Are you the kind of marketer that posts and goes? Well, it’s probably a no-sweat lifestyle for you, but your strategy is probably plummeting! Here’s the thing: producing and posting the content is only the first half of your marketing campaign. Without any kind of data to tell you what posts are performing and which are sinking like lead, you’ve got no basis for your content.

Whether it is Hootsuite, Onlypult, or the internet insights many platforms offer, doing your research will really benefit your social media attempts. No doubt, this is one of the less glamorous sides of social media, but here at The Go! Agency, we love these tools that allow us to help our clients get the most out of every update, note, and blog we send out to cyberspace. Still need more convincing? Here is what you can expect to get if you decide to delve into the data.

• Where? Are you big in Japan? Well, what about Dallas? The geographical demographic side of things is always interesting to study. Every now and again, you’ll find interesting trends, such as a spike of readers in Finland for some odd reason. Hopefully, you’ll be able to cater to the right region. If not, you can improve this by looking into trending topics in the target area and reinforcing them with local hashtags, news sources, etc.

• When? Scheduling a post will always make you wonder when exactly is the right time to send out your material. Is your target demographic surfing social media in the afternoon? Maybe they’re night owls and are sharing and liking at 3 in the morning? With analytics from Hootsuite, Facebook, Google, and others, you’ll be able to play Father Time and hit them at the right moment.

• How? Just because Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the others have their own apps, it doesn’t mean people are using them. Instead, people may be using third party software like Hootsuite, Feedient, and Snowball that will allow users to really multitask. Just how they’re seeing your information can be helpful.
• Which? Which posts are succeeding and which are failing? Does your audience like news stories over promotional posts? Perhaps they like videos more than pictures, or polls over quizzes? These questions are easily answered when researching your social media accounts.
• Who? Are your posts reaching the people you want them to? By using one of the many avenues of analytics, you’ll be able to see who exactly is reading your stuff. This is where you’ll find interesting demographics. Do males or females read, like, share, and comment on your posts? What is their age range? As business professionals know, these are important questions to ask so their product is being presented to the right crowd.

While the most creative part of utilizing social media marketing is writing and designing, the dirty work of analysis can be a real lifesaver whenever you see a dip in followers, or want to see what material is really working.

Why do YOU use analytics? Comment below!