Written by Lucy Hall and reviewed, fact-checked and signed off by a SocialDay editor before publication. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy. Spotted something wrong? Tell the newsroom.
Buy reporting depth when it helps someone make a better decision, and first check whether your existing stack already contains it.
An attractive dashboard can make reporting feel more sophisticated without making it more useful. If the monthly report still ends with figures nobody acts on, another analytics subscription may add little value.
A separate social media analytics tool is worth considering when it answers questions the existing stack cannot answer, materially reduces reporting effort or makes data more reliable. Establish that need before comparing products.
Ask who receives the report and what they need to decide. A social lead may need to compare content themes. A customer service manager may need unresolved enquiry and response data. A commercial leader may need to understand qualified enquiries or profitable purchases.
Write a short reporting brief for each audience: decision, metric definition, data source, period, frequency and action. Keep strategic measures separate from the operational figures used to run the team.
For example, a campaign designed to generate useful event enquiries needs more than impressions. It may need consistent campaign tagging and a record of whether enquiries were followed up. The necessary data will span systems.
Owned-account analytics describe activity on accounts you control. Competitor benchmarking relies on the data visible for other accounts. Listening analyses a wider set of conversations.
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