Vanity Metrics Are The Most Misunderstood Numbers in Marketing
In recent years, the phrase “vanity metrics” has become a bit of a misnomer; a label we throw at any data we deem as not important or just don’t like.
Views on TikTok? Vanity metric.
Visits to that fluffy article you wrote five years ago? Vanity metric.
But this is in poor practice.
In reality, vanity metrics are numbers that look and sound impressive, but don’t directly say anything about how you’re performing on your goals.
In other words, they’re metrics without context or connection to what you’re trying to accomplish.
Both TikTok views and visits to a fluffy article could be vanity metrics, but they could also be key metrics depending on your goal at hand.
The point is this: Sure, seeing numbers hit a high may be exciting, but if they don’t translate to conversions, revenue, or whatever you’re trying to do, do they matter?