Measuring Social Media ROI Without Lying to Yourself

Social reporting goes wrong when the metric chosen is the one that looks best. Start instead from the decision the report should inform: keep, cut, or scale a format.

Use three tiers. Attention metrics (three-second retention, average watch time) tell you whether the creative works. Intent metrics (saves, shares, profile visits, link clicks) tell you whether the message lands. Outcome metrics (assisted conversions, branded search volume, direct traffic) tell you whether it moves the business.

Never compare across tiers. A video with high views and no saves is not underperforming — it is performing a different job. Judge each format against the tier it was designed for.

Report monthly, decide quarterly. Social data is noisy week to week, and teams that re-strategise every Monday never accumulate enough signal to learn anything.