What is a Social Media Report?

A social media report is a useful document that comprises value extracted from data coming from wide-ranging social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc., and metrics which include number of follows, likes, reach, awareness, growth, engagements, post-performance and others over varying time frames. The number of followers of a social media page/site is essential to observe and examine the social media process and growth or decline over key time periods, depicting the brand position. Also, the conversions that one’s social media content creates are key metrics to include in the report because these metrics determine when people click on or take any other kind of action, providing value for money. 

A comprehensive social media report also gives details on individual social media posts and their engagement rates in order to present how the work results in great outcomes, as well as the volume of social media posts for accurate measurement especially when you are undertaking experiments and testing. Most importantly, this report shows the status and performance of the best performing posts, allowing you to refine your sample strategy over time.

Several social media advertising statistical reports revealed that marketers spent 60% more on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram ads in the first quarter of 2021 than the first quarter of 2020, and 77% of B2B and B2C marketers say that they use retargeting ads as part of their Facebook and Instagram advertising strategies. While other statistical reports about social media consumers show that social media users overwhelmingly trust others as their preferred form of influencer, most likely to buy from based on a product recommendation (37%) compared to the celebrities (7%). These reports show that social media ads still generate positive results and it is important that social media managers document the impact of social media on consumers fully well.

Thus, data and statistics from social media marketing are essential in fine-tuning your social media marketing strategy and setting attainable and realistic goals. If you are looking some opportunities on new networks or considering to shift fro organic content to ads or vice-versa, you need to learn and understand the extracted value and data from social media. So, creating an effective report in social media for businesses and organizations is helpful in building better social media marketing strategy for your business or organization.

Different Types of Social Media Reports

Responsible for curating and developing multiple social channels of a brand, social media managers are in charge of closely monitoring, moderating to audience comments, managing social media partnerships with other brands, and creating and/or posting shareable images and videos. In this section, you will know and understand more about the different types of social media reports. Read the following details below:

1. Social Media Engagement Report

Social media engagement is the measurement of social media audience or user comments, likes, and shares. It is important to analyze, measure and record the visualized data from social media engagement because it provides you with clear insights into the current status, and performance of your social media content as to how it resonates with your clients/customers. Documenting the behavior and interaction of your audience online through your brand’s social media channels guides you to use this information to optimize your social media posts in the future or improve your products and services. Plus, it gives you a tangible metric to track your social media performance over time.

2. Social Media Data Progress Report

Do you need to prepare a social media data progress report? It is important to define your smart business goals and KPIs and select your social media channels based on the preferences of your audience or target market. Consider the opinions and suggestions of your audience online. Then, analyze your top-performing social media posts, and measure the influencers reach and engagement. When monitoring and measuring your social media data progress, determine the attention metric(s) your organization wants tied to brand awareness, measure your net followers on each social media platform over a reporting period, measure the reach of any given post, use a brand monitoring tool to track your total number of brand mentions, measure every mention your brand receives across your social networks, add up the total approval actions a post received over the course of a reporting period, and measure a social media post’ impressions.

3. Social Media Team Report

41% of social media marketers say they need more time and bandwidth to set a greater impact on the rest of their business. That’s why a social media marketing team is essential for a business or organization so that they are able to work together on content creation, strategy development, community engagement, data daily analysis reports and many more. A social media expert can have unique skills in managing and improving a social media page but juggling multiple roles and responsibilities can be efficient in a well-coordinated social media team. For a social media team report, it is a document made by the collaboration and team effort of the main players in social media marketing such as the social media manager, the content creator, the social data analyst, the community manager, and the social media specialist as they recorded the social media activities and achievements of the team over the last year.

4. Social Media Marketing Industry Report

IBISWorld reported that the market size, measured by revenue, of the social networking sites is $72.2 billion in 2022 and the social media marketing industry is anticipated to increase by 15.6% in 2022. The social media marketing industry report is a document which covers all main social media platforms, organic and paid social media activities, video marketing and many others in order to fully decipher and examine how social media marketers are using social media.

Basic Components of a Social Media Report 

Online interactions are another aspect of the same offline relationships as social media is beneficial in showing the mediated nature of prior communication and sociality which includes face to face communication. In this section, you will learn how to craft an impeccably-written social media report so that you are able to enclose all the necessary points and areas in your social media management work. However, a social media report contains different kinds of components. Take into account of the following elements for you to create a unique document:

Cover Page: One of the essential features of a social media report is the cover page. It contains the title, topic, brand name, and business name in the cover section of the document. Write the complete names of the social media manager, assistant social media manager, content creator, social media marketing specialist, and other members of the brand team. Outline of Social Media Management Strategies: This section is the integral part of the content of the social media marketing management report.It provides a clear and cohesive outline concerning the social media marketing strategies that are implemented in the brand. It shows the overall status of the implemented social media strategies and future social media strategies that will be executed to improve the brand and the social media channels, plus some descriptions related to the brand value and business performance. Social Media Performance Analysis: After describing the major social media strategies used, create a thorough analysis of the social media performance. The social media manager and the social media team will be able to observe, analyze, monitor, and record the progress of their social media management activities by indicating the follower numbers, clicks and visits or conversion rates, engagement rates, volume metrics and best performing posts. Brevity and Coherence: What are the important points that must be highlighted in the social media report? Keep your report as brief as possible and maintain coherence in your words and terminologies by using the right words in the best way possible.

