How to Track the Right Stats in Your Social Media Strategy

How to Track the Right Stats in Your Social Media Strategy

In today’s crowded digital landscape, posting isn’t enough. For brands working in the baby, parenting and family space, it’s not just about sharing beautiful images or trending reels, it’s about ensuring those efforts actually drive results. And to do that, you need to be tracking the right statistics. Behind every scroll, click and comment lies a wealth of data. But not all metrics are created equal. The most successful brands use analytics not just to measure performance, but to understand their audience, sharpen their content, and make confident decisions that align with business goals. Here’s how to approach social media stats with purpose and precision.

Set Goals Before You Track

Why Goals Matter

Before diving into numbers, start with strategy. Every data point should link directly back to a clear objective; otherwise, you’re just collecting noise. Whether you’re a parenting start-up looking to build community, a baby product brand driving e-commerce sales, or a family lifestyle platform aiming to boost engagement, setting defined goals ensures you’re tracking what actually matters.

Examples of Common Goals

Understand the Metrics That Matter

A healthy reporting mix includes both quantitative data and qualitative insight. Here’s a breakdown of the key categories and metrics that deserve your attention:

Audience Growth

Follower Growth & Growth Rate

These stats tell you how quickly your audience is expanding, a reliable signal that your content is resonating.

Audience Size

While it doesn’t tell the full story, a steadily growing follower base is often a positive sign of ongoing brand interest.

Customer Satisfaction

Response Time & Volume

Fast, consistent replies on platforms like Instagram or Facebook boost community perception and show you’re actively listening.

CSAT & Comments

Customer Satisfaction Scores and comment sentiment offer deeper insight into how your audience feels and what they need.

Awareness Metrics

Reach & Impressions

These stats reveal how many people actually see your content. While impressions show frequency, reach focuses on unique viewers; both are crucial for awareness campaigns.

Video Views

Especially on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, video performance is a key indicator of message cut-through.

Customer Retention

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Used to measure loyalty, NPS highlights how likely followers are to recommend your brand.

Repeat Visitors & Social Commerce

Tracking return visits and social sales helps you see which content keeps people coming back.

Reviews & Ratings

Customer reviews across platforms like Google and Facebook signal credibility and trust, responding to them is just as important as gathering them.

Social Media ROI

Conversion Rate & Conversions

Track the percentage of users who complete a desired action, from sign-ups to purchases, after seeing your social content.

Social Referral Traffic

Tools like UTM codes and Google Analytics help connect social activity with on-site behaviours and conversions.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

If you’re running paid campaigns, ROAS helps assess whether your investment is driving sufficient value.

Brand Health

Sentiment & Mentions

Use social listening tools to uncover how people feel about your brand, and how often they’re talking about it.

Share of Voice

Benchmark your visibility against competitors to see where your brand stands in the wider conversation.

Engagement Metrics

Engagement Rate

This gives you a percentage view of how actively people are interacting with your posts.

Likes, Comments, Shares

Not just vanity numbers, these give insight into what content creates a connection and sparks conversation.

Video Completion Rate

Track who’s watching your video content all the way through to gauge true engagement.

Paid Performance

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR measures how compelling your ads are and whether they’re delivering on their promise.

Cost per Click (CPC)

Use this to understand the efficiency of your paid campaigns and optimise budget allocation.

Web Conversions

Track when a user takes a valuable action on your website after seeing an ad, such as making a purchase or submitting a contact form.

Choose the Right Tools to Streamline Data

Manually gathering and comparing metrics across platforms can be time-consuming. The right tools bring clarity, speed, and smarter decision-making.

Use Built-In Platform Analytics

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn and X all offer native analytics. They’re a great place to start.

Google Analytics

Essential for tracking website behaviour and connecting it back to social campaigns.

All-in-One Solutions Like Sprout Social

Sprout Social offers deep reporting, content performance analysis, and smart automations, all tailored to the needs of modern social media teams. Their social listening tool is especially powerful for uncovering brand sentiment and trending topics.

Visualisation Platforms

Dashboards like Tableau integrate social with other business data, helping you tell a more holistic story to stakeholders.

Don’t Just Measure, Optimise

Tracking stats isn’t the end goal. The value lies in what you do next.

Regularly Report and Review

Make reporting a habit, not a one-off. Monthly reviews help spot trends early; quarterly reviews offer bigger-picture insight.

Adapt and Improve

If something’s underperforming, ask why. Look beyond surface numbers and consider content type, timing, platform, or audience.

Share Insights Across the Team

From customer service to product development, the insights gathered through social media can support other parts of your business.

Tailor Data to Your Audience

Not every stakeholder wants a spreadsheet, customised reporting formats for different teams, granular data for social teams, and high-level summaries for executives.

Final Thoughts

Tracking the right social media metrics is about more than just proving performance; it’s about empowering smarter decisions, enhancing brand trust, and creating authentic, lasting connections with your audience. In the family and parenting space, where trust and relatability are everything, data helps ensure your content not only reaches the right people but truly resonates. By setting clear goals, choosing meaningful metrics, using the right tools, and continuously refining your approach, you’ll not only prove the value of your social media strategy, but you’ll elevate it.