Without engagement, social media is just media. People don’t use social networks for a one-way experience. They’re seeking connections — with people and with brands.

We live in a world that increasingly does not trust businesses, brands, or advertising. But we trust each other. Social sharing is critically important to any digital marketing effort because it represents organic advocacy.

When people share your post, it is a very big deal! It is a sign that they trust you. It is a symbol that a person believed in your content so much they made it part of their own story. Social sharing means your content is entering the public conversation. And in this world where the hyper-empowered consumer is in control, there is no better achievement than that for a marketeer.

IPM stands for Interactions Per Mille, or the number of interactions per thousand fans. By dividing the number of interactions by the number of fans you get a nice benchmark for comparing posts. A general benchmark for the IPM score is 4. If you score lower than 4, your content may not invite enough interaction.

When it comes to influencers it’s an incredibly valuable metric for spotting influencers who can draw an audience to your product, as well identifying those whose audience is apathetic, inactive, or even worse, fake.