Social Media & Community Manager

A Social Media & Community Manager oversees social media strategy, content, and engagement to boost brand presence, grow audiences, and drive online interaction.

Performance Management

To keep your team sharp and outcomes strong, tie performance directly to metrics that matter—not just activity, but real impact. Align Social Media & Community Manager goals with business objectives through clear, data-driven performance criteria.

Combine monthly metric reviews with quarterly 1:1s. Focus on progress toward KPIs, learning from experiments, and sharing best practices across the team. Recognize wins, diagnose dips, and set clear next steps.

Focus Areas and Top KPIs

Focus Area	Top KPIs
Community Growth and Health	- Community Growth Rate - Newsletter Subscription Growth - New Users from Referrals - Brand Mentions - Customer Engagement Score
Social Engagement and Content Resonance	- Social Shares - Content Engagement - Likes, Shares, Comments - Engagement Rate - Brand Sentiment
Advocacy, Referral, and Loyalty	- Referral Program Participation Rate - Referral Engagement Rate - Advocate Re-Engagement Rate - Referral Conversion Rate - Customer Loyalty
Brand Awareness and Reputation	- Branded Search Volume - Brand Mentions - Sentiment Analysis - Brand Awareness - Influencer and Advocate Mentions
Retention and Community Stickiness	- Customer Engagement Score - Post-Renewal Engagement Rate - Customer Loyalty - Community Growth Rate - Engaged Unique Visitors

Frameworks for Metric Selection

You need a proven approach for picking metrics that are both meaningful and actionable. The right frameworks keep your team focused on what truly matters—no more vanity metrics or data overload. Guide Social Media & Community Managers to select KPIs that tie social and community efforts directly to business goals, audience health, and brand growth.

Social Impact Funnel

Start at the top with brand awareness and work your way down to advocacy and loyalty. This framework ensures you track the full journey from first touch to superfans.

Key Stages / Examples

• Awareness: Brand Mentions, Branded Search Volume
• Engagement: Social Shares, Content Engagement
• Community Growth: Community Growth Rate, Newsletter Subscription Growth
• Advocacy: Referral Program Participation Rate, Referral Engagement Rate
• Retention: Customer Engagement Score, Customer Loyalty

Community Health Scorecard

Bundle key metrics into a holistic scorecard that reflects the vibrancy and stickiness of your community. Mix growth, engagement, sentiment, and advocacy to get a full picture.

Key Stages / Examples

• Growth Metrics: Community Growth Rate, New Users from Referrals
• Engagement Metrics: Social Shares, Content Engagement
• Sentiment Metrics: Sentiment Analysis, Brand Sentiment
• Advocacy Metrics: Referral Program Participation Rate, Advocate Re-Engagement Rate

Reporting Cadence and Structure

Consistent, clear reporting keeps your team and stakeholders in sync and lets you react quickly to what the data is telling you. Help Social Media & Community Managers establish a rhythm for sharing results, learning from them, and taking action.

Cadence Overview

• Level: Team/Department
• Frequency: Weekly (tactical review), Monthly (trend analysis & strategic insights)
• Audience: Social/Community team, Marketing leadership, Cross-functional stakeholders

Examples

• Weekly: Social engagement snapshot with tactical wins and challenges.
• Monthly: Community growth trends, advocacy lift, and content resonance.
• Quarterly: Strategic review of social and community impact on brand and pipeline.

Standard Report Structure

• Executive Summary (key wins, risks, opportunities)
• Top Metrics (with trends and benchmarks)
• Deep Dives (campaigns, community conversations, advocacy stories)
• Insights & Recommendations
• Action Items & Next Steps

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

It’s easy to get lost in the noise or chase numbers that don’t move the needle. Avoiding these traps keeps your team focused and impactful. Help Social & Community Managers sidestep frequent mistakes that undermine data-driven progress and engagement.

Frequent Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them:

Issue	Solution
Chasing vanity metrics (like raw follower counts) instead of outcomes that actually matter.	Prioritize KPIs like engagement rate, advocacy, and community growth over surface-level stats.
Overcomplicating reports with too many metrics, losing sight of the story.	Keep reports focused—highlight trends, actionable insights, and tie results to business impact.
Ignoring negative signals or sentiment in the data.	Embrace all feedback (good and bad) as fuel for improvement, not just celebration.
Not aligning metrics with core business or GTM goals.	Map every metric to a business outcome or objective; drop anything that doesn’t serve a clear purpose.
Failing to close the loop—reporting numbers but not acting on them.	Turn insights into experiments, new strategies, or quick wins, then measure what changes.

