Are Your Metrics Lying to You? Understanding Vanity Metrics

The dawn of digital advertising has brought with it a slew of data. Impressions, clicks, comments, follows – no longer a matter of guesswork, all these metrics and more can be tracked and measured. Numbers don’t lie, and the more the better – right? Unfortunately, not all metrics are created equally. While few stats are completely useless, some serve more as markers of vanity rather than true key performance indicators. Here’s what you need to know about vanity metrics.

What are vanity metrics?

In short, vanity metrics are stats that look good on a surface level, but don’t provide any actionable insights. Though they can potentially be found on any channel, they’re most closely associated with social media advertising. Common examples include page views, follows, comments, and the like. A more specific example would be a brand getting thousands of comments on their latest Facebook post…with no followers gained or orders placed.

However, if you’re looking for a list of metrics you can safely write off forever as vanity metrics, you may be disappointed. The truth is: pretty much any metric can be a vanity metric. If you make an Instagram account and you quickly gain 10,000 followers, but your sales numbers stay stagnant, that follower count starts to look a little useless. However, if you notice that for every 100 new followers, you’re getting 10 new orders, that’s something you should definitely pay attention to.

How to spot vanity metrics

Admit it – we all get that little jolt of pride when we see our follower count tick up. But before you go running to your boss and exclaiming how many Facebook followers your page just gained, take a step back.

In order to spot vanity metrics, you must look deeper than the surface level. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

How does this metric relate to performance and progress towards specific goals?
What actions can I take as a result of this metric?
What is the larger context of this metric?

We’ve written previously about the importance of SMART goals, and those same principles apply to tracking metrics. If the stat is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely, you can bet that it goes deeper than surface level and is therefore not a vanity metric. On the other hand, if you’re seeing a number go up, but it doesn’t connect to actions being taken by your audience, there’s a good chance you’re dealing with a vanity metric.

Facebook followers don’t gain you much if your desired audience isn’t on Facebook. A growing fan base is great, but if there’s no corresponding growth in sales, something isn’t working quite right. Don’t stress – that’s still useful information for you to have. Maybe your content needs some tuning so that it grabs not just eyes, but hearts as well.

At the end of the day, just about any metric can be useful. But if you’re looking to get the most for your advertising dollars, make sure to do a deeper dive into the most relevant stats instead of chasing inflated vanity metrics.