This post was created in partnership with Dash Social
As the algorithm that permeates social media evolves to prioritize more personalized content and user engagement, foundational metrics like follower count are now less important for brands. But what has replaced them?
Industry leaders discussed the evolving landscape of social media marketing during a Social Media Week panel co-hosted with Dash Social, and offered advice on new ways to consider what constitutes a successful social media campaign.
Follower count has been dethroned
Ryan Sasaki, chief product officer at Dash Social, kicked things off by discussing the original social media metrics: followers. This metric, he said, has lost some of its importance, especially for brands.
“It’s not out of the ordinary for more established brands to actually see followers going down,” Sasaki said. “In the old days of social, a consumer had to follow a brand in order to see their content. Of course, with the algorithms, that has all changed.”
People are still engaging with brand content, but they are discovering it through features like TikTok’s “For You” page, he said. And on Instagram, he’s seen a 2X increase in non-follower views across the board. For Addie Hearn, senior social media manager at Free People, the metrics to watch are views and shares.
“That’s the biggest point of excitement for us. Views and shares mean that we’re getting eyes. Engagement is harder to come by. It’s harder to get someone to ‘like’ something than to just get their eyes on it,” Hearn explained.
As new metrics overtake old ones, Dash Social developed a metric called Total Social Impact (TSI). According to Sasaki, it’s a way to “evaluate your social media footprint holistically across earned and paid efforts.”
Hearn shared that she loves the idea of TSI because it allows her to see where she and her team need to balance out their efforts. While TikTok and Instagram account for a majority of Free People’s social media efforts, TSI points to where they could grow.
“This number really explains that social isn’t just about this one post or this one week or this one day. It’s a whole different ball game,” she said.
A cohesive social media marketing structure
If there’s a secret to Free People’s triple-digit social media growth this past year, it might be because its organic and paid social media teams work together, rather than being siloed like most social media teams.
