Social Media Reporting Overview

SocialBoost reports help you understand how your social posts, campaigns and profiles are performing. Reports can show which posts reached readers, which content encouraged engagement, and which campaigns generated clicks, entries or responses.

What SocialBoost reports may include

• Post performance.
• Profile activity.
• Campaign results.
• Engagement metrics.
• Reach and impressions.
• Link clicks.
• Video performance.
• Follower growth.
• Referral or campaign activity.

Why reports matter

• They show what content readers respond to.
• They help you improve your posting schedule.
• They help you compare platforms.
• They reveal which campaign links are being clicked.
• They make future launch planning easier.

Things to know

• Each social platform reports data slightly differently.
• Some metrics may not be available for every platform or post type.
• Reports are most useful when reviewed over time.
• Advanced reporting may need to be enabled on your account.

Running a Social Report

Running a report lets you choose what activity you want to review. You may be able to report by profile, platform, campaign, date range, post type or other available filters.

Before running a report

• Decide what question you want to answer.
• Choose the date range.
• Select the relevant social profiles.
• Choose a campaign if you are reviewing campaign activity.
• Check whether advanced tracking is enabled if you need link or UTM data.

How running a report usually works

1. Open the reporting area in SocialBoost.
2. Select the report type.
3. Choose the date range.
4. Select the profiles, platforms or campaigns you want to include.
5. Apply filters if needed.
6. Generate or refresh the report.
7. Review the results.

Useful report questions

• Which posts had the most engagement?
• Which platform sent the most clicks?
• Which campaign generated the most entries?
• Which posting times performed best?
• Which content type worked best for this launch?

Filtering Reports

Filters help you narrow a report so you can focus on the results that matter. This is especially helpful if you manage multiple platforms, profiles, campaigns or author brands.

Common filters

• Date range.
• Social platform.
• Connected profile.
• Campaign.
• Post type.
• Content category.
• Queue or scheduled content.
• Link or tracking campaign.

When to use filters

• Reviewing one launch campaign.
• Comparing Instagram and Facebook results.
• Checking only TikTok videos.
• Reviewing one author brand or pen name.
• Finding posts connected to one book or series.

Things to know

• Too many filters may hide useful data.
• Not every platform provides the same metrics.
• Compare similar content types when possible.
• Check that your date range includes the full campaign period.

Downloading Reports

Downloading reports lets you save performance data outside SocialBoost. This can be useful for launch reviews, author records, team updates, publisher reporting or comparing campaigns over time.

Common export formats may include

• CSV files.
• Spreadsheet files.
• PDF reports.
• Campaign summary exports.

When to download reports

• After a launch campaign.
• At the end of each month.
• Before changing your content strategy.
• When comparing platforms.
• When sharing results with an assistant, publisher or marketing partner.

Things to know

• Downloaded reports may contain account or campaign data.
• Store exported files securely.
• Use clear filenames that include the campaign and date range.
• Reports are easier to compare if you export them consistently.

Understanding Social Metrics

Social reports include several different metrics. Each one tells you something different about how readers saw or interacted with your content.

Common social metrics

• Reach: how many individual accounts may have seen the content.
• Impressions: how many times the content was shown.
• Engagement: actions such as likes, comments, shares, saves or clicks.
• Engagement rate: engagement compared with reach or impressions.
• Clicks: how many times readers clicked a link.
• Comments: replies or public responses to the post.
• Shares: how often readers shared the post.
• Saves: how often readers saved the post where supported.
• Followers: audience growth over time.
• Video views: how often a video was viewed.
• Watch time: how long viewers watched video content where available.

Which metrics matter most?

• For awareness, watch reach and impressions.
• For engagement, watch comments, shares, saves and engagement rate.
• For traffic, watch clicks.
• For campaigns, watch entries, referrals, clicks and conversions where available.
• For video, watch views, watch time and completion signals where available.

Things to know

High reach does not always mean high value. A smaller post that sends readers to a preorder page may be more useful than a viral post that does not attract the right readers.

Finding the Best Time to Post

Reports can help you understand when your audience is more likely to engage. There is no universal best time for every author, but your own data can guide your posting schedule.

What to review

• Posting time.
• Posting day.
• Engagement rate.
• Clicks.
• Platform differences.
• Reader location or timezone where available.

How to use timing data

1. Review posts from the last month or campaign.
2. Look for posts with stronger clicks or engagement.
3. Check when those posts were published.
4. Compare similar content types.
5. Adjust your queue schedule gradually.
6. Keep testing over time.

Things to know

• Different platforms may have different best times.
• Launch content may behave differently from evergreen posts.
• Do not change your entire schedule based on one post.
• Timezones matter if your main readers are in another country.

Tracking Campaign Results

Campaign reports help you understand how giveaways, contests, polls, referral campaigns and link-in-bio campaigns performed.

Campaign metrics may include

• Campaign views.
• Entries or submissions.
• Referral activity.
• Link clicks.
• Conversion rate.
• Participant count.
• Form completions.
• Poll responses.
• Contest submissions.

What to review after a campaign

• Did the campaign reach the intended audience?
• Did readers take the action you wanted?
• Which promotion posts drove the most activity?
• Did referral rewards improve sharing?
• Were there drop-offs or confusing steps?

