Social media reporting costs: what a monthly report is worth

Key takeaways

Social media reporting service cost depends on how much analysis the report includes. As indicative UK figures, a monthly report takes 2 to 4 hours, about £150–£400, and a one-off dashboard set-up takes 4 to 8 hours, about £300–£800. Most retainers include basic reporting.

• £150–£400 a month is the indicative cost of a monthly report.
• A one-off dashboard set-up costs roughly £300–£800.
• Most retainers include a basic monthly report already.
• A report is only worth paying for if it changes next month's plan.

What does a social media report include?

A social media report is a monthly summary of what was posted, what people did and what it led to. A useful one covers reach, engagement, clicks, messages and enquiries, compares them with last month, explains why numbers moved and states what will change next month.

• Social media agency pricing in the UK
• A social media reporting dashboard with three numbers

How much does social media reporting cost?

Pulling the numbers takes little time with modern tools. The cost is in the analysis: working out why results moved and what to do next. A monthly report with commentary takes 2 to 4 hours, about £150–£400 at the £75–£100 an hour implied by typical UK retainers. These are indicative figures, not a GBL price list.

• Automated numbers only: low cost, low value.
• Monthly report with commentary: indicative £150–£400.
• Dashboard set-up, one-off: indicative £300–£800.
• Quarterly review with a call: add 1 to 2 hours.

Is reporting included in a retainer?

Usually, yes. Most UK social media retainers include a monthly report as standard. Check what it contains. A screenshot of platform analytics is not analysis. Ask for a sample report before you sign and look for enquiries, a comparison with last month and a clear next step.

• What is included in a social media retainer?

What makes reporting more expensive?

More channels, more sources and more people asking questions raise the cost. Joining social data with website analytics, call tracking and a customer relationship management (CRM) system takes set-up time. Separate reports for different managers multiply the work.

• Many channels and ad accounts.
• Linking social data to website and CRM figures.
• Several versions for different audiences.
• Weekly rather than monthly reporting.

• UTM tracking for social media, set up in 20 minutes

When should you pay less for reporting?

Pay less when the report is long and nothing changes because of it. A one-page report with five numbers and three actions is worth more than twenty slides of charts. If you never read the report, ask for a shorter one and put the saved hours into content.

• How to measure social media ROI for a small business

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see with UK clients moving from another provider: they received long reports full of reach figures but could not tell whether social media brought enquiries. Global Bridge Labs (GBL) reports on a short list of numbers tied to enquiries, with a plain note on what changes next month.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Reporting checklist

Agree these before the first report.

• The five to eight numbers that matter.
• How enquiries from social are tracked.
• Monthly or weekly, and in what format.
• Who reads it and what decisions it feeds.
• Whether a review call is included.

• Social listening costs for small UK businesses
• What a social media giveaway really costs to run

Next step

Send us your last report or tell us what you want to know each month. We will tell you what a useful report should contain.