Last week we looked at how our customers’ or clients’ personalities determine how they engage in social networking, as well as which social networks they tend to hang out at. We also learned how to gauge where we are on the social network scale; what are our social network preferences and habits. This week, we will back up last week’s information with our analysis of flow patterns in social media interaction.

Analyzing Flow Patterns

We start by asking ourselves basic questions:

1. What kinds of posts you create get the most comments?
2. Who and what type are your most engaged friends or followers?
3. Who always show up on the other networks you visit?
4. What motivates your most engaged fellow networker?

Basic Social Metrics

1. Also, there are some basic social metrics you should keep your eye on; for example, visitors, traffic sources, comments, bounce rate, etc. We will cover this more in our upcoming webinar.
2. Although, the four major networks provide some form of tracking and feedback, studies show that approximately 85% of all online entrepreneurs and small companies don’t bother to track.
3. Start by ensuring that you install the social sharing widgets into your blog, websites, and social media pages. This way, your site visitors can “like,” “share,” and “tweet,” your published content.
4. Track which posts generate the most comments and are socially shared.
5. Include calls to action in posts and on social networks enticing people to share, tweet, etc.
6. Use YouTube to create “how to” videos, video reviews, etc. to share on social networks.
7. Use Google Analytics to track your content. We will cover more on specific tracking for Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter in the upcoming blog posts and webinar.
8. Promptly answer or acknowledge every comment or if on Facebook, respond and/or “like” the comment.

Data Value

But how can you recognize the value of your data?

When analyzing results; for instance, increased participation, did it have any impact on converting visitors to subscribers or sales?

Keeping Your Followers Engaged

Keep in mind that “flow” doesn’t just refer to metrics but also means keeping your fan or follower happy and engaged.

Try out different types of content to see which one keep your followers engaged; for example, polls, quizzes, contests, “how to” videos, questions, etc.

Although pre-scheduled posts keep you in front of your fans and followers, it is important that you personally participate in order to engage with them.

Do you track your data? If so, which analytical tools do you use? Leave us a comment below. We would love to hear from you. Next week we will continue our discussion on social media for business. We will cover social media procrastination.

RJ’s Internet Marketing Services