Using a tool without checking the results is like playing pin the tail on the donkey – and never taking the blindfold off!
Take social media management. Maybe you’re one of the many travel bloggers using social networks to make up for traffic lost to the recent Google updates. But how do you know it’s working?
Don’t let your efforts be in vain! In this article, we’ll introduce you to the best social media analytics tools to help you optimize your SM strategy and reinvigorate your blog.
What is social media analytics?
You probably have some experience measuring blog performance: traffic, conversion, and so on. Social media analytics is the same idea applied to social media. By gathering and analyzing data from your posts, you can tailor your strategy to maximize reach and impact.
Social media analytics tools worth their salt track at last these metrics:
- Audience demographics: Your followers’ ages, locations, and interests
- Engagement rates: Likes, comments, shares, and clicks
- Optimal posting times: When your followers are most active
- Hashtag effectiveness: Which hashtags increase reach and engagement
Benefits of using social media analytics tools for travel bloggers
Gain insight into your audience and content performance
By examining data on your audience’s age, location, and gender, you can tailor your posts to match their preferences.
Plus, analyzing metrics such as likes, shares, comments, and saves tells you which types of content resonate most.
☝️Quick tip: Prioritize metrics that indicate intense engagement, like saves and shares, over likes.
Optimize your social media strategy
Adjust your content based on what your followers enjoy most. Some analytics tools also suggest the best times to post, recommend effective hashtags, and offer scheduling options.
Measure the success of your campaigns
Whether you’re promoting your own content or partnering with brands, monitoring metrics like reach, engagement, and conversions reveals what’s working. Social media measurement lets you hone your approach to boost your results.
You can also share your metrics with brands you collaborate with. Such transparency can strengthen partnerships and lead to more opportunities.
How to choose the right tool
Before purchasing a tool, consider asking yourself these questions:
- What’s your budget? Determine how much you’re willing to spend and which premium features you truly need.
- Which platforms do you use? Ensure the tool supports your preferred social media channels.
- What metrics matter most? Focus on tools that track the metrics important to you, like engagement or traffic.
- Do you need scheduling? If automating posts is important, choose a tool with strong scheduling features.
- Managing multiple accounts? Focus on tools that make it easy to handle several profiles.
- How detailed does your reporting need to be? Decide if you need basic social media insights or detailed custom reports.
Top 11 best social media analytics tools for 2024
Comparing the top analytics services
| Tool | Key benefits | Cost |
| Buffer | Easy scheduling, AI assistant, the best time to post, hashtag manager | Free up to 3 channels. Essentials plan starts at $5 monthly per social channel |
| Google Analytics | Traffic source analysis, audience insights, conversion tracking | Free (Standard) |
| Hootsuite | Post scheduling, AI Content creation, advanced analytics, custom heatmap for best posting times | $99 per month (Professional) |
| Iconosquare | In-depth analytics, competitive analysis, hashtag tracking, automated reports | $49 per month (Pro) |
| Keyhole | Real-time analytics, influencer tracking, hashtag monitoring, competitor analysis | Custom pricing per campaign |
| Rival IQ | Competitive analysis, social media audits, hashtag analytics, automated reports | $239 per month (Starter) |
| Sendible | Unified dashboard, advanced scheduling, content suggestions, CRM integration | $29 per month (Creator) |
| Sprout Social | Advanced analytics with 150+ metrics, smart inbox, social listening, post scheduling | $199 per user per month (Standard) |
| Tailwind | Smart scheduling, content creation, hashtag finder, email marketing | $14.99 per month for one account |
| Talkwalker | Social listening, sentiment analysis, competitive benchmarking, visual analytics | Custom pricing |
Built-in tools
Before we get fancy, let’s remember that some social media platforms provide free built-in analytics tools. These native features allow you to track your engagement, reach, and follower demographics without additional metrics tools.
There are free built-in analytics tools:
- Instagram Insights
- Facebook Page Insights
- X Analytics
- TikTok Analytics
- Pinterest Analytics
☝️Quick tip: Use Meta Business Suite to streamline your Facebook and Instagram management. It allows you to schedule posts in advance, launch ads, and analyze data.
Buffer
Buffer combines social media management and analytics in an easy-to-use package with a clean interface.
Benefits and features:
- Easy scheduling: Plan and schedule your posts across multiple platforms with a simple calendar interface.
- Analytics and social media reporting: Gain insight into post performance, engagement metrics, and audience demographics.
- AI assistant: Generate engaging captions, brainstorm content ideas, and repurpose top-performing posts.
- Best time to post: Receive recommendations on when your audience is most active to maximize engagement.
- Hashtag manager: Save and organize groups of hashtags for a quick addition to your posts, enhancing discoverability.
