We have covered goals for growth concerning social media, email marketing, and websites. 

Although goal setting is significant, knowing whether you have hit a goal or not is equally as important. (Lest you set goals just for the fun of it.)

In a digital marketing world, analytics determine goal success. We wanted to offer you a few key definitions for each channel that can tell you if you're hitting the target. 

If brand awareness is the goal

If your goal is to grow your audience by having an increasing number of eyes on your brand, there are a few metrics to know. 

Reach - In the social media world, reach will tell you how many unique looks your content may have received. Reach can be defined differently per platform. So, be sure to read the tip that's available in the channel you've chosen to understand what that means for that platform. 

Reach can be a reflection of how far the content has traveled and how wide of a net you've cast. 

If engagement is the goal

Sometimes, how many people have seen your content isn't as important to you as how many showed interest. 

Clickthrough Rate - In email marketing, your clickthrough rate tells you of the people who opened your email, how many engaged with your content, and went further. 

Clickthrough rate might reveal to you if your content is interesting to your audience and if you're using the right call-to-action. We want to mention, however, that a low clickthrough rate isn't a bad thing. Knowing what is average can help ease the anxiety of the numbers. 

Check out this graphic from Hubspot. 

If retaining interest is the goal

It's beautiful to understand that someone has seen your content and even engaged with it. You may want to know, however, how long you kept their attention. 

Average Session Duration - On your website (usually using a tool like Google Analytics), your average session duration reveals how long your audience stays on your website. 

A high average indicates that you have found the right audience and are giving them what they want. They come to your site. They see what all you have to offer. They decide to stay. That's the dream. 

Of course, the first step in any of these analytics is having a goal set. Know what you want to measure. Then, know which metrics reveal your success.