In a world where social media is constantly evolving, it’s important to keep up with the changes. What works for your brand one day, may not work the next.
In order to drive value from social media, you need to tap into the data and analyze it. This is the only way to really understand what’s working and what’s not.
One of the most important things to measure is social reach quality. If you’re not reaching the right people, the rest of your efforts are pointless.
Here are ten ways to evaluate social reach quality.
1. How many followers do they have?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how many followers a social media account needs to have to be considered a good fit for your influencer marketing campaign. Instead, consider the size of the influencer’s audience in relation to your goals and the size of your own audience.
If you’re looking to increase brand awareness, you might want to work with influencers who have larger audiences than your own. However, if you’re looking to drive traffic to your website or landing page, you might want to work with micro-influencers who have smaller, more niche audiences. Instagram micro influencers are an excellent example here given that micro influencers (especially on Instagram) have a devoted following who dot on their every word (and recommendation). One good story from their Instagram page could mean a lot of new business for you.
Keep in mind that the quality of an influencer’s audience is just as important as the size. Learn how to evaluate the quality of an influencer’s audience in our blog post here.
2. How many posts do they have?
This is the first question to ask when evaluating social reach. If they have a lot of posts, you can be sure they are active on social media and have a loyal following.
If they don’t have a lot of posts, they may not be as influential as they seem. Or, they may have deleted some of their older posts.
Either way, this is a red flag, and you should look for another way to evaluate their social reach.
3. How many likes do their posts receive?
In addition to the number of followers a potential influencer has, you can also evaluate their social reach by looking at the number of likes and comments their posts receive.
If an influencer has a large number of followers but their posts only receive a few likes and comments, this could be a red flag that their followers are not engaged or that their followers are fake.
On the other hand, if an influencer has a smaller number of followers but their posts receive a large number of likes and comments, this could be a sign that their followers are highly engaged and that their social reach is of high quality.
4. How many comments do their posts receive?
Comments are a great way to measure how engaging a user’s content is.
If a user’s content receives a lot of comments, it’s a sign that their audience is highly engaged and values their opinion.
However, if a user’s content rarely receives any comments, it may be a sign that their audience isn’t very engaged.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re not a good fit for a campaign, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind when evaluating potential influencers.
If you notice that a user’s content receives a lot of comments, but they never respond, it’s also a sign that they may not be as engaged with their audience as they should be.
5. What is the quality of their content?
A social media influencer’s content quality is one of the most important factors to consider when evaluating their profile.
It’s not just about the number of followers they have or the number of likes they get on their posts. It’s about the quality of the content they create and share.
Look for influencers who produce high-quality, engaging posts and who have a strong, consistent brand voice.
If an influencer’s content doesn’t align with your brand, or if they don’t produce high-quality content, they might not be the best fit for your campaign.
6. What is their engagement ratio?
Engagement ratio is a simple formula that divides the average number of interactions (likes, comments, shares) on a post by the total number of followers.
The higher the engagement ratio, the better. This shows that the influencer’s followers are not only real, but also interested in their content. If an influencer has a low engagement ratio, it could be an indicator that they have bought followers or that their audience isn’t the right fit for your brand. At scale, AI-powered procurement agents can automate this evaluation process, quickly flagging high-quality influencers and filtering out low-value or fraudulent reach.
7. How much traffic do they drive?
You should also look at how much traffic the influencers you’re reviewing drive to their websites. This is a good indicator of how engaged and active their audience is.
If you’re using a tool like SimilarWeb to evaluate website traffic, look at the “Traffic Share” section. This will show you how much of the website’s traffic comes from social media. If the influencer has a high traffic share, it means they are driving a lot of traffic from social media.
8. Do they have a blog?
A blog is a great way for someone to share their expertise and to show that they know their stuff. If they have a blog, look at how often they post, what they write about, and how many shares and comments their posts get.
If they don’t have a blog, look at what other types of content they share on social media and how often they share it. If they consistently share high-quality content that is relevant to your industry, they are likely to be a good fit for your influencer marketing campaign.
9. Do they have a YouTube channel?
YouTube is the second most popular social media platform in the world, second only to Facebook. While it’s a great platform for watching funny cat videos, it’s also a great platform for watching video content from your favorite influencers.
If you’re looking to work with an influencer and they don’t have a YouTube channel, that’s a red flag. YouTube is a great way for influencers to reach a wider audience and build their personal brand. If they don’t have a YouTube channel, it’s likely that they’re not taking their influencer career very seriously.
That’s not to say that you should only work with influencers who have a YouTube channel. But if they do, it’s a good sign that they’re committed to their influencer career and have the potential to reach a larger audience.
10. What are their social media goals?
When you know what you want to achieve with your influencer marketing campaign, you can work with your influencers to set smart campaign goals and objectives.
Your goals will help you determine the type of content you want your influencers to produce, how often you want them to post, and how long you want the campaign to last.
The most common influencer marketing campaign goals are:
- increasing brand awareness
- driving traffic to your website
- identifying prospects (i.e., for lead list companies)
- increasing sales
- growing social media followers
By setting goals before you start your influencer marketing campaign, you and your influencers will have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and how you are going to get there.
11. Do they drive referrals and real advocacy?
High-quality social reach doesn’t stop at likes or clicks—it leads to action. One of the strongest signals of reach quality is whether an influencer’s audience is willing to recommend, refer, or advocate for a product.
This is where referral data becomes especially valuable. If an influencer can consistently generate referrals, it’s a clear sign that their audience trusts them and is motivated by their recommendations. Tools like ReferralCandy make it easy to track this kind of impact by showing exactly how many referrals, conversions, and revenue are driven by an influencer’s audience.
When evaluating social reach quality, look beyond vanity metrics and ask:
- Does their content inspire followers to share and recommend?
- Have they successfully driven referrals or word-of-mouth campaigns in the past?
- Can referral performance be tracked and attributed clearly?
Influencers who can turn attention into advocacy often deliver far more long-term value than those who simply generate impressions.
Conclusion
The best way to use the social reach metric is to use it as a starting point for your social media strategy — not as a be-all-end-all metric. Use your reach data to inform your posting strategy and get a sense of how large your social media audience is. Then, use the other metrics we discussed to determine how well you’re engaging that audience.