Social media can be one of the most valuable assets for your fitness studio to help build your online presence, get new clients and create stronger SEO. But before you dive in, it’s important for you to develop a social media strategy.

Your social media platforms should not only be fun, high quality and creative, but also include a call to action in each post to encourage your followers to sweat with you.

Once you’ve begun posting for your fitness studio on social media, you’ll also want to measure whether it’s working and adjust your strategy accordingly. Here are three ways to track your success on social media.

Monitor your engagement rate

It’s common to track success on social media by monitoring your engagement. Engagement can include many things and varies based on the platform. For example, on Instagram or Facebook, you might measure your engagement rate based on the number of likes, shares and comments you receive per post.

To calculate your engagement rate, simply divide the total number of actions taken on a post by your total number of followers. That rate will show you what you’re doing well and where you can improve based on how it trends per post and over time.

If you notice your engagement rate dropping over time, from say 7-percent per post to 5-percent, you may want to look at what you’ve changed in that same timeframe. Did you start editing your photos differently or start using fewer hashtags? These changes can greatly impact your success. If you don’t make the necessary changes to your content, you could risk losing interest and followers. On the other hand, if you notice your engagement rate improving over time, study what you’re doing differently and continue on that path.

To increase your engagement rate, take note of what types of posts do well with your audience and post more of the same. We also recommend using local hashtags like #bostonyogi or posting more often.

Follow the leads

Your social media efforts should be a profitable use of your time. But how can you tell if it’s worth the time and energy investment? Leads are a very tangible way to gauge the success of your social media.

All of your content, from your posts to your re-shares to your stories, should include a strong call to action encouraging the viewer to book a class, call your business, or visit your studio. If you are trying to measure the amount of traffic you are getting from your social accounts to your website, it’s very important to use tracked links in order to view exactly where your viewers are coming from.

You should also pay attention to the quality of leads you are getting from social media — if you get 50 leads a day from your Instagram account, but only one results in a paying client, then it’s time to reassess your strategy. It is better to have 10 leads and 5 sales than 50 leads and 10 sales. Measuring the volume and quality of leads your activity is receiving, and what content is performing the best, is one of the most vital ways to gauge your social media success.

Get smart about growth

Gaining followers is the best way to get more clients from social media. With every follower you gain, your reach improves, and the greater chance you have of converting those followers into paying customers. Measuring and tracking your follower growth can be done in several easy ways.

One way to track follower growth for your social media accounts is to make a spreadsheet of your current follower count across all platforms and update it daily, weekly or monthly, depending on how frequently you post. If your follower growth seems to have stagnated, or worse, decreased, then it’s time to take a hard look at your social platforms. Are you posting infrequently, or over-posting? Both strategies can have the opposite effect, where customers lose interest in your content. If you started off strong, but find yourself losing followers as time goes on, look at what you’ve changed.

Stay engaged with your followers and remember not to oversell your offerings or post low-quality photos. Track your content over time to see what resonates most with your followers and achieves the highest growth rates.

By taking note of your social media metrics and making necessary adjustments, you will be able to expand your reach and establish your brand.

This post was contributed by ThriveHive. Click here to learn more about how to bring your marketing to the next level.