Price:
Buffer is one of the only free social media tools on our list (up to three social channels with basic features). Their Essentials plan starts at $5 per month per social channel. There is a 14-day free trial of the paid plans so you can test out the advanced features.
Google Analytics
Though not an advanced social media analytics platform, Google Analytics is invaluable for creators looking to understand the impact of their social media campaigns on website traffic.
Benefits and features:
- Traffic source analysis: See how many visitors are coming from social media platforms to evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns.
- Audience insights: Access detailed demographic data about your website visitors, such as age, gender, interests, and location.
- Behavior flow reports: Understand how users navigate your site, including which pages they visit.
- Conversion tracking: Set up goals and track conversions to measure the success of your marketing and social media efforts.
Price:
Google Analytics offers a standard version that is completely free to use. For advanced needs, Google Analytics 360 provides enterprise-level features and support. Pricing is available upon request.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is one of the most widely used social media management tools, known for its versatility and user-friendly dashboard.
Benefits and features:
- Post scheduling: Schedule and automate your posts across different time zones to reach a global audience. A custom heatmap shows when the largest portion of your audience is online on each platform.
- Analytics and reporting: Get detailed reports on engagement, follower growth, and content performance.
- AI content creation: OwlyWriter AI helps you write captions, brainstorm content ideas, and repurpose top-performing posts.
- App integrations: Enhance functionality with integrations like Canva and Google Drive.
Price:
Hootsuite offers a Professional plan starting at $99 per month, allowing you to manage up to 10 social accounts. There is a 30-day free trial.
Iconosquare
Iconosquare is a social media measurement and management tool focused on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Benefits and features:
- In-depth analytics: Track over 100 metrics to understand your content’s performance.
- Competitive analysis: Compare your performance with competitors’ to identify areas for improvement.
- Scheduling and publishing: Plan and schedule posts with a built-in calendar.
- Hashtag and location tracking: Monitor the effectiveness of hashtags and geotags to enhance discoverability.
- Custom dashboards and reports: Create personalized dashboards and export reports to visualize your data effectively.
Price:
Iconosquare’s plans start at $69 per month for the Single plan, which includes management of up to five social profiles. There is a 14-day free trial.
Keyhole
Keyhole is a real-time analytics and monitoring tool known for its hashtag tracking and influencer marketing capabilities. While powerful, it’s primarily designed for organizations rather than individuals.
Benefits and features:
- Hashtag and keyword tracking: Monitor the performance of hashtags, keywords, and URLs across platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to gauge campaign effectiveness.
- Influencer tracking: Analyze influencer performance metrics to identify the best partners for your brand collaborations.
- Advanced analytics: Track metrics, compare your accounts, brand your reports, post at the perfect time, and more. Keyhole also allows you to bring together all analytics in one dashboard.
- Competitor analysis: Compare your social media performance against competitor benchmarks to identify opportunities and threats.
- Custom reports and dashboards: Generate comprehensive reports with customizable metrics and visualizations to share with stakeholders.
Price:
Keyhole charges per campaign and is more suitable for larger organizations with substantial social media budgets. Contact the company for a custom quote based on your needs.
Rival IQ
Rival IQ is an analytics tool specializing in competitive benchmarking and social media metrics.
Benefits and features:
- Competitive analysis: Track and compare key metrics against competitors in your niche.
- Social media audits: Receive in-depth audits of your social profiles to identify strengths and weaknesses.
- Hashtag analytics: Discover which hashtags drive the most engagement in your niche.
- Automated social media reporting: Get regular reports delivered right to your inbox.
Price:
Rival IQ’s pricing starts at $239 per month for the Starter plan, which lets you track up to 10 companies and their social profiles. There is a 14-day free trial.
Sendible
Sendible is a comprehensive social media content management tool for individuals and organizations managing multiple brands or clients. It streamlines your activities across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other platforms.
Benefits and features:
- Unified dashboard: Manage all your social media accounts from one place.
- Advanced scheduling: Plan and schedule posts individually or in bulk, with timing suggestions.
- Content suggestions: Receive industry-specific content ideas to keep your feed engaging.
- Analytics and social media reporting: Access in-depth analytics to track performance and generate custom reports.
- Integration: Integrate with tools such as WordPress, Canva, Google Analytics, etc.
Price:
Sendible’s pricing starts at $29 per month for the Creator plan, which lets you manage up to six social profiles. There is a 14-day free trial with full feature access.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a social media management platform popular for its robust analytics and intuitive interface.
Benefits and features:
- Advanced analytics: Track 150+ different metrics, custom-built reports, and interactive dashboards.
- Smart inbox: Manage all your social messages in one place.
