What to include in a monthly social media report
Which metrics to report to clients, how to compare them, and what to leave out.
A monthly social media report should answer two questions for your client: is social media helping the business, and what will you do next month? Many reports include so many numbers that these answers get lost.
Here's what to include in a monthly report, and what to leave out.
Start with a short summary
Begin with three sentences: what went well, what didn't, and what you'll change next month. Many clients only read the summary, so make it clear and specific.
Choose metrics that match the client's goals
Followers and likes are easy to measure, but on their own they don't tell the client much. Choose metrics based on what the client wants to achieve:
- Awareness: reach on each platform and the percentage of followers reached.
- Engagement: engagement rate, with a note on how each platform defines it.
- Traffic and leads: link clicks, profile visits and enquiries, where the platform reports them.
Pick four to six metrics and use the same ones every month, so the client can see trends.
Compare every number
A number on its own is hard to judge. Show each metric next to the previous period of the same length, and explain whether the change is significant or within the normal range.
Explain your best posts
Show two or three of the month's best posts and explain why they worked. For example: "Carousels that answered a customer question got more engagement than single images." This tells the client more than a table of likes.
Be clear about missing data
If a platform didn't report a metric, write "not reported". Don't replace missing numbers with estimates. If there isn't enough data to draw a conclusion, say so.
Keep it short
Two to four pages is enough for most clients. Put extra detail in an appendix for clients who want it.
How Ogasocial builds reports
Ogasocial reports only use measured data. Each metric is compared with the previous period, missing metrics are labelled, and any summary written with AI must be reviewed by a person before it's included.
