Report monthly on what matters
Social media reporting can be time consuming, confusing and inconsistent. Knowing what to report on and how to present it back to your stakeholders isn’t easy, which is why it can be tempting to take shortcuts or not do it at all.
But using the data already available on the platforms can help you make more strategic decisions about how you resource social media and identify the channels where you are having the most impact, all without the need for third-party reporting tools.
This free template provides you with a robust method for recording your channel stats every month, as well as calculating your engagement rates. The template will also generate graphs that you can use to create or improve your regular reports. Overall, the template and approach will ensure consistent and thorough reporting for any charity that adopts it, which can help make benchmarking easier in the sector.
Want help using the template? Read this guide by the authors on how to make the most of it.
Want the confidence to champion social media? Listen to Athar’s talk on measuring what matters: a smarter approach to reporting on social media at the Next-Level Digital Engagement for Charities conference, where you’ll leave with clear a framework and how to use the data that actually tells the right story to stakeholders.
Credits
Athar Abidi, Jo Birdsey and Charlotte Hopwood developed this template and method in 2025 to monitor platform stats and report on social media performance at Cancer Research UK.
Thanks to the authors and to all of the CharityComms members for making this resource possible. We’re only able to offer this template for free because of the support of our members. If you’d like to access more content and membership benefits, get in touch with the CharityComms’ membership team on admin@charitycomms.org.uk to find out more about becoming a CharityComms member.
Contact us
If you have any questions about this template or social media support, please contact the comms team on comms@charitycomms.org.uk.
