The articles here at Sprout Insights are written to keep you informed about ways to improve your social media presence. But beyond this publication, Sprout Social has tools that help you track and control that presence.

We recently wrote about how to schedule Facebook and Twitter updates with Sprout Social. This time, we’re walking you through the different Reports you can create with the tool. Not only are these reports quite attractive, but they contain a wealth of information about your social media presence. Read on to find out how to incorporate Sprout Social reports in your social media marketing strategy.

If you don’t already have Sprout Social, sign up for a free trial so you can try out these reports!

Getting Started With Sprout Social

If you don’t already have Sprout Social, sign up for a free trial. After you’ve logged in, click the button titled “Reports” from the menu bar at the top of the page.

The home page for this section is Group Reports, which will give you an overview of the statistics for your group. It includes all the accounts you have linked to Sprout Social. You can also see information for all linked accounts by social media platform, such as Twitter or Facebook.

On the Group Report page, you can aggregate information for any combination of your linked accounts. So if you want to examine the Twitter data for just one team of your employees, click the “Customize Report” button just below the main menu. Here you can control exactly which accounts are appearing in the Group Report. Also, you can select the range of dates for the report, either by number of days or by a particular set of dates.

Generating Twitter Reports

You can generate reports in greater detail for each network through the menu on the far left. To review your Twitter information, click on “Twitter Reports.” You can view data for any account in your group.

The report’s data covers changes in followers, mentions, messages, and retweets. It also visualizes tweeting behavior, such as what percentage of your tweets are conversation as opposed to updates, and whether you’re engaging new contacts or existing ones. A graph tracks changes in your engagement and influence on the network. There’s also a section showing the ages and genders of your Twitter followers.

Another option is to compare two accounts head-to-head. For that capability, click on “Twitter Comparisons.” You’ll have to add a comparison report, where you’ll select either another member of your group or enter the Twitter handle of a competitor. From there, Sprout Social will create graphs and charts comparing the engagement, influence, number of followers, and number of mentions of both accounts.

Just as with the group and individual reports, you can set the date range for comparisons. You can also maintain recurring comparison reports, or scroll to the bottom right and click “Delete Report” for a one-time analysis.

Generating Facebook Reports

The process for generating a report for a Facebook Page is similar. You’ll only be able to create reports for fan Pages, not for personal accounts. Plus, Sprout Social can only verify the Facebook data if your page has more than 30 followers.

The Facebook reports include a broad array of information. Sprout Social tracks the number of Likes for your Page, in addition to how many have “unliked” the Page. You can also see data about impressions — from the total number, to the age and gender, to the most active day of the week.

The report also covers the engagement of each Facebook post and the sharing of your content. The content breakdown analyzes the reach, Likes, comments, and more for all the individual posts made by your Page. The sharing information tracks the number of stories created and the number of users who posted about your content. It also breaks down how the content is traveling across Facebook, whether by comments, mentions, or posts on your Wall.

What the Reports Can Do For Your Business

The main benefit of these reports is the control over the scope of information at your disposal. You can analyze the Twitter engagement of a single team member or the Facebook reach of your entire suite of Pages. This means you can see where your strengths are and where you can improve your stats. Having that data at your fingertips also means you can make better decisions about how to increase your social media presence.

Another positive element to these reports is that you can see the results of your work. Many of the metrics are tracked in graphs that will visualize the improvements made over time. That means you have a concrete view of how changes in your social media strategy translate into responses among your followers and fans.

This article discusses Sprout Social, our social media management tool for businesses. To learn about our editorial ethics and our commitment to objective coverage of the social media space, visit our About page.

[Image credit: Victor1558]