The Blog

Over the last fifteen years, social media has played a huge role in the language of marketing. Fax numbers have been replaced by handles on email signatures, and a quick post to keep clients up to date with company news or share product information, has transformed into a full-time role.  

Consumer behaviour has influenced how, when, and why we post, but should we be reporting on our online marketing activity, and how can reports affect long-term digital strategy?  

Stats matter. Each platform is geared specifically to help you develop content to drive traffic and reach your target audience. Twitter Analytics, Facebook Analytics and Instagram Insights track how followers interact with your pages, monitoring clicks and advertisement spending. 

Scheduling software such as Brandwatch, Buffer and Hootsuite all offer different packages to ensure your digital marketing is performing at its best.  

Here’s the low down on just a few of the reasons why you should analyse social media marketing reports to reap the rewards. 

To measure the competition.  

We all know that a tailored approach to your digital strategy is important, but being able to assess your direct competition can affect how you approach your content moving forwards. You can’t fill the gaps in the market, if you don’t know where they are. 

To interpret your activity. 

Clients, stakeholders, and directors, are often looking for bitesize impact reports to validate the influence of social media marketing, and gauge it’s effectiveness. Data gathered can demonstrate growth in engagement and how volume of posts affect your potential reach rate. Reporting on your online activity can determine if your business is meeting it’s objectives.  

To understand how your brand is perceived.  

Social media marketing is a great way to network and build relationships with your audience, but it isn’t always the kindest environment to find yourself in. Being accessible 24/7 can leave your brand vulnerable to negative comments or criticism, and monitoring perception be a great way to improve your offering. Tools such as Google Alerts and Rankur can help manage your online reputation. 

To update your strategy. 

Determining a timeframe for your reports can enable you to have a clear picture of your performance online, and form the basis for future planning. Reporting can look at your conversion rate and illustrate which campaigns have been successful. These are all useful metrics for assessing your social media ROI and help justify budgets allocated to digital marketing. 

To promote your business online.  

It’s no longer enough to just have a flashy website and PR message. Strong social media feeds will amplify sales and drive purchase decisions. Report on what is, and what isn’t working, and you’ll be trending in no time.