Things to know

• Giveaway entries are not the same as long-term reader engagement.
• Referral campaigns can bring volume, but quality still matters.
• Polls and forms can provide valuable preference data.
• Always check consent before adding participants to email marketing.

Link Tracking & UTM Tracking

Link tracking helps you see how many readers clicked a link. UTM tracking adds campaign information to a URL so tools such as Google Analytics can identify where website traffic came from.

What link tracking can show

• Which posts drove clicks.
• Which platforms sent traffic.
• Which campaign links performed best.
• Which call to action encouraged action.
• Which links were ignored.

Common UTM fields

• Source: where the traffic came from, such as socialboost or instagram.
• Medium: the channel, such as social.
• Campaign: the campaign name, such as book-title-launch.
• Content: the specific link or post variation.

When to use UTM tracking

• New release campaigns.
• Preorder campaigns.
• Reader magnet campaigns.
• Direct store traffic.
• Link-in-bio pages.
• Giveaways and referral campaigns.

Things to know

• UTM tracking is most useful when links point to a website or landing page you can track.
• Retailer sites may not show you full UTM data.
• Use consistent naming to keep reports readable.
• Test links before publishing or scheduling.

Google Analytics Integration

If Google Analytics integration is enabled, you can connect social activity to website traffic and reader behavior. This helps you see what happens after someone clicks from a social post to your website.

What Google Analytics can help track

• Traffic from SocialBoost links.
• Visits to book pages.
• Newsletter signup page visits.
• Campaign landing page activity.
• Direct store traffic.
• Reader behavior after clicking a link.
• Conversions where goals or events are configured.

Before using Analytics reporting

• Make sure Google Analytics is set up on your website.
• Use tracked links or UTM parameters.
• Check that your campaign links point to pages you control or can measure.
• Decide what actions matter, such as signup, purchase click or page view.

Things to know

• Analytics data may not appear instantly.
• Privacy settings can affect tracking.
• UTM naming consistency matters.
• Google Analytics setup may require website access or technical support.

Link Shortener Reporting

Link shortener reporting helps you track clicks on shortened links. If this feature is enabled, you may be able to see click totals, location information, device type and other useful link data.

What link shortener reports may show

• Total clicks.
• Unique clicks.
• Clicks by date.
• Clicks by country or region.
• Clicks by device.
• Clicks by platform or referrer where available.

When to use shortened tracked links

• Social captions with limited space.
• Launch campaigns.
• Giveaway links.
• Link-in-bio pages.
• Reader magnet promotions.
• Tracking one link across several posts.

Things to know

• Use clear labels so you know what each link was for.
• Do not reuse the same tracked link for unrelated campaigns.
• Test shortened links before scheduling posts.
• Some readers may prefer clear destination links, especially for purchases.

Using Reports to Improve Future Content

Reports are most useful when they help you make better decisions. Instead of only checking numbers, look for what the data tells you about your readers.

What to look for

• Which posts got clicks.
• Which posts got saves or shares.
• Which videos held attention.
• Which platforms drove useful traffic.
• Which campaign messages worked.
• Which posting times performed better.
• Which content formats underperformed.

How to use the results

• Create more of the post types that drive useful action.
• Reduce content that gets no engagement or clicks.
• Adjust queue times based on engagement patterns.
• Improve launch messaging based on prior campaigns.
• Build hashtag groups from posts that performed well.
• Use stronger images or hooks when weak content is easy to identify.

Things to know

Do not copy only the surface details of a strong post. Ask why it worked. Was it the hook, trope, format, image, timing, platform or audience?

Common Reporting Mistakes

Reports are helpful, but it is easy to draw the wrong conclusion if you focus on the wrong numbers or compare unlike campaigns.

Common mistakes

• Only caring about follower count.
• Assuming likes equal sales.
• Comparing TikTok videos with Facebook link posts as if they work the same way.
• Judging a campaign from one post.
• Ignoring clicks.
• Ignoring comments and saves.
• Forgetting to check date ranges.
• Not tracking links during important campaigns.
• Comparing launch posts with evergreen posts.

Better approach

• Compare similar posts with similar goals.
• Look at trends over time.
• Separate awareness metrics from action metrics.
• Use tracking links for important campaigns.
• Review both post data and campaign data.

Reporting Best Practices for Authors

A simple reporting routine can help you improve without feeling overwhelmed by data. You do not need to analyze everything every day.

Monthly review

• Check top-performing posts.
• Review clicks and engagement.
• Look at platform differences.
• Check best posting times.
• Save useful observations for the next month.

Launch review

• Review the full campaign date range.
• Check which posts drove clicks.
• Compare platforms.
• Review campaign entries or signups.
• Look at link tracking or UTM data if enabled.
• Record what should be repeated next time.

Evergreen content review

• Check which queued posts still perform.
• Remove weak or outdated posts.
• Refresh captions and images.
• Resend strong evergreen content where appropriate.

Simple routine

1. Review reports once a month.
2. Write down three things that worked.
3. Write down three things to improve.
4. Adjust the next month’s queue or campaign plan.
5. Repeat after every major launch.