The fast paced world of social media is always changing and it can make creating a successful social strategy difficult. Whether it's being able to create the type of content that provides value to your audience or understanding the best ways to manage paid advertisements, it's never been more important to be in the "know" when it comes to the current best practices of today's most popular social networks.

"You can't manage what you don't measure." This is as true today in the social media world as it was years ago. Back in the day, collecting the data you needed to come up with effective measurements was far more difficult than it is today.

Getting measurements to track your performance on social media is no longer an issue. Each network has some kind of reporting system that you can use, especially if you are running any kind paid advertising. However, if you plan on managing your social presence on multiple networks, you will want to get set up on a reporting platform that combines all those stats into a single report. Here are three key performance indicators that you should be tracking.

1. Interaction changes

Once you have implemented your content strategy, it is important to track what your audience likes and doesn't like. You can find this out by tracking changes in interaction on different posts. Each social media platform has different ways for members to interact, but they generally fall into three categories: likes, shares, and comments.

Users "like" a post on Facebook or "favorite" it on Twitter to simply show that they were interested in that particular piece of content. When a user shares a post, it will appear on their own Facebook wall or Twitter feed and it has the effect of expanding the reach of your post to followers of those people. Comments, on the other hand, are the beginning of a dialogue with your followers that you should be a part of.

2. Changes in total followers

Followers receive your posts directly in their newsfeeds. Without followers, the content you are sharing has very little chance of being seen and will ultimately limit opportunities to gain additional exposure. This is why it's important to focus on growing your follower base. You can jumpstart this growth by identifying the type of content your audience is interacting with most and start providing more of it, which will increase the chances of it being shared with users outside of your network. When these users realize that you are the one creating this awesome content, it will give them a reason to connect with you, thus expanding your follower base. If you have a solid content strategy, you should see steady growth month-to-month.

3. Total number of monthly posts

Are you posting enough? How much is enough? Because your posts automatically push out to your followers, you need to be careful that you are not over-posting. Over-posting will result in your posts getting blocked or will cause users to stop following you. Remember that your audience is not on social media just to read about your listings. Each social media platform has its own "norms" when it comes to frequency. Generally, if you start posting more and your interaction rate or follower growth goes down then you are probably posting too much.

Remember, you can't fix something if you don't know that it is not working. Track your success and watch your business grow. Keep checking back with Homes.com to stay updated on best practices and download the "Social Media Checklist 2015: 7 Steps to Generate More Business" to get even more tips on optimizing your social strategy.

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