Which numbers to report, how to calculate engagement rate consistently, how to compare periods fairly and how to connect social posts to website visits.
A report is only useful if it answers the client’s question. Before choosing numbers, write down the goal for the period: more people seeing the brand (reach and impressions), more people interacting (engagement), more visits to the website (clicks), or a growing audience (followers). Report the two or three numbers that match, and put the rest in an appendix.
| Number | What it means | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions | Times posts were shown | One person can see a post several times |
| Reach | Unique accounts that saw posts | Not every network reports it |
| Engagements | Likes or reactions + comments + shares + saves | Networks name these differently |
| Engagement rate | Engagements ÷ impressions × 100 | Some reports divide by followers or reach instead |
| Clicks | Link and post clicks | Only where the network reports them |
| Followers | Audience size at a point in time | Growth matters more than the total |
There is no single industry definition. Dividing by impressions measures how engaging posts were to the people who saw them; dividing by followers measures engagement relative to audience size; dividing by reach sits in between. Pick one, say which in the report, and keep it month to month. Our engagement rate calculator shows all three. PostRoost’s analytics use engagements divided by impressions.
Compare a period with the previous period of the same length, and be careful around seasonal peaks: December against November says little. If the number of posts changed a lot, report per-post averages alongside totals.
Social networks report clicks; your website analytics report what happened next. Add UTM parameters to every link you post so visits are attributed to the right network and campaign. Google Analytics recommends always setting utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign, and notes that values are case sensitive, so “Instagram” and “instagram” are counted separately. Our UTM builder lowercases values for you.
Each number in a report should come with one sentence of explanation (“reach fell because we posted twice instead of four times in week two”) and the report should end with what you will do next month. The report template has a space for exactly that.
Facts on this page were checked against the sources below on .
10 questions
The two or three that match the client's goal for the period: reach and impressions for awareness, engagement for interaction, clicks for website visits, followers for audience growth. Put the rest in an appendix.
Impressions count every time a post was shown; reach counts unique accounts. One person seeing a post three times is three impressions and a reach of one.
Any of the common ones, as long as you say which and keep it every month. Engagements divided by impressions compares posts best; PostRoost's analytics use that one.
Compare a period with the previous period of the same length, watch for seasonal peaks, and report per-post averages next to totals when the number of posts changed.
Networks revise numbers for days or weeks after a post goes out, and each names its metrics differently. Note the date you pulled the numbers and stick to one definition per metric.
Tag every link with UTM parameters and read conversions in your website analytics. Social networks report clicks, not what happened after the click.
Report growth over the period rather than the total, and only if audience growth is a goal. A large follower count on its own says little about results.
Monthly suits most clients, with a short weekly note during campaigns. Reporting more often mostly shows noise.
What you learned, what you will do next month and what you need from the client. A report that ends with actions gets read.
For 90 days after publishing: every 15 minutes for two days, hourly for a week, then daily, then weekly. Paid plans keep full history; Free shows 30 days.
Start on the Free plan with one client. Upgrade when you need approvals, more people or more clients.
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