How to read social media stats: which metrics to look at

Built-in social media stats are flooded with numbers, and it's easy to look at the wrong ones. Likes are pleasant but say little. Let's break down which metrics truly matter and how to make decisions from them.

Metrics fall into groups

Reach and impressions

• Reach — how many unique people saw it.
• Impressions — how many times it was shown (with repeats).

Reach grows → content flies beyond your followers.

Engagement

• Reactions, comments, saves, reshares.
• Saves and reshares are more valuable than likes — they're a "useful/important" signal that algorithms love.
• ER — engagement relative to reach/audience.

Retention (for video)

• Watch-through rate — what % watched.
• Drop-off points — where they stop watching.

The main video metric is retention, not likes.

Actions

• Link clicks, profile visits, CTA clicks.
• Requests/sales — the final point.

How to analyze

1. Compare with yourself — the dynamic matters more than absolute numbers.
2. Look for patterns — what your best posts have in common (topic, format, hook, time).
3. Look at the whole funnel — reach → engagement → clicks → requests. Where's the drop?
4. Turn conclusions → actions — amplify what works, change what doesn't.

Vanity metrics vs working ones

• Vanity — likes, follower count by itself.
• Working — reach of new audiences, saves, retention, clicks, requests.

Don't confuse "pleasant" with "useful for business."

Takeaway

Read stats by groups (reach, engagement, retention, actions), compare with yourself, look for patterns and turn them into decisions. Likes aren't the goal. We help build analytics that lead to growth, not to pretty reports.