5 Free Data Analytics Tools for Social Media Specialists
Beyond the likes and comments, how do social media specialists evaluate engagement? If you’re trying to grow your audience, it’s important to have a solid game-plan. Followers aren’t going to magically appear overnight. Enter analytics. At the Social Media Center, we emphasize the importance of data
to boost your social media profiles. Data doesn’t lie; it can provide valuable insights about your audience and your work. It allows informed
decision-making so that you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
Here are five free data analytics tools to get you into action!
Perhaps the reigning king of analytics tools, Google Analytics offers a detailed platform that allows you to analyze the traffic on your website. Simply sign up for an account and paste the provided tracking code onto your blog. It generates an immense amount of data based on your audience, where they are located and which posts or pages get the most interaction. You can also see where your visitors are coming from and when, among other useful data points. Best of all, all this data is completely free.
Sign up for Google Analytics here!
2. Klout
Justin Bieber’s Klout Score is 92. What about you? If you have an active social media presence, posting frequently and engaging with your followers results in a higher score. Klout measures how influential you are online by giving you a number between 1 and 100 based on all your social interactions across platforms. The higher the number the higher your social media influence. Sign up for Klout here!
3. Buffer
Buffer is an all-in-one social media management tool that provides built-in
analytics, and allows you to schedule posts on all your platforms. With each post, you can track performance and engagement, so you can see what’s working and what’s not. Choose between “Individual” and “Awesome” plans (free and $10 per month, respectively)and start adding your accounts. Its user-friendly interface saves you time and energy. Sign up for Buffer here!
4. SocialRank
Ever want to know your real followers? SocialRank helps identify and manage your Instagram and Twitter followers so that you can get a better sense of your real audience. You can filter your followers by their bio keywords, geographic location and popular hashtags. Having all this information can help you tailor your content based on your followers’ passions. Giving people what they crave is always a fair advantage. Sign up for SocialRank here!
5. Bitly
You may have seen tiny bit.ly links on Twitter and YouTube along with various product promotions. That’s because Bitly is wildly popular and efficient; it offers more than just condensing your url. Each shortened link gives you key insights ranging from how many clicks it has generated, to when and where it originated. Bitly also collectively analyzes all your links to measure their performance across time. While the data isn’t as comprehensive as Google Analytics, it provides enough insights about specific content link.
Sign up for Bitly here!
Want more insights on analytics? Enroll in Academy of Art University’s PRO 316: Social Media Data Analytics course and see where data can take you!
Jenny Truong, BFA Advertising and Contributing Editor at Social Media Center, Academy of Art University
