Social Media Performance and ROI Analysis
Turn social metrics into a like-for-like scorecard with stated formulas and honest ROI, plus where to shift budget and effort.
Before & after
Same prompt, same agent — the only difference is the skill.
To figure out which platform is performing best, you'll want to compare engagement across your channels. Here's what to look at: - **Engagement rate** — interactions divided by followers or reach - **Reach and impressions** — how many people you're getting in front of - **Follower growth** — which channels are growing - **Conversions** — which drive actual business results Different platforms have different benchmarks. Instagram engagement rates tend to be higher than Twitter/X, for example, so compare each against its own benchmark rather than head to head. If you share your metrics, I can help you calculate and interpret them. What data do you have?
PLATFORM SCORECARD — the trap here is comparing raw numbers across
platforms with different baselines. Each is scored against its OWN
benchmark, then ranked by what actually matters to you.
PLATFORM ENG RATE vs BENCHMARK FOLLOWER Δ NOTE
Instagram 1.2% below (2.1%) +3%/mo high reach, low action
LinkedIn 4.8% above (2.0%) +8%/mo small but converting
X/Twitter 0.7% at (0.7%) flat on-benchmark = average
TikTok 6.1% above (5.3%) +22%/mo growth engine
READING IT RIGHT
• Instagram looks biggest by follower count and is your WORST
performer — 1.2% against a 2.1% benchmark. Raw size hid this.
• X is "average," not bad. 0.7% is the platform benchmark; you're
getting exactly what the median account gets. That's a strategy
question, not a performance one.
• LinkedIn's 4.8% on a small following is the highest-intent audience
you have. Small ≠ unimportant when it converts.
WHERE TO PUT THE NEXT UNIT OF EFFORT
TikTok for reach and growth (6.1% + 22%/mo compounds)
LinkedIn for conversion (4.8%, high-intent)
Fix or drop Instagram — below benchmark AND slow growth is the one
combination that says "reassess," not "optimize."
THE ROI QUESTION UNDERNEATH
Engagement ranks the platforms; it doesn't tell you which drove revenue.
If you have conversion data by channel, that reorders this list — a 1%
engagement platform that converts beats a 6% one that doesn't. Share it
and I'll re-rank on ROI instead of engagement.About this skill
Your Instagram dashboard says one thing, TikTok says another, and the agency deck says everything is up. None of the engagement rates use the same formula, one viral post is skewing the averages, and the ROI only counts ad spend. This skill rebuilds your numbers on one consistent definition and tells you which platform is actually earning its budget.
What it does
- Recalculates engagement rate with one stated formula per comparison (by reach, by impressions/views, or by followers) and flags native platform rates that count clicks or profile visits
- Separates organic from boosted posts and shows results with and without viral outliers, so one hit video doesn't make a platform look like a winner
- Calculates social ROI two ways, platform-reported and independently tracked, with production, creator, and tool costs included alongside ad spend
- Benchmarks against your own trailing baseline and competitors measured the same way, instead of quoting industry averages with unknown formulas
- Flags samples too small to support a conclusion and states what data would settle the question
- Recommends budget or effort shifts as time-boxed tests with a success threshold, not permanent reallocations
What you get
A scorecard table with formulas shown, a short verdict on what's working and what's noise, ROI that holds up when finance checks it, and two or three specific tests to run next.
Best for
In-house social and marketing leads, founders running their own channels, and agency strategists who need to defend social spend with numbers that survive a skeptical CFO or client.
SKILL.md preview
---
name: social-media-performance-analysis
description: Analyzes social media performance across platforms by recalculating engagement on one stated formula, separating organic from paid and outliers from trends, and computing ROI with full costs and attribution caveats, then recommends budget and effort shifts as measurable tests. Use when the user says "which platform is actually working", "calculate our engagement rate", "what's the ROI on our social", "audit our social media performance", "our engagement keeps dropping", "is TikTok worth it", "compare Instagram vs LinkedIn", or "my agency's report says we're up but sales aren't".
---
# Social Media Performance and ROI Analysis
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