentions. This is why setting clear goals for your social media marketing journey is absolutely essential.

Alright, so we know social media success metrics are important. But why should they be front and center in your daily social media marketing routine? Here’s why: 

• Strategy optimization. By tracking social media metrics, you can easily uncover specific topics, formats, posting times or targeting issues that are holding you back. A well-informed, data-backed strategy is always the right idea. 
   
• In-depth audience insights. Social media content should be a dialogue, not a monologue. To build those meaningful relationships (and boost leads and sales), you need to understand your audience’s preferences and behavior inside and out. 
   
• Faster trend-spotting. Keeping an eye on your metrics can reveal new patterns in your performance, giving you the heads-up on what’s gaining traction and what’s falling flat. This can help shape your content planning.
   
• ROI proof. Metrics aren’t just for internal tracking; they can also help you demonstrate the value of your content. Whether you're reporting to your team or stakeholders, metrics provide the right framework where you can present results in a clear, engaging way that highlights the return on your efforts.
   

Best metrics to track as a social media manager

As a social media manager, your job goes beyond creating content. It’s about making sure that content actually performs. But with so many metrics out there, it can be hard to figure out which ones really matter. 
 

So let’s dive in and explore these metrics one by one:
 

Impressions 

Impressions count the number of the times your posts pop up on your audience’s feed – even if they don’t actually interact with the content. 
 

• How to track it: Most social media platforms, like Instagram and LinkedIn, have built-in analytics that show your post impressions. If you want a more centralized view of your impressions across multiple channels, you can use a third-party social media analytics tool like Sprout or Socialinsider. 
• What it means: If your LinkedIn post, for instance, got 1500 impressions, that means it was viewed 1500 times (counting repeat views).
   

Reach

As opposed to impressions, reach represents the number of unique users who have seen your posts. High reach is a sign that your content is spreading fast. 
 

• How to track it: Through native platform analytics or analytics tools 
• What it means: If one of your posts has a reach of 2,000, that means 2,000 different people have seen it. 
   

It’s always a good idea to look at reach and impressions together, as the correlations between them can reveal useful insights. For instance, if you notice some of your posts are consistently getting more impressions than reach, it likely means the same people are seeing your post multiple times – usually a good sign that the algorithm sees your content as engaging and worth showing again. 
 

Mentions 

Social media mentions refer to the number of times your brand, username, or hashtag is mentioned  – whether directly or indirectly – in public online conversations. Direct mentions are those that tag your social media handle (e.g. @ flixierpro), while indirect mentions are untagged. 

• How to track it: You can check mentions manually using each platform’s analytics,  or use social media listening tools like Brandwatch, or Mention to track them across different networks.
• What it means: A high volume of mentions show that people are talking about your brand online, through direct tags, shoutouts, or discussions. Just keep in mind that not all mentions will be positive. 

Customer sentiment 

Customer sentiment reflects the emotions and opinions people express about a brand via their interactions with social media content. It’s a great way to add nuance to your analysis when you’re tracking social media metrics, and figure out if the buzz around your brand is generally positive, negative or somewhere in-between. 
 

• How to track it: If you can take the time to go through your comment sections, reviews and mentions, you can get an idea of how people feel about your brand. But if you want to speed things up and use a tool that automates sentiment analysis and helps you spot trends, you could try Socialinsider or Hootsuite.
• What it means: Mostly positive customer sentiment means people are happy with your brand, whether that’s due to your social media content, customer service, or actual purchases. Predominantly negative sentiment, on the other hand, could be a red flag signaling that people are facing issues that need your attention.

Likes/reactions 

Across most platforms, likes are the go-to metric for measuring engagement. Of course, likes don’t tell the whole story, but they do offer a glimpse into what’s resonating well with your audience. Some platforms, like Facebook and LinkedIn, have taken it a step further with reactions, which lets users express a wider range of emotions.

• How to track it: Every social platform features like/reaction counts in their native analytics. For a bigger-picture analysis, you can also use social media reporting tools like Later. 
• What it means: Any way you slice it, a big number of likes on your posts is an unambiguous sign that your followers (and maybe non-followers too) are interested in what you have to say.

Comments

Comments are where the real conversations happen. It’s where people can share their thoughts and ask questions.. Whether it’s praise, feedback, or a funny reply, comments add depth to social media interactions and help turn your content into a two-way conversation.

