Also known as: Key Performance Indicator, Performance indicator
A measurable value that shows how well a specific goal is being met — for social media that could be engagement rate, reach, follower growth or click-through rate to the website.
For agencies it's crucial to define 3-5 KPIs per client rather than reporting every possible metric. Too many numbers paralyse; too few give no picture. Good KPIs are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
Typical social media KPIs: follower growth per month, average engagement rate, clicks to the website, leads via DM, ROAS on paid campaigns. Which KPI takes priority depends on the goal — a brand-awareness client looks at reach, a lead-gen client at conversions.
The agency agrees on 3 KPIs with client "Garden Plant Webshop": (1) Instagram follower growth +200/month, (2) average engagement rate 4%+, (3) 50+ weekly clicks from the Instagram bio link to the webshop. The monthly report shows those three — no noise.
A percentage showing how much interaction (likes, comments, shares, saves) a post receives relative to its reach or follower count — a key KPI for the health of a social media account.
Reach is the number of unique people who saw a post; impressions is the total number of times a post was shown, including multiple views by the same person.
A structured overview an agency sends a client every month — covering KPIs, highlights, lessons learned and concrete actions for the month ahead.
Reach is the number of unique people who saw a post; impressions is the total number of times a post was shown, including multiple views by the same person.
CPM is the cost to show an ad 1,000 times — a key metric for judging the efficiency of paid social media campaigns, independent of conversions.
ROAS is the ratio between revenue and ad spend — usually expressed as a multiple: a ROAS of 4 means every €1 of ad spend generates €4 in revenue.
The number of new followers an account gains over a given period — an important but context-sensitive KPI, because follower quality matters more than quantity.
Systematically tracking and analysing what is said online about a brand, industry or competitor — to spot trends, opportunities and problems early.
The percentage of people who click a link or CTA after seeing a post or ad — a key KPI for lead-gen and e-commerce campaigns.
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