How to build a Data-Aware Culture

Building a data-aware culture isn’t about spreadsheets—it’s about curiosity, collaboration, and turning insights into action. It’s a journey, but every step empowers your team to drive bigger, better results. Give Social Media & Community Managers a roadmap to weave data-driven thinking into daily habits, team rituals, and strategic planning.

Foundational Elements

• Transparent sharing of results (good, bad, or surprising).
• Regular training on metrics, tools, and storytelling with data.
• Clear linkage between metrics and community/brand mission.
• Cross-team alignment on shared goals and definitions.
• Celebrating learning and iteration, not just success.

Team Practices

• Kick off team meetings with a metric spotlight and a story behind the numbers.
• Run monthly ‘data jams’ to brainstorm content or campaign ideas based on recent insights.
• Host friendly competitions or challenges around key KPIs (e.g., most creative way to drive social shares).
• Document wins, misses, and learnings in a shared knowledge base for future reference.
• Rotate reporting ownership so everyone builds skill and confidence with the numbers.

Maturity Stages

Stage	Description
Foundational	Tracking basic metrics, reporting results, and beginning to discuss what the data means in meetings. Curiosity is sparked, but silos may persist.
Emerging	Team members proactively share insights and ask questions. Data informs planning and experiment design. Reporting is standardized, and knowledge sharing is routine.
Established	Community and social strategies are consistently shaped by data. The team collaborates with other departments, tying metrics to business outcomes. There’s a shared language around KPIs.
Advanced	Data is woven into every decision, from content to crisis response. The team runs predictive analyses, tests new ideas rapidly, and is seen as a model for data-driven culture company-wide.

Why Data Aware Culture Matter

When social media and community teams embrace a data-aware culture, you move beyond guesswork and truly understand what drives engagement, growth, and advocacy. This approach turns every campaign and conversation into an opportunity for learning and improvement. Empower Social Media & Community Managers to make smarter, faster decisions that amplify brand impact, foster loyal communities, and prove value to business stakeholders.

Relevant Topics:

• Helps you spot what resonates with your audience and double down on what works.
• Uncovers emerging trends or risks before they become problems.
• Enables confident reporting to leadership with evidence, not just anecdotes.
• Drives alignment between community, marketing, and broader GTM objectives.
• Builds a feedback loop where learning from the data powers smarter content and engagement strategies.

Other Related KPIs

Metric	Description
Brand Mentions	Brand Mentions measures the number of times your brand name is referenced across public or private channels (e.g., social media, forums, press, communities) within a specific timeframe. It helps gauge brand visibility and word-of-mouth momentum.
Likes, Shares, Comments	Likes: A basic interaction indicating approval, enjoyment, or agreement with a post or piece of content.
Shares: When users repost content to their own network, amplifying its reach and demonstrating strong resonance.
Comments: User-generated responses to content, reflecting deeper engagement and encouraging conversation.
Organic Content Shares	Organic Content Shares measures the number of times your content is shared across social platforms, email, or dark social—without paid promotion. It helps track virality and audience resonance.
Sentiment Analysis (Sales + Social)	Sentiment Analysis (Sales + Social) measures the tone (positive, neutral, negative) of feedback and conversations related to your brand across sales call transcripts and social media platforms. It helps track brand perception, objection patterns, and positioning effectiveness.
Share of Voice vs. Competitors (By Channel)	Share of Voice (SOV) vs. Competitors (By Channel) measures your brand’s visibility as a percentage of total market conversations, mentions, or impressions compared to key competitors — segmented by specific marketing or communication channels.
Social Engagement from Target Accounts	Social Engagement from Target Accounts measures the number or percentage of social interactions (likes, shares, comments, follows, mentions) that come from accounts on your target account list. It helps assess brand awareness, content resonance, and early-stage intent within your ICP.
Social Shares	Social Shares measures the total number of times your content, product pages, or brand assets are shared across social media platforms. It helps quantify reach, resonance, and advocacy behavior.