• How to track it: Similarly to likes, comments can also be easily tracked using native analytics, or a social media analytics tool. 
• What it means: Most comments are a sign that people are enjoying or connecting with your content but don’t be surprised if you find a few negative comments mixed in! Sometimes these are fueled by a bit of controversy or criticism. No matter if it's a lively debate or a string of complaints, a lot of comments can also mean your post is inspiring people to share strong opinions. 

Shares

Shares are a key metric that counts how many times your posts have been distributed by social media users. Different platforms have different versions of this metric (e.g. on Instagram you can share posts to Stories or DMs, whereas on LinkedIn and TikTok you can reshare the same post to your own feed). 

• How to track it: Through built-in native analytics, or an analytics tool like Buffer. Keep in mind that no apps can provide shared insights about posts that are distributed via private message. 
• What it means: Shares are like the ultimate compliment on social media, and the start of a ripple effect. They show that your content is so good, people want to pass it along to their own network of followers. 
   

CTR (click-through-rate)

The click-through-rate (or CTR) measures the percentage of people clicked on a link in your post or add after seeing. Tracking your CTR shows how compelling your organic or paid content is. 
 

• How to track it: Most social media platforms and ad managers provide CTR data in their analytics dashboards, but if you want to crunch the numbers yourself, you can use this formula:

(Total clicks / Total impressions) x 100

• What it means: A high CTR means your content is making people curious enough to take an action that goes beyond your post on social media. Depending on the link you include in your posts, they may visit your website, sign-up page or online store. 
   

If one of your ads on Instagram, for instance, got 35 clicks and 550 impressions, then the CTR for that particular post would be (35 / 550) x 100 = 6.36%.

Traffic 

Social media traffic refers to the number of visitors you get on your website via your social media content (ads, bios, stories, posts, etc).

• How to track it: Your go-to tool for monitoring incoming social media traffic should be Google Analytics. Create UTM links for all your social posts, then make your way to Acquisition > Social to see which platforms and posts bring in the most visitors.
• What it means: High social media traffic means your posts and links are doing their job—getting people to your website! It’s a sign that your content is sparking enough interest for your customers to consider booking a demo, signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, or taking another meaningful action. 

Conversion rate

When it comes to conversion metrics, nothing tells the story better than conversion rate. This metric tracks how many people took a specific action after clicking on your content. 

• How to track it: You can easily track this through Google Analytics by setting up Goals or tracking events. If you prefer to go the manual route, just use this formula:

(Conversions / Total clicks) x 100

• What it means: Having a high conversion rate means social media efforts are actually turning interest into real action and driving results, by converting visitors into leads or even paying customers.
   

To put this to practice, if your social media campaign posts got 600 total clicks and 250 of those clicks led to actual sales or other important outcomes, then your conversion rate is (250 / 600) x 100 = 41%. So 41% of the people who click on your campaign posts turned into a lead or maybe even a customer.
 

Most important social media metrics for influencers

As an influencer, tracking the right metrics helps you understand how far you’ve come and what’s working for you, so you can keep growing and doing what you love. Here’s a list of metrics most influencers prioritize: 
 

1. Video views 

On video-first social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube, views are one of the main ways people interact with videos. It’s true that auto-play can give these numbers a boost, but views still offer a clear picture of how much attention your video is getting.
 

Each platform has its own definition of what counts as a view. For example, on YouTube a user has to watch your video for 30 seconds for it to count as a view, while on TikTok it takes only 3 seconds.
 

If you are a content creator who’s active on any video-first platforms like TikTok, YouTube or even Instagram, tracking your video views is the main way to see which of your posts are resonating with your audience. 
 

• How to track it: Through built-in native analytics (see YouTube Studio), or an analytics tool like Socialinsider.
• What it means:  If your video is racking up views, it means people find it funny, helpful, or relevant. If those views are coming in fast, there is a change your video might soon go viral.

2. Engagement rate

Engagement rate is one of the top social media performance metrics when it comes to measuring engagement. Unlike total engagement, which just counts up all the post interactions, engagement rate tells you how many people who saw your content actually chose to interact with it.
 

As an influencer, this metric should be your North Star. Engagement rate shows you if your community is actively invested in your content, if your posts are sparking conversations and if you are building a real sense of community. It’s one of the best ways to measure your impact on any given platform, and see what your audience loves most, so you can create more of it. 
 

