Key Performance Indicator

Updated October 26, 2025

Key Performance Indicator

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics used to track how close you are to achieving specific objectives within businesses, projects, or processes. They help companies evaluate their progress towards predetermined goals.

KPIs vary widely depending on the industry and specific goals of the entity using them. For example, a customer service team aiming to improve customer satisfaction might use customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) or average response time as indicators of success. For a website, if the goal is to grow audience engagement, relevant KPIs could include website traffic, bounce rate, or conversion rates.

To be effective, KPIs should be well-defined, quantifiable, and directly tied to strategic objectives. For instance, if a marketing team’s objective is to increase brand awareness, tracking social media engagement and impressions would be a useful KPI.

What is a KPI with an example?

A KPI is a performance metric tied to a specific goal. Let’s say your goal is to grow your Instagram engagement. Your KPI could be: 💬 Increase average comments per post by 20% over the next 3 months. It’s specific, measurable, and time-bound = KPI gold.

KPIs vs. objectives

Objectives are the targets or goals that a company aims to achieve. For example, a business might set an objective to enter a new market within the next year.

KPIs , in contrast, are the measurable values used to track progress toward these objectives. If the objective is to enter a new market, a KPI could be the number of new customers acquired in that market.

KPIs vs. metrics

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are metrics selected to specifically track how well a company is doing in reaching its most important goals. For instance, if a business’s key goal is to increase sales, a KPI might be the percentage increase in sales over the last quarter.

On the other hand, metrics are any numbers measured by a business that give insights into how it’s doing, but they might not directly show how close the business is to achieving its big-picture goals. A common metric is the number of daily website visitors—it shows traffic but not necessarily success in terms of sales or customer engagement.

Recommended for you: 10 Social Media Goals (with KPIs) You Can Set for Your Business

What are 5 common KPIs in social media?

Here are five KPIs that social media marketers love to stalk:

How is KPI calculated?

Each KPI has its own formula, but here’s an example: Engagement rate = (Total engagement ÷ Total reach) × 100 So if your post got 100 likes + 20 comments = 120 interactions and 1,000 people saw it, your engagement rate is 12% . Not bad, superstar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to create amazing social media content?

Shef.ai helps you generate professional social media posts, Instagram content, and Facebook posts in minutes. Start creating content that engages your audience today.

Try Shef.ai Free

Related Terms (K)

Transform Your Social Media Strategy

Join thousands of businesses using Shef.ai to create engaging content that drives results. Get started for free in just minutes.

No credit card requiredStart in 2 minutesCancel anytime
Browse All Dictionary Entries
Found this helpful? Share it with others!