How to Write a Social Media Report

According to the book Social Media Communication, one of the main features of social media is social connectivity, allowing users to connect with others conveniently and regardless of geographical distance.  Social connectivity will promote civic participation and social innovation in the near future. This will build up user-managed communities among people with similar needs across local, state, and national boundaries. Also, writing a comprehensive social media report can help you in clearly documenting your social media management. So, we suggest that you follow the simple steps below:

Step 1: Identify the Aim and Purpose 

Social media managers need to identify the aim and main purpose of the social media channels of a brand. Find out how the social media accounts are being used and determine ways to use the essential methodologies. Consider these questions: How plugged in to social media is the community or your target audience? Are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and other social media services helping your brand’s projects and programs meet their goals? What can be accomplished to make social media pages more beneficial for both the brand and the community or target audience?

Step 2: Define the Specific Goals and Objectives of the Social Media Management

Define your goals and objectives of your social media management. Create an in-depth analysis so that you are able to determine the current condition of the social media and to research the fundamental measures to upgrade it. 

Step 3: Include an Executive Summary of the Social Media Management

Next step is writing a simple executive summary of the social media account that you will be monitoring, assessing and upgrading. Collect sufficient data associated with your social media assessment and development questions which will increase your position towards attaining knowledge and insight. Point out the important aspects of the social media brand and business performance in your content such as its attributes, benefits, values, and personality. Include an analysis of the follower numbers, number of clicks and visits, engagement metrics, volume metrics and best performing posts.

Step 4: Provide Effective Social Media Management Strategies

Describe the diverse types of effective social media management strategies that you are planning to use in managing your overall social media channels. Some examples of social media management and marketing strategies are conducting an audit of your current social media practices, performing a competitive analysis, building a content strategy for the types and amounts of posts you will share, identifying the budget, tactics and tools required to achieve your goals, and many more.

Step 5: Prepare the Final Report

Prepare the final social media report that consists of logical and noteworthy details about your social media platforms. Consult your social media marketing assistants and/or members in your social media team  for efficient proofreading and revision of your content so that you can submit your social media report in an organized manner.

FAQs

What is the purpose of a social media report?

The purpose of a social media report is to monitor, analyze and present the extracted value from data collected from social media accounts of a business firm, organization, influencer, and other professionals.  Documenting the follower numbers, the conversions (clicks and visits), engagement, volume, and best performing social media post metrics and other aspects will improve the overall brand awareness, value, business performance and other relevant elements in a business or an organization.

What are the fundamental elements of a social media report?

When preparing your social media report, you need to consider these fundamental elements such as the goals and objectives of the social media management report, a simple executive summary of the social media management, clear description of social media management methods and strategies, purpose, significance, potential benefits, references, and citations.

What are some examples of a social media report?

Some examples of a social media report are monthly social media report, social media investigation report, basic social media report, social media data progress report, social media team report, social media working group interim report, social media engagement report, social media report card, social media task force report, social media summary report, social media marketing industry report, and social media update report.

What are the important social media reporting strategies?

The important social media reporting strategies are social media tracking, campaign reporting, ROI reporting, brand and market audits, and post-crisis assessment. Social media tracking presents qualitative and quantitative analysis, graphics, and significant trends in a powerpoint, PDF document or within Excel to evaluate community performance, engagement and benchmarks progress, as well as key messaging points, prominent themes, etc. Campaign reporting summarizes core campaign indicators, messaging, and graphical analysis of the campaign’s main efforts. ROI reporting develops a comparison of the budgets committed and the results obtained such as the reallocation of the financial budget for blog, content, website, social media, etc. Brand and market audit is used to fully understand a brand’s performance within its sector before the launch of a campaign, and before a new project investment. Post-crisis assessment is used to inform about potential threats to all internal stakeholders and other key individuals for external communications.

Sean Gardner said: “Social media is not just an activity; it is an investment of valuable time and resources. Surround yourself with people who not just support you and stay with you, but inform your thinking about ways to wow your online presence”  As a social media manager or someone who works in a social media management team, it is integral to practice and possess an assortment of soft and hard skills such as business communication, creative marketing strategy, public relations, data analysis, and flexibility. One of the crucial aspects you need to accomplish is writing a systematic social media report. Thus, we suggest that you carefully follow the aforementioned tips and steps in this article so that you are able to craft a compelling and well-structured social media report. Plus, download our sample social media report templates here today such as social media data progress report templates, social media team report templates, social media engagement report templates, social media marketing industry report templates, and many others!