It depends on your goals—because “working” means different things to different firms.
Some firms come to us wanting brand visibility and thought leadership. They want a strong online presence so when someone gets a referral and looks them up, they find an active, credible firm. They’re not tracking leads yet—they’re building authority.
Other firms want lead generation. They need a measurable pipeline of prospects coming in month after month.
The metrics you track depend on which category you’re in.
If Your Goal Is Brand Visibility & Thought Leadership
You should be tracking:
Impressions – How many people are seeing your content
Reach – How many unique people saw your posts
Engagement – Likes, comments, shares, clicks
Engagement rate – Engagement relative to reach (this tells you if your content resonates)
Top-performing posts – What topics, formats, or messaging drove the most engagement (and why)
Put these metrics in a spreadsheet and review them month-over-month. Are you increasing or decreasing? Are certain topics consistently outperforming others?
You can also use AI (like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini) to compare your performance to others in your space. This gives you context—are you moving in the right direction relative to your market?
If Your Goal Is Lead Generation
You track everything above, plus another layer:
Leads generated – How many new contacts entered your pipeline
Cost per lead – How much you’re spending to acquire each lead
Ad spend – Total investment in paid campaigns
CTR (click-through rate) – How many people clicked on your ads
Ad performance comparison – Which ads are outperforming others (and why)
Email marketing metrics – Opens, open rate, click-through rate (CTR) on emails
This is where the numbers get real. You’re not just tracking visibility—you’re tracking ROI.
“But I Don’t Know What Metrics to Track”
That’s normal. Most firm owners have never done this before.
This is where your agency should step in and build this for you.
Here’s an example: We had a client who came to us doing lead generation campaigns but had no idea if they were working. They were spending money on ads every month but couldn’t tell us their cost per lead, their click-through rate, or which campaigns were actually performing.
We built them a simple dashboard that tracks:
Organic Social Performance:
– LinkedIn reach, impressions, engagement, link clicks, new followers
– Facebook reach, impressions, engagement, link clicks, new followers
– Instagram reach, impressions, engagement, link clicks, new followers
Paid Campaign Performance:
– Total leads generated
– Amount spent per campaign
– Cost per lead (CPL)
– Total clicks
– Click-through rate (CTR)
Email Marketing Performance:
– Total emails sent
– Opens and open rate
– Click-through rate (CTR)
– Which emails/subject lines performed best
Month-Over-Month Comparison:
– Every metric organized by month so they can see trends at a glance
Now they know exactly what’s working. They can see which months performed well, which campaigns delivered the lowest cost per lead, which emails got the most engagement, and where to double down.
Your agency should build this for you. If they’re not tracking these metrics and reviewing them with you every month, they’re guessing—not managing.
It Won’t Be Perfect Out of the Gate
Here’s what most firms don’t realize: Marketing isn’t about getting it perfect on day one. It’s about learning what works.
You and your team are testing messaging, content formats, audiences, and offers. You’re looking at the metrics month-over-month to see what’s working and what’s not—then adjusting accordingly.
Some posts will perform well. Some ads will flop. Some emails will get opened like crazy while others won’t. That’s normal. The key is using the data to get smarter each month.
The Monthly Review Process Matters
It’s not enough to just collect metrics. You need to actually review them with your team.
Every month, sit down with your account manager and look at the data together. Have an honest discussion:
– What performed well this month—and why?
– What underperformed—and what can we adjust?
– Are we moving in the right direction toward our goals?
– What should we test next month?
Your team should be guiding you through this. They should tell you what’s working, where they see opportunities to improve, and what changes they recommend.
If your agency just sends you a report and never talks through it with you, that’s a red flag.
Start With Goals, Then Build Your Metrics
The process looks like this:
1. Define your goals – Brand visibility? Lead generation? Both?
2. Identify the metrics that align with those goals (your agency should help you with this)
3. Set up a simple dashboard to track those metrics month-over-month
4. Review the data honestly with your team every month
5. Adjust your strategy based on what’s working and what’s not
By doing this consistently, you establish a baseline. You start to see patterns. You know what “good” looks like for your firm. And you can set realistic goals from there.
Bottom Line
You know marketing is working when:
– Your visibility metrics are trending up month-over-month
– Your top-performing content aligns with your ideal client’s needs
– You’re generating a consistent flow of leads (if lead gen is your goal)
– Your cost per lead is decreasing as you optimize
– Your email open rates and CTR show people are engaging with your content
– You and your team have honest, data-driven conversations every month about what’s working
Marketing isn’t a light switch. It’s a system that gets smarter over time—if you’re paying attention to the right metrics.