How To Track Your Analytics As a Small Business - The Metrics That Really Matter

More often than not, solopreneurs and small businesses don't put enough emphasis on the importance of data analysis.  

When it comes to being strategic, thinking long term, or trying to build a sustainable organization…if data analysis is missing it can cause a whole series of issues. Too much guessing and too much of an “I'll just f*ck around and find out” approach to business can lead to slow to no growth, inconsistent growth, and more stress put on your business than is needed.

This is often what I refer to as the  “I'll just throw spaghetti at the wall and hope something sticks” approach to business.  Sure, this may be fun for a while…sometimes this approach is actually very necessary, and it may even work for some time.  But- it's not sustainable in the long haul and can quickly cause you to burn out as well as struggle to get the results you desire.

Data analysis helps you try to predict and change the future by studying the past.

In this article, i'm going to breakdown what data analytics is, why it should be something you prioritize as a small business owner, and how to get started with implementing a data analytics reviewing routine into your weekly and monthly flow! Let’s dive in.

The Metrics That (Actually) Matter: How To Start Tracking Your Analytics

We've all heard this a million times before: “The amount of likes or followers you receive on a piece of content doesn't matter.”

I'm going to semi-disagree with that statement- but not in the way you may think. 

All content interactions like likes, comments, saves, or shares are… are data.  Your following count? Yep, also just data.  

Now, that goes without saying that there are actual living, breathing PEOPLE behind those numbers.  We must always remember this and treat data with respect, compassion, empathy, and care.  When we get too obsessed with glamour metrics, we wind up forgetting that there is a person behind every interaction we receive on our content.  Studying data can help us humanize the information that we are bombarded with daily instead of just viewing it as something that validates or invalidates our existence.

We must remind ourselves that the data we receive on a daily basis as business owners does not define us as human beings.  It is simply a reflection of activities and decisions made within your business.  It is critically important to separate your sense of self worth, value or importance from the data you receive on your business.  You are not your business, your business is just something you have CREATED. 

From an analysis standpoint, all data matters- including the amount of likes you receive on a piece of content or the amount of followers you have on a social media channel. Yet, not all data matters the same way.

If you take one thing away from this article I hope it is this: Examine how much importance you are putting on the data you are currently sweating over, and why. Is it that you are obsessing over your following amount or the number of likes you receive on a piece of content because it helps you gain a sense of importance, worth, or validation?

Or, are you watching those numbers because it directly relates to a goal you are trying to achieve in your business that has no attachment to your sense of self you are trying to gain validation on? 

When it comes to analyzing data, we must get really clear on what it is we are actually trying to accomplish. This is the first step to data analysis!

 If your goal in your business right now relates to you wanting to see your audience size grow, then sure - focus on your following amount.  If your goal is to get more likes on your content, then sure - keep stalking your posts and refreshing your apps to see how many likes you receive.

Yet, remember this: Your analysis of data doesn't stop the minute your goals are validated.  If you're trying to get more engagement on your content and you start seeing more engagement on your content happen…simply patting yourself on the back and feeling accomplished by making that happen isn't going to really help you in the long run.  

True analysis of data requires studying WHY something occurred: Documenting the activities that were performed to get a certain result (or not get a result).  This is when you can begin automating your strategies because you begin to discover WHAT WORKS and can duplicate it! Or, if you discover that something doesn't work, you can tweak your strategies instead of continuing to perform an action that isn't getting you the results you desire! 

How we study data analytics as a Marketing Studio

Each week I review the analytics of each and every account we manage. Then, at the end of each month, we do a full data analytics report for our clients where we compare current month data and strategies to previous months, helping us to determine what activities to focus on and what strategies to implement for the upcoming months.  This looks like…

• Reviewing analytics on Instagram

• Reviewing analytics on Pinterest

• Reviewing analytics on Youtube

• Reviewing analytics of Email lists

• Reviewing analytics of Websites

• …And whatever other channels we are monitoring!

I go into looking at the data by first reconnecting with what the client's goals are. This helps me know what stage of the customer journey to focus on when reviewing the information. It also helps me determine what channels to pull analytics from.

When looking at the data, I make note of what is going up, what is going down, and what is maintaining.  I stack that up against our goals as well as the content published that week & actions taken, helping me to determine what activities helped us move CLOSER to our goals versus what activities moved us away from our goals.

After running analytics reports for our clients, I typically record a summary video walking them through what the information means and what we will be implementing based on the data.  This helps us ensure that the decisions we make and activities we perform have a REASONING behind it.  It also helps us to track our activity performance, knowing what's working versus what's not, which ultimately helps us fine tune strategies and then automate them!

Once we wrap up data analysis, we then update the client's content strategies as well as marketing campaigns.

This can look like…

• Updating content briefs and approaches to content

• Bringing in more emphasis on certain types of content that perform well

• Removing prioritization on certain types of content that aren't performing well

• Testing new formats of content to see how they perform

• Updating creative style of graphics

• Updating or testing new publishing times

• Updating hashtags and keywords

• Shifting publishing frequencies

• Trying new hooks or CTAS

• Updating bios, descriptions, highlights, etc

• Testing certain features on a designated platform

• Shifting writing formats

• …and whatever else is relevant to what the data shows us!

You are not your business

The performance of your business does not define your worth, value or importance as a human being.  Just like we are NOT our thoughts, we are the consciousness BEHIND our thoughts…

You are NOT your business, you are the creator BEHIND the business.  

I hope this article inspires you to begin taking data analysis more seriously for the sake of how it can help cultivate more sustainability for your business!

Have questions?  Reach out and let's chat more about this topic.

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Until next time…

Natalie Brite - DoGoodBiz Studio