- Scheduling and publishing: Plan and schedule your posts across various platforms to maintain a consistent presence.
- Social listening: Monitor keywords, hashtags, and trends relevant to your niche.
Price:
Sprout Social’s plans start at $199 per user per month for the Standard plan, which includes five social profiles. There is a 30-day free trial.
Tailwind
Tailwind is a scheduling and analytics tool primarily for Pinterest, but it can also be used for Facebook and Instagram.
Benefits and features:
- Smart scheduling: Automatically determine the best times to post based on when your audience is most active on Pinterest and Instagram.
- Content creation: Use Tailwind Create to design eye-catching pins and posts with customizable templates.
- Hashtag finder: Get relevant and trending hashtag suggestions to increase the reach of your Instagram posts.
- Analytics and insights: Access detailed metrics on engagement, follower growth, and top-performing content to refine your strategy.
- Email marketing: Use Tailwind’s email marketing features to design and send personalized newsletters.
- Social media analytics: Get basic analytics across all of your platforms.
Price:
Tailwind’s plans start at $14.99 per month per profile. They offer a free trial that allows you to schedule up to 20 posts.
Talkwalker
Talkwalker by Hootsuite is a social listening and analytics platform primarily designed for agencies, brands, and larger organizations rather than individual creators.
Benefits and features:
- Social listening: Monitor brand mentions, keywords, and hashtags across the internet.
- Sentiment analysis: Gauge audience sentiment toward your content or campaigns through tone analysis.
- Competitive benchmarking: Compare your social performance with competitors’ to identify opportunities.
- Visual analytics: Recognize logos and images in posts to track brand visibility beyond text mentions.
- Custom dashboards: Create personalized dashboards focusing on the metrics that matter most to you.
Price:
Talkwalker’s pricing is customized based on your needs, so you need to contact them for a quote. They offer a free demo to help you decide.
FAQ
What features should I look for in a social media analytics tool?
Focus on key features like analytics for tracking engagement, reach, and follower growth. Look for customizable dashboards and other tools that provide reports for different analytics platforms. Integration with scheduling tools is a plus, as is the ability to create and automate reports. Also, consider features like social listening and competitive analysis to stay ahead in your niche.
What analytics should I track on social media?
When you track social media performance, focus on these key metrics:
- Engagement rates: Track likes, comments, shares, and saves to understand how well your content resonates with your audience.
- Follower growth: Monitor the increase or decrease in your followers to gauge your content’s effectiveness.
- Audience demographics: Analyze the age, gender, location, and interests of your followers to tailor your content to them.
- Reach and impressions: Measure how widely your content is seen across your audience and beyond.
- Click-through rates (CTR): Assess the effectiveness of your calls-to-action by tracking how many people click on your links.
- Conversions: Track how many social media interactions lead to desired actions, such as sign-ups or purchases.
- Sentiment analysis: Use social media metrics tools to understand the tone and emotion behind mentions of your brand or content.
- Hashtag performance: Identify which hashtags drive your posts’ most engagement and discoverability.
Monitoring these metrics with the right reporting tools will help refine your social media strategy and improve overall performance.
How can I use analytics tools to improve my travel blog?
In the most basic form, analytics help you understand what works and what doesn’t on your travel blog.
By tracking which posts drive the most traffic, you can focus on creating similar content that resonates with your audience. Analytics also reveals where your visitors are coming from, allowing you to target the most effective channels. Monitoring engagement metrics lets you further refine your content strategy, improving user experience and search engine rankings.
How often should I check my metrics?
Often! Check daily for active campaigns, weekly to track performance, monthly for broader insights, and quarterly for long-term trends. This will help you make informed decisions and optimize your strategy.
What’s the biggest mistake to avoid?
Avoid focusing solely on vanity metrics, which include likes and follower counts, and look at deeper engagement metrics that provide more meaningful insights.
Vanity metrics can be misleading, giving a false sense of success without reflecting true audience engagement or conversion. Instead, prioritize metrics like engagement rates, click-through rates, and conversions, which clearly show your content’s effectiveness and how well it aligns with your goals.
Final thoughts: which service is best for travel bloggers?
Focusing on key metrics allows you to tailor your content, optimize your strategy, and accurately measure your campaigns’ impact and performance across platforms. Whether you choose a comprehensive paid social media analytics software or use free built-in options, consistency in tracking and refining your approach is key to growing your blog’s reach.
Remember, the best tool depends on your specific needs. Integrating these insights enables you to make informed, data-driven decisions that elevate your online presence.
And don’t forget to stay tuned to the Travelpayouts blog, where we’ll continue to explore various tools, tips, and strategies to help you grow your business and enhance your online presence.