An increase investment in social media marketing means businesses need to learn which tactics work, and why.

That's according to Simply Measured, who have released a new guide, Answering Your Boss's Questions About Your Social Media Campaigns, which looks at the many questions raised by company managers regarding the value of social media marketing.

“Between paid, owned, and earned social media results, the data needed to answer those questions can be overwhelming,” the report says.

“By knowing which data to analyse and report on you can be ready for meetings or one-off requests for information.

The report explains the greatest advantage of going into a meeting with facts in hand is that planning for your social media department's next phase is half as hard as it otherwise would be.

“You know what's working, what's not working, and how you want your brand to be perceived in the future,” it says.

Simply Measured says there are ways businesses can use social data to report on both strengths and weak points in the company's social media marketing efforts.

“When your boss wants a high-level look at what you're doing with a particular campaign and the impact it has, a graphic that outlines