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Cover image for the article: Minimum Viable Analytics for Social: The Six Metrics That Actually Matter

Minimum Viable Analytics for Social: The Six Metrics That Actually Matter

By Alberto Luengo·09/17/25
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Startups don’t need 30 charts. They need six readings they can check in 10–15 minutes to decide what to make next—and a simple move to make when each one shifts.
This guide defines the six social metrics that matter (Engagement Rate, Saves, Shares, Comments, Reach, Peak Hours) and gives a single next action for each outcome. It shows precisely where to see them in Rkive and in native apps, adds two multipliers (Post Type and Topic) to make the readings smarter, and finishes with a one-page Metrics → Action map and a tiny weekly workflow any small team can run.

Minimum Viable Analytics for Social

The six metrics that actually matter: and exactly what to do when they move

Startups don’t need 30 charts. You need six readings you can check in 10–15 minutes that tell you what to make next. Below: what each metric means, where you’ll see it (Rkive first; native apps second), and the single action to take next week.

1) Engagement rate

What it means: Did people do anything (likes + comments + saves + shares) relative to how many saw the content.

  • Where in Rkive: Organisation-level stats in the analytics header, with breakdown per Account, Top Posts, Topic, Post Type and Format in each section.
  • Where natively: Post insights show total interactions and reach—most apps also display an engagement rate.

If it rises → Repeat the same post type/topic/format within 7 days.

If it dips → Change one variable (hook or editing or timing). Change only one and observe. Repeat if necessary. If it keeps failing, its time to change the post type or topic itself.

2) Saves

What it means: People plan to revisit this. Saves predict long-tail value.

  • Where in Rkive: Metrics Radar, Top Posts, Post Type and Topic.
  • Where natively: Post insights (Instagram “Saves”, TikTok/YouTube equivalents like “Add to Favorites/Playlist”).

High saves + low shares → Great reference, weak packaging → new cover + first-second payoff of the same idea.

Low saves + “how do I…?” comments → You hid the steps → put the steps on-frame.

3) Shares

What it means: People are willing to cosign you to their circle.

  • Where in Rkive: Metrics Radar, Top Posts, Post Type and Topic.
  • Where natively: Post insights → Shares.

Likes high, shares low → Likable but not cosignable → embed value on-frame (labels, steps, before/after).

Shares high → Publish a Part 2 within 48 hours, same format.

4) Comments (quality > count)

What it means: Friction points and hooks that landed.

  • Where in Rkive: Metrics Radar, Top Posts, Post Type and Topic.
  • Where natively: Open the post → comments.

Many repeated questions → You buried the answer → film a reply video and pin it.

Hype-only comments → Entertainment without utility → add one utility format per week (“3 steps to ___”).

5) Reach (and growth by account)

What it means: Distribution—did new people actually see you?

  • Where in Rkive: Metrics Radar, Top Posts, Post Type and Topic.
  • Where natively: “Accounts reached”/reach stats.

Reach up, engagement rate flat → You got distribution, not love → tighten the first second and on-frame value.

Reach flat → Post in Peak Hours (see #6) and reuse your best post type.

6) Peak Hours

What it means: On social media this simply indicates when your audience is active, which may or may not predict your posts performance depending on how reach-oriented you are and the current priorities of the algorithm. On Rkive, it is calculated based on when your posts tend to land (not generic “audience is online” charts) in order to forecast real engagement and reach.

  • Where in Rkive: Peak Hours clock per weekday.
  • Where natively: Most apps show audience activity; good context, but it’s descriptive rather than predictive.

Three underperforms at the same hour → Switch to the next best slot Rkive suggests for two weeks.

A day/hour wins twice → Lock it as a cohort window for that post type.

Two multipliers that make these six smarter (both built in)

  • Post Type (you set it). Define Types like rundown, feature drop, carousel teach, before/after. Rkive rolls every metric by post type, so your takeaway is “Ship 2 more rundowns this week” not “post more stuff”.
  • Topic (we auto-tag it using multimodal AI). Rkive tags themes like “business tips”, “business humor”, “startup lifestyle”. The Topics panel trends them and nudges focus (e.g., “Consider focusing on “startup lifestyle”). That’s how you avoid repeating noise and chase what your audience actually keeps.

Reading the Rkive screen in 90 seconds

  1. Top bar: Posts · Engagements · Engagement Rate · Reach. Your sanity check.
  2. Top Posts: Tap on the post to open it on the social media app it is posted at.
  3. Accounts: Which handle is actually growing.
  4. Formats: What percentage of your shares, saves, etc is each format responsible for.
  5. Post Types: Details of each individual post type performance.
  6. Metrics Radar: How do your post types compare to each other.
  7. Peak Hours: Grab the next two slots.
  8. Impact: A combined metric of your engagement against your reach, shown per account.
  9. Topics: What’s rising/falling in terms of impact for each of your topics.

Then ask the chatbot:

  • “Which post type + topic had the highest engagement rate last 30d?”
  • “Schedule 2 posts in the next Peak Hours using that combo.”
  • “Summarize top questions I should answer on camera this week.”

Go crazy with the chatbot, its your own personal AI content consultant with access to all your metrics and even your strategy. You can have a full deep dive and even tell it to update your strategy to optimise for your new goals. It will do it without you needing to write a word or even copy paste, just review it and click save.

What to ignore (most weeks)

  • Raw impressions alone. Exposure without intent, not useful as a standalone metric.
  • Blended ‘engagement rate’ across all content. Averages hide which format and topic work.
  • Generic ‘best time to post’ lists. Use Peak Hours or other forecasting tools.

One-Page Metrics → Action Map

(If this number moves, do this next week.)

  • Engagement rate ↑ → repeat same post type + topic within 3–7 days.
  • Engagement rate ↓ → change one variable (hook or post type or timing).
  • Saves ↑ / Shares ↓ → same idea, new cover + first-second payoff.
  • Shares ↑ → Part 2 within 48h; mirror the format.
  • Comments = repeated questions → reply video that front-loads the answer; pin it.
  • Reach ↑ / ER flat → stronger packaging → on-frame value + tighter hook.
  • Reach flat → post at next Peak Hour + reuse best post type.
  • Topic nudge (e.g., photography_tips) → ship one post on that topic this week.
  • Format nudge (e.g., carousels outperform) → add one more of that format next sprint.

A tiny workflow for a tiny team

  • Monday (10 min): Go to Rkive → Check Top Posts, Post Types, Topics, Peak Hours. Pick one play from the map.
  • Rest of the week (multitask): Shoot raw pics and videos useful for the content your numbers asked for (same post type, same topic, etc) → Rkive will edit them automatically and show them to you as finished posts → Double tap the posts you like and they get scheduled automatically using your peak hours data.

Six metrics. One move a week. Repeat. That’s your minimum-viable analytics. Enough to steer creative without living in a dashboard.

Read our articles The Rise of the Ghost Viewer and Monoculture Has Died, Now What? to learn more about building a healthy, scalable analytics rhythm.

And check out Rkive AI for Analytics to learn how you can leverage AI to produce organic content with your own footage.

Sources

Read more from Rkive AI

Explore Rkive AI for Analytics to keep these six metrics and your next actions in one automated workspace.

About the author

Alberto Luengo is the founder and CEO of Rkive AI, a leading expert in AI for content automation and growth. He shares real-world insights on technology, strategy, and the future of the creator economy.

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