• How to track it:  Depending on how you choose to calculate your engagement rate (by followers or by impressions), you can use one of these two formulas:

By impressions: (Post interactions / Post impressions) x100

By followers: (Post interactions  / Total followers) x 100
 

Most social media platforms will just show the engagement rate for every post, but if you want to track the evolution of this metric and include it in your social media metrics dashboard, we suggest using a tool like Sprout. 
 

• What it means: A high engagement rate by followers means that a significant part of your audience genuinely enjoys your content and actively interacts with it. A high engagement rate by impressions means even people outside your follower base find your content interesting enough to engage with.
   

To take a practical example, let’s say you have 4,500 followers on LinkedIn, and one of your posts gets 500 interactions and 5,000 impressions. Your engagement rate by followers would be (500 / 4,500) × 100 = 11%, and your engagement rate by impressions would be  (500 / 5,000) × 100 = 10%. That means 11% of your audience engaged with your post, while 10% of everyone who saw it (followers and non-followers) interacted with it in some way.

3. Follower growth rate

Your follower growth rate describes the speed at which your audience is expanding over a set time period. A growing follower base doesn’t just tell you that you’re reaching more people  – it’s a sign that your content is resonating with them and making them want to stick around. 
 

As a content creator, monitoring your follower growth rate is important – even more important than measuring your total follower base. A high growth rate is proof that you're succeeding at attracting attention and inspiring people to join your community. 

• How to track it: You can calculate your growth rate manually using this formula:

(Net new followers / total followers) x 100 
 

If you prefer to not crunch the numbers yourself, most social media analytics tools can track this for you automatically.
 

• What it means: If the number of net new followers you got in the last month is 450, and your total follower count is 9500, then your followers count has grown by 4.73%. Keep in mind that when you’re starting out, your growth rate can be quite high, and as your audience grows, it might be more challenging to maintain that momentum.

4. Audience demographics

Audience demographics give you essential insights into your followers’ age, gender, location, and interests – all of which are extremely important when you’re trying to figure out who is consuming your content on social media. 
 

Knowing your audience inside and out is a great way to make sure your messaging lands with the right people —and it can even open the door to new brand deals! (P.S. brands love to work with creators that know how to reach their target audience). 
 

• How to track it: Most social media platforms provide built-in audience demographics insights (e.g. Instagram Insights, TikTok Studio, etc). If you want to dig even deeper, tools like Sprout Social can help.
   
• What it means: If you're just starting out and don’t have a set target audience yet, audience demographics can show you who’s naturally drawn towards your content. If you already have an ideal audience in mind, these insights help you see if you’re actually reaching them, or if it’s time for a strategy shift (e.g. posting at different times, experimenting with new content styles, or even adding dubbed videos to connect with multilingual viewers).
   

Social media metrics by goals

With so many metrics on the horizon, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and not know where to start. That’s why we organized our metrics in 3 main categories, each one tied to a large social media goal: awareness, engagement and conversion.  This way you can easily see what metrics you need to track every step of the way. 
 

Social media awareness metrics

Getting noticed online isn’t as easy as it looks. With so many brands competing for attention, social media can feel like a crowded, highly-competitive space. That’s why keeping an eye on awareness metrics is so important –  they help you see if your efforts to boost visibility are actually paying off. 

Here are the key metrics you should prioritize when your goal is to boost your awareness: 

• Impressions
• Reach 
• Mentions 
• Customer
• Follower growth 
• Audience demographics
• Mentions
• Customer sentiment

How to improve your awareness metrics

If you feel like you’re not hitting your awareness goals yet, and want to get your brand in front of more people, here are a few tried-and-true strategies you could try out: 
 

• Hop on trends & memes – If you jump on the right trends at the right time, you can easily increase your reach and visibility. Just make sure to choose trends and memes that feel right for your brand – forced or random trends won’t have a real impact.
   
• Host giveaways – Everyone loves free stuff, and encouraging your audience to participate in contests or giveaways is a great way to expand your community. Ask users to tag their friends, share your post, or create UGC (user-generated-content), so that your content expands beyond your existing follower base.
   
• Do influencer collabs – Arguably one of the quickest ways to unlock new audiences and get more visibility is to partner with influencers. Provided you find the right fit for your brand, influencers can help spread your message far and wide, in a relatable and engaging way. 

P.S. We’ve even launched our own Flixier Content Creator Program to help make these connections happen!

 

Social media engagement metrics 

With awareness all squared away, it’s time to focus our attention on engagement. Engagement metrics are your best clue into how people feel about your content. Different types of content encourage different interactions, from likes and comments to shares and saves. 
 

Here’s what you should track to see how your audience connects with your content on social media:

• Likes/reactions
• Comments
• Shares
• Engagement rate 
• Video views

How to improve your engagement metrics

If you feel like your posts are falling flat and not generating enough engagement, it might time to try some techniques to get the conversation flowing:
 

• Reach out to your audience – Engagement is a two way street. If you feel like your audience isn’t engaging with your content enough, be the one to take initiative. Reply to comments, ask questions, and start conversations. As a solo creator, don’t be afraid to show your true self! Whether it’s through your public content or private DMs, influencer authenticity goes a long way in building strong connections with your audience.
   
• Tailor your content to each platform – Play to each platform’s strengths! What works on Instagram might not hit the same on LinkedIn, so don’t cross-post the same content everywhere. 
   
• Make it share-worthy – Create content that is relatable, inspirational or fun. That way that your followers will be encouraged to share it with their community, increasing your visibility, and your chances of getting engagement. 

P.S. Flixier has a ton of ready-made templates to help you create fun, engaging videos in just a few minutes – whether it's behind-the-scenes clips, memes, or vlogs. It's the perfect way to create shareable content and  boost your engagement with very little effort.
 

Social media conversion metrics

You’ve got the visibility and the engagement, now all that’s left to do is “close the deal”. To measure how good you are at turning casual scrollers, or occasional likers into long-term, loyal customers, you need to track a few essential conversion metrics. 
 

Here are a few key metrics to monitor when you want to increase your conversions: 

• CTR
• Traffic 
• Conversion rate

How to improve your conversion metrics 

Conversion might be the most challenging social media goal of them all, and your conversion metrics aren’t soaring just yet, don’t let it get you down. Instead, try these tips to boost your results:
 

• Get creative with your CTAs: Remember to add CTAs anywhere it makes sense. Keep your calls-to-action clear, but add some personality. A catchy call to action can make all the difference in getting your audience to take the next step. 
   
• Offer real value: Don’t just go on promoting your brand or product. Share content that truly benefits your followers – anything from a helpful set of tips, a solution to a pain point to a fun fact to brighten their day. This will make them trust and connect with your brand on a much deeper level. 
   
• Share social proof: Let your (existing) customers speak for you. Authentic stories and well-written reviews can act as social proof, inspiring new people to join in and connect  with your brand.
   

Top tools for social media tracking 

Monitoring your performance through key metrics is key for developing a winning strategy. But it’s only half the battle. The real magic happens when you pair those insights with the right tools that help you track & visualize your data, generate detailed reports and create an actionable roadmap for your social media presence.
 

Native analytics tools

To match their users’ need for comprehensive insights, every major social platform now has its own built-in analytics section,  which gives you access to a lot of useful data and insights free of charge. 
 

The only downside is that these tools help you understand how your content is performing within the platform itself. If you’re looking to monitor your performance across multiple channels, you will need to either put the numbers together manually, or rely on a third-party analytics tool.  

Tools: Meta Business Suite, Instagram Insights, TikTok Studio, YouTube Studio 
 

Paid / freemium tools 

To take your social media tracking to the next level, your best bet is to look for professional social media tools that offer cross-channel analytics, automated reports and conversion insights among other features. 
 

Depending on where you are in your social media journey (just starting out or a seasoned veteran), or if you are a social media manager or solo content creator, these tools offer different pricing plans that can match your needs and budget.
 

Tools: Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Socialinsider, Later, Google Analytics

Integration / automation tools 

To round out your social media analysis toolkit, it's a good idea to add some integration and automation tools that can connect your favorite apps. These tools can help you set up workflows or visualize data without switching between platforms all day.

Tools: Zapier (for task automation), Looker Studio (for visualizing data and creating interactive, shareable reports)

Ready… set… track!

Whether it’s engagement, reach, conversions, or customer sentiment, social media metrics give you the means to understand your performance, set realistic goals and understand how your audience chooses to connect with your content. So, dive into your metrics, stay curious, and watch your social media efforts grow and prosper!