Checking a blogger's stats: what's important to assess, so you don't fall for a fake

So, what services should you use? What are the indicators to examine? We have two ways for you: manual and automated. In this article, we will talk about the manual. Then, at the end of the text, we will link you to the course, which deals with automation.

Assess the profile

How long has the blogger been keeping the account? How many publications do they have? How often do they post? What is the quality of the content? Do they write anything under the posts or just post pretty pictures? Are there advertising publications in the profile? What do they look like, and how does the blogger present the ads?

Assess the quality and quantity of user reactions

Who likes them? Is there any information about these people in their profiles, or are they empty accounts? What is the quality of the comments, and how meaningful are they? Does the blogger have conversations with the audience and respond to comments?

Assess your audience

Who subscribes to the blogger? Are they commercial accounts or foreign accounts? Half-empty profiles? Are they fake accounts? Try to determine the geography of your audience through manual analysis. For example, if the blog has too many subscribers from other countries and the blogger broadcasts exclusively in Russian, this should be a red flag.

Evaluate the profile statistics you have received from the blogger

How many users subscribe after seeing the posts? What are the blogger's reach, post impressions, including reps? How dynamic are the figures in the "Audience" section? Are there substantial declines in growth and spikes? If so, the blogger is likely running contests or engaging in givens to attract the audience. Next, check the sources of impressions: if it's "Home," the blogger's posts get displayed in the user's subscriptions; if it's "Profile," the user is viewing the profile, either by opening it on purpose or the blogger has purchased ads; if it's "Interesting," the posts are displayed in recommendations; if "Other," users come through posts in other social networks, links in messengers and so on. It's best if displays from "Home" and "Interesting" dominate the rest of the metrics.

Evaluate post statistics

What is the blogger's engagement, the ratio of reactions to content to the number of posts or subscribers? Engagement can range from two to ten percent, with smaller bloggers at higher levels and more prominent bloggers at lower levels. How many percent of subscribers like a post? Are there posts with a very high number of likes? If there are - it's likely to have been promoted on purpose. A reasonable response rate is ten percent of subscribers liking the post. What is the coverage of the blogger's posts? It's great if the reach is within twenty to forty percent of all subscribers. Coverage of unsubscribed audience, equal to twenty to thirty percent, will also do. But a reach of fifty to sixty percent from unsubscribed users is a sign that the blogger is either promoting aggressively or pulling strings. Does the blogger's content get reposted? How many subscriptions do the posts and videos attract? How many users bookmark the posts? Does the number of likes vary significantly from post to post?

Evaluate the stats of the stories

What is their reach? How many users see them? How many users subscribe to the blogger after viewing their stories? The average reach per post should be at least ten percent of your followers. How many taps do for scrolling backward or forwards on the stories? What's the number of taps to exit? And over a specific period (e.g., a month or a week)?

Be sure to ask for screenshots and a video of the screen with statistics for each metric. Unfortunately, some craftsmen manage to fake even a video, so if you want to be sure that the statistics are accurate and you can buy advertising with peace of mind, come to us on a course on working with bloggers. We will tell you about the secret ways of checking and programs which will save you from losing your money. In addition, you will receive feedback from industry experts, case studies, and homework exercises, which will train you to work with bloggers even before you are certified.