100+ Free Custom Social Media Report Templates and Dashboards

What is a social media report?

A report that details the activity of various social media networks and platforms is termed a social media report. This primarily involves summarizing the company's social media performance with the help of bars, graphs, and charts. The social media report template must include insights and metrics such as growth, followers, likes, comments, engagement, etc, to help stakeholders and clients know how an organization's social media platform performs and operates. You can customize the data based on your priority and specific metrics and include the ones that will best depict the progress of the company goals and social media strategies.

What is a social media report template?

The pre-designed layout or structure that can be used as a framework to create social media strategies, campaigns, pictures, posts, etc, is known as a social media report template. These report templates can be in the form of a spreadsheet, text-based, or visual, where each component depicts the prerequisites to create posts, pop-ups, reports, checklists, and banners, which are part of social media marketing strategy. Different social media report templates can be used to track the company's growth on social media, the findings of the management and clients, and guide future goals and strategies.

Key points to include in your social media report

The data and insights that you provide in your social media report make for useful and proactive information. Some of the key points to be considered while farming the social media report are mentioned below:

1) Number of followers - The core metric for the social media report is the number of fans or followers. The social media report is complete if you know exactly how many people are involved in your brand story. Mention the growth and decline over key periods. Make sure the people you are reporting know about the valuable key periods, and if they are not aware, throw some input on that, too. If it's a monthly report, you need to mention the growth or decline of the followers. This helps to give the current position of the brand and what strategies we need to follow to overcome the challenges and make the brand grow.

2) Number of clicks and visits - The conversion rate that your content is about to create plays a crucial role. When it comes to bottom lines, there is no more bottom than the number of conversions. Your social media work should focus and be designed carefully to encourage audiences to not only browse the page but also take the actions required. Make sure every time people click or take any kind of action, all the steps are fully documented. This helps to show that you are providing value for the money asked. 

3) Audience engagement - The engagement metric breaks down into a lot of smaller figures, highlighting all the attention the brand is receiving from time to time. With the increased growth in the social media strategy, it becomes very important to maintain a much more sophisticated social media report to hone in on various posts and campaigns. Creative posting also helps in creating more engagement. Try to include a detailed report on individual posts and engagement rates to have a great outcome.

4) Volume - This metric is, at times, not understood by marketers. Hence, it is important to mention this in social media reports. The volume and number of posts that you do daily make a huge impact on having a good social media marketing strategy. Hence, it has a huge role in reporting, too. Volume is not only important for measurement, but it also helps us to keep track of the day-to-day posts and campaigns undertaken to engage and grow the network. You should have an understanding of how any post it takes to gain the outcome and conversion rate that you need. 

5) Best-performing posts - Linked to volume, you need to mention the best-performing posts that helped to gain growth and network for your website. Try to have similar posts. Sometimes, your video posts might perform better than the text posts. So, you need to closely identify and analyze what type of post will help your platform grow and mention these in the social media report. The data that shows the best posts helps you to refine your strategy over time.

Types of social media report

Social media report is a general term that includes a lot of subsets, too. The type of report you want to create depends on the demand of the person who will be reading it. The social media report depends on the business needs, requirements, and target audience. On a larger basis, social media reports can be of seven types mentioned below:

1) Monthly performance report - This report offers detailed and regular social media activities. They include metrics like content performance, engagement, conversion rate, number of followers, etc. The goal of the report is to identify the trends and make adjustments for the upcoming growth. This report helps to update stakeholders and clients about the short-term results and the ongoing efforts. 

2) Quarterly reports - This report provides a broader picture by comparing the data across different months. It helps to analyze the long-term trends and the overall growth of the social media platform. These reports deep-dive and try to include the ROI, demographics of the audience, and campaign performance as well. These reports are important for strategic planning and aligning the social media goals with the business goals and objectives. 

3) Campaign-specific reports - These reports focus on the outcomes of various marketing initiatives or campaigns on social media platforms. They measure the success rates against the predetermined objectives, such as brand awareness, sales, engagement and conversion rates, reach, etc. These reports help analyze what elements of the campaigns worked well and what elements to improve and focus on. 

4) Social media audit report - A social media audit report helps to comprehensively evaluate the overall social media strategy. It covers competitive benchmarking, content and account optimization and analysis, etc. The goal of this report is to optimize the strengths and opportunities and overcome the weaknesses and threats of different social media channels. This report is important for businesses looking to refine their marketing strategy and ensure their efforts are aligned with the marketing goals. 

5) Platform-specific reports - Creating reports that focus on a single social media platform can be highly insightful and helpful. For example, a linked report could focus on B2B engagement metrics, while an Instagram report might focus on post and story performance. Hence, platform-specific reports allow marketers to understand social media platforms and take the necessary steps accordingly. 

6) Engagement and interaction report - These reports focus on how your audience is interacting with your content. Metrics such as direct messages, likes, comments, etc, help to gauge the audience sentiment, commitment, and engagement levels. This information can help businesses to develop more compelling content to foster a strong community around their brand. 

7) Competitive analysis report - This report examines your social media performance compared to your competitors. It helps identify your market positions and competitive advantage and, in turn, areas for improvement. You can make the strategic adjustments required to stand out among your competitors.

Each type of social media report offers unique insights and benefits to the stakeholders, helping them to make informed decisions to achieve the business goals and objectives. Following a mix of these reports in your strategy can help you enhance your digital presence and drive valuable inputs and improvements.

The importance of having a comprehensive social media report template

Let’s first discuss and know the importance of the social media report template:

1. Social media report templates help to make data-driven decisions. With the help of a social media report sample, we get to know valuable data such as traffic, likes, and user journeys. This helps to make decisions based on these social media metrics.
2. It helps you to recognize your strengths and weaknesses in terms of performance. With the help of the social media report template, you can explore different opportunities to expand your social media strategies.
3. It helps build communication among the stakeholders. The social media analytics report example can help you communicate the message to your stakeholders more efficiently. Bar visuals such as bar graphs and charts can make it understandable and accessible to them.
4. A social media metrics template can help you track key performance indicators, measure the return on investment gained from your social media efforts and activities, and make decisions based on that.

The importance of developing a social media report template

Social media is the best way to engage your business with users in this digital world. Social media helps to provide visibility of your business to a larger audience and helps you to understand the dos and don’ts to be followed. When we talk about social media performance, a few aspects, such as likes, dislikes, comments, etc., are discussed. But when it comes to social media performance, the social media report template helps to gather a lot of information apart from these. Let’s now discuss the significance of creating a social media report template.

Assessing success and Return on Investment (ROI)

A social media report format helps to guide businesses and measure their success based on efforts and social media activities. It helps to track the business’s ROI. A social media report sample analyzes data such as conversion rate, number of followers, reach, etc., which helps to revise social media strategies. The social media report format not only provides a quantifiable view but also helps to identify areas that need to be improved and optimized.

Make informed strategic decisions

With the help of real-time data analysis, the social media report format helps to gather insights and help make informed decisions for the growth and success of the business. Social media report samples used by businesses help to dive deep into the key metrics such as the trends in the market, viral content strategies, advertising cost, etc. With the help of this information, a business can align its strategy with its business goals and outcomes.

Improving accountability and transparency

Transparency helps build trust among internal and external stakeholders. Social media performance reports can help stakeholders have a detailed view of performance metrics, threats, and opportunities and create a culture of transparency. By regularly sharing the social media report sample, stakeholders are aware of the affected strategies and metrics and provide their inputs to optimize the outcome. The social media report format helps stakeholders gain business confidence and know social media initiatives’ efficacy.

Recognizing trends and capitalizing on opportunities

A social media reporting template, along with the analytics tool, helps to identify emerging trends and perform a trend analysis. It helps to identify opportunities that can be tapped with these trends and capitalize on new opportunities to stay ahead of the competition. These insights help to make agile and proactive decision-making based on emerging trends such as viral hashtags, tapping into a niche audience, etc., and thus act as a radar.

Illustrating value and influence

It becomes crucial for businesses to demonstrate the value and impact of social media activities in gathering support from their stakeholders. Some of the sample social media analytics reports can be referred to by businesses to showcase their ROI and secure investment from the stakeholders in the initial phases. This sample social media analytics report will help secure investments from stakeholders and translate the quantifiable metrics into meaningful insights and narratives. These social media report samples help to highlight the new trends and campaigns, helping in audience engagement. These reports serve as a medium to prove social media’s contribution to the business’s success.

How to create a social media report in 12 steps?

1. Establish your objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs)

   The first step to be followed while creating a social media report format is to define the objectives, mission, vision, goals, and key performance indicators (KPIs). It is important to keep your objectives in line with the business goals. With the help of different social media review templates, you can get an idea of what key metrics should be included in the social media report sample. Some of the social media KPIs are:

   1. Metrics for engagement
   2. Reach and impressions
   3. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
   4. Conversion rate
   5. Growth in followers
   6. Referral traffic from social media

   By defying the objectives explicitly, you can keep track of your performance and analyze if there is any deviation in terms of efforts and activities required to achieve those objectives and goals.

2. Select appropriate metrics and data sources

   The next step is to define the metrics and data source you will include in the social media report template. You can refer to different social media report samples to clarify the important metrics to include when accounting for a business’s social media performance. You need to gather data from various social media platforms depending on the objectives and goals defined. Some of the key data sources that should be considered while forming a social media report sample are as follows:

   1. High-performing posts/ content
   2. Audience demographics and insights
   3. Performance of social media advertising (if relevant)
   4. Analysis of sentiment (positive/negative)

   Using social media report templates in Excel, analytics tools can be used to provide insights to third parties or stakeholders involved.

3. Create the layout and structure of the social media report template.

   The structure of the social media report format plays an important role in presenting the data effectively and efficiently. Social media reports give clarity in terms of the social media activities that need to be performed. Below are some of the tips that can be used while framing a social media report sample:

   1. Cover page

      The social media report’s cover page should include a title, the time range of the data sources, and a summary of the key performance indicators (KPIs). To define the cover page more effectively, you can refer to various social media report examples of your competitors.

   2. Summary

      Provide a summary stating the report findings, challenges, and areas of improvement. You can refer to various competitor social media review templates to make the summary more defined.

   3. Introduction

      In the introduction of the social media report sample, you can add the purpose and objectives of the report to provide clarity to the internal and external stakeholders.

4. Exhibit high-level performance indicators and KPIs through social media performance report templates.

5. Assess individual campaigns or initiatives and their influence through campaign analysis.

6. Supply demographic insights and engagement trends through audience insights.

7. Evaluate the effectiveness of various content types, such as videos, blog posts, etc, by performing content analysis.

8. Include data concerning advertising campaigns and ROI with the help of social media advertising.

9. Provide actionable suggestions by referring to a sample social media analytics report.

10. Use of visual elements

    Infographics and bar charts make the data easy to read and access for stakeholders. Data based on trends and comparisons provides meaningful insights and vision. Different sample social media analytics reports include such visuals.

    1. Conclusion

       The social media report format should include a summary of the key findings, lessons learned, and areas for improvement.

    2. Appendix

       A social media report sample should include a list of data tables, methodology, and additional information to support the report’s findings.

       Make sure that the report layout and structure are professional and easy to read and access by third parties.

11. Tailor for a diverse audience

    Try to customize your social media report template based on different audiences. Consider all the executives, team members, and clients involved in the business and frame the social media report sample according to their needs and preferences. Focus on specific terms and metrics based on the users’ knowledge and expertise.

    For example:

    1. Stakeholders prefer a detailed summary with more focus on KPIs and ROI.
    2. The marketing team might require a sample of a social media report for detailed information regarding the planned marketing campaigns.
    3. Clients and external third parties may wish to have a social media review template with some specific details.

    Framing a social media report template, keeping all the users’ needs and requirements in mind, helps to make the report more relevant and useful.

12. Incorporate practical insights and recommendations

    A detailed social media report format should include actionable insights, recommendations, key metrics, and data. By referring to social media analysis and analytics report examples, you can identify trends, opportunities, challenges, etc., and optimize the reports.

    Ways of including actionable insights in the social media report template:

    1. Focus on mentioning the top-performing content and strategies
    2. Analyze the areas that are underperforming and provide recommendations for improvement.
    3. Based on audience engagement, mention the changes targeting messaging and posting frequency.
    4. Based on the data, with the help of analytics tools, propose new campaigns and initiatives that can be taken ahead.

    Including actionable insights helps stakeholders get a clear picture and facilitates effective and efficient social media management.

Evaluate and improve

It is essential to review the social media report template from time to time and revise it according to changing trends and patterns. This helps to change the report based on the feedback from the stakeholders and evaluate their inputs as well. Adjustments can be made to improve the impact and utility over time.

Points to be considered:

• Does the social media report format have all the relevant metrics and data?
• Do the stakeholders find the report to be valuable and effective? Are they able to drive insights?
• Are the analytics tools used to enhance and refine the report?
• Do we see any opportunities through which the social media report sample can be streamlined?

The continuous review helps to make the social media report template relevant and actionable with changing patterns and trends.

Conclusion

Developing detailed social media report templates involves a strategic process from listing objectives to providing actionable insights. By following the above-mentioned steps and addressing the improvements as and when required, we can help businesses grow using social media platforms. With the help of social media analytics reports, you can use different analytical tools and compare the trends leading to business growth.

The purpose of the social media report is not just to present the data but to have a document handy that can be referred to by anyone involved in the business. With the help of social media reports, everyone is in line with the business requirements, and they work together to achieve the objectives. Stakeholders gain confidence and trust with social media reports, as they get timely updates on the various strategies and plans being followed in the business. To check out what we are doing at Two Minute Reports and the solutions we offer, click here.

Two Minute Reports offers an intuitive solution that enables social media report samples and analysis. With our comprehensive tool, social media experts gain access to extensive formatting options and easy sharing of insights. Our seamless integration supports a comprehensive analysis by combining data from various sources, promoting efficient data management.

If you are a social media expert reading this, share your experience working with social media metrics report templates in the comments below!