- Social Media Growth Guide
- Posts
- The Only 3 Social Media Metrics Worth Your Time
The Only 3 Social Media Metrics Worth Your Time
Most creators are obsessing over the wrong numbers entirely. While you're tracking follower counts and total likes, accounts half your size are building thriving communities and generating real revenue.
Nikhil Wad
August 20, 2025
In partnership with
Here's the uncomfortable truth: Most creators are tracking the wrong numbers entirely.
You're obsessing over follower counts, likes, and total reach while your actual business goals slip through the cracks. Meanwhile, accounts with "smaller" numbers are building thriving communities and generating real revenue.
Today, I'm sharing the only three metrics that actually predict sustainable social media growth. Master these, and you'll outperform accounts 10x your size.
Launch Your Amazon Product to $100K+ in Revenue—Fast!
Want to quickly scale your new Amazon product launches into listings earning over $100K annually—in less than two months? Stack Influence makes it easy by automating thousands of micro-influencer collaborations each month. Say goodbye to complicated outreach, negotiating influencer fees, and managing complex campaigns. With Stack Influence, influencers are paid only in your products, creating authentic user-generated content (UGC) that drives real engagement and boosts your organic Amazon rankings.
Leading brands like Magic Spoon, Unilever, and MaryRuth Organics already rely on Stack Influence to achieve impressive sales growth, enhance brand visibility, and build genuine connections with customers. Fully automated management means effortless campaigns, giving you complete control without lifting a finger. Boost your listings, increase external traffic, and own full rights to impactful influencer-generated images and videos.
Experience rapid, stress-free growth and proven results with micro-influencer marketing.
Metric #1: Engagement Rate (But Calculate It Right)
What most people track: Total likes and comments
What you should track: Engagement rate on your last 10 posts
How to calculate it: (Total engagement ÷ Total reach) × 100 = Engagement rate
Why it matters: A 5% engagement rate on 1,000 followers beats a 1% rate on 50,000 followers every single time. High engagement signals to algorithms that your content is worth showing to more people.
Benchmark to aim for:
Instagram: 3-6%
LinkedIn: 2-5%
TikTok: 5-9%
Twitter/X: 1-3%
Pro tip: If your engagement rate is dropping, it's usually because you're posting too often or your content isn't resonating. Quality over quantity wins every time.
What most people track: Likes and comments only
What you should track: How often people save or share your content
Why it matters: When someone saves your post, they're essentially bookmarking it as valuable. When they share it, they're putting their reputation on the line to recommend your content. Both signals tell algorithms this content deserves wider distribution.
How to track it:
Instagram: Check saves in your insights
LinkedIn: Monitor reposts and shares
TikTok: Track shares and adds to favorites
Twitter/X: Focus on retweets and bookmarks
The golden ratio: Aim for saves/shares to represent at least 15-20% of your total engagement. If you're getting 100 likes but only 5 saves, your content might be entertaining but not valuable enough.
Content that gets saved/shared:
Step-by-step tutorials
Resource lists and recommendations
Inspirational quotes with personal stories
Behind-the-scenes insights
Controversial but thoughtful takes
Metric #3: Profile Visit to Follow Rate
What most people track: Total profile visits
What you should track: How many profile visitors actually hit follow
How to calculate it: (New followers ÷ Profile visits) × 100 = Conversion rate
Why it matters: This metric reveals whether your content is attracting your ideal audience. High traffic with low conversion means you're creating viral content that doesn't align with your brand.
Healthy benchmarks:
15-25% conversion rate = Excellent targeting
8-15% = Good, room for improvement
Below 8% = Content-audience mismatch
How to improve this metric:
Audit your bio: Is it clear what you do and who you serve?
Check your feed consistency: Does your content tell a cohesive story?
Review your pinned posts: Are they showcasing your best work?
Optimize your highlights (Instagram) or featured posts (LinkedIn)
The Metrics You Should Ignore (Yes, Really)
Follower count: Vanity metric. Would you rather have 10,000 engaged followers or 100,000 ghost followers?
Total reach: Meaningless without context. Reaching a million people who don't care about your message is worse than reaching 1,000 who do.
Total likes: Empty calories. Likes are easy to give and require no real investment from your audience.
Impressions: Only valuable when paired with engagement data. High impressions with low engagement means your content isn't resonating.
Your Action Plan for This Week
Monday: Calculate your engagement rate for your last 10 posts. Screenshot it – this is your baseline.
Wednesday: Review your most saved/shared posts from the past month. What patterns do you notice? Create more content in that style.
Friday: Check your profile visit to follow rate. If it's below 15%, audit your bio and pinned content.
The Reality Check
Here's what separating these metrics from the noise will do for you:
You'll stop chasing vanity metrics that don't pay bills
Your content strategy will become laser-focused on what actually works
You'll build a smaller but more valuable community
Your conversion to customers/clients will increase dramatically
Remember: Social media success isn't about being famous – it's about being valuable to the right people.
The accounts winning long-term aren't the ones with the most followers. They're the ones with the most engaged, loyal communities.
Focus on these three metrics, and you'll join their ranks.
Start your newsletter & monetize it
If you are serious about starting a newsletter & monetize it to be the master of your time, I highly recommend Beehiiv.
