Managing Social Media Analytics

The Guest

Jon Stephen Stansel is a social media manager professional with almost a decade of experience managing and creating content for higher education, small business and government social media accounts. He’s worked for the University of Central Arkansas, Texas State University, the Texas Department of Transportation, he co-hosts the Thought Feeder Podcast, he's got a bachelors in Radio and Television Production and he’s here today to talk about managing social media analytics.

The Interview

The interview starts with a retrospective question on the role of social media in marketing, and Jon-Stephen’s experience as a social media manager.

“I’ve been working in social media since the concept was an option,” begins Jon-Stephen. “We’ve hit the point where marketers know they have to be out there on social, but I still think not everyone understands the function of it, and more importantly the roles required of a social media manager. The budgeting scope for social media is still in the past, relying on one-man teams to handle everything, and in general social media professionals are not getting the resources required to nail the job.”

Jon-Stephen goes on to explain that since social media is seemingly everywhere, it only makes sense that the person responsible for this role should be functional in all the aspects and demands of the gig. However, Jon-Stephen believes that this approach creates inefficiencies.

“Tik-Tok professionals may not have the skill set for Twitter,” explains Jon-Stephen. “Someone that is crafty on Instagram might not be able to get the tone right on LinkedIn, and the list goes on. I think it’s important for social media managers to understand what the goals of their organization are, and to make sure they can handle what they can, and get help and support where it’s needed.”

Since social media managers are expected to be jack & jills of the trades, when it comes time to measure effectiveness and create reports and organize analytics, this is another area where one person is expected to know how to package and ship social media performance reports.

“Reporting is another job that falls on the overwhelmed social media manager, who now has to be a data analyst,” says Jon-Stephen. “I do think numbers are great at telling a story, and create a place where you can analyze performance and prove effectiveness. This is why I believe, unlike a lot of social media professionals, that every number matters - vanity numbers count, along with engagement, views, clicks, follows; all of these metrics combine to tell a story. That story begins with clearly defined goals and expectations of social media. If clicks and conversions matter, then that’s what you measure. If it’s brand awareness, you have to figure out which data points to collect and report on, that can tell that story in a way that stakeholders, who aren’t versed in social media metrics, can understand.”

For stories about Jon-Stephen’s work in entertainment and higher education social media, cautionary tales on how to handle virality and trolls, and to hear his one piece of advice on how to approach and win on social media, listen to the show at the links provided above and below. 

The Links

Jon-Stephen on Twitter
Jon-Stephen on LinkedIn
The Thought Feeder Podcast

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