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Podcast episode: Getting to know your visitors using analytics

Writer: Kelsey Redshaw
Kelsey Redshaw
5 minutes ago
3 min read

Podcast transcript


Welcome to Getting to Know Your Visitors Using Analytics. In today’s episode, we’ll explore how organisations can use analytics to understand their website and social media visitors, measure their digital communication activities, and make more informed decisions.


Have you ever wondered who is visiting your website, where they came from, and what they are doing once they arrive? This is where analytics can help organisations understand their visitors and make better digital communication decisions.


There are two main types of analytics to consider: web analytics and social media analytics. Web analytics collects and analyses interactions with websites and web applications. A key example is Google Analytics 4, or GA4. Social media analytics focuses on what happens within social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube. These platforms provide information such as reach, engagement, audience demographics, views and content performance.


The difference becomes clearer when we look at a visitor journey. Social media analytics might tell us that an Instagram post received high engagement. However, GA4 can help us understand what happened after someone clicked the link, such as whether they viewed a product, completed a contact form or made a purchase. This makes GA4 particularly useful when organisations want to connect social media activity with actual business outcomes.


There are many tools available to collect and analyse this information. These include GA4 for websites and mobile applications, native social media analytics tools such as Meta Business Suite and LinkedIn Analytics, and reporting platforms such as Hootsuite, Buffer and Sprout Social. Advertising platforms such as Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager can also provide useful performance data, including clicks, impressions, conversion rates and cost per click.


To set up GA4, an organisation needs to create a Google Analytics property, add a data stream for its website or app, and implement the appropriate tracking method so visitor activity can be collected. GA4 can then measure activities through events, including actions such as clicks, video views and interactions with products.


So, why is this data valuable? Analytics provides organisations with evidence that can be used to understand what is working and what needs to be improved. It can help identify which content attracts visitors, where people leave a website and which marketing activities lead to valuable outcomes.


This information can then be used as part of a digital communications strategy to set objectives, select effective platforms, understand audiences, measure performance and continually improve communication activities.


However, organisations also need to collect and use visitor data responsibly. Privacy should be considered when collecting information about users, including being transparent about how data is collected and used.


Ultimately, analytics helps organisations move beyond simply asking, "How many people saw our content?" and instead ask, "What did our visitors do, and what can we learn from it?" By using analytics responsibly, organisations can create more relevant communications, improve the visitor experience and make more informed digital communication decisions.


Thanks for listening to Getting to Know Your Visitors Using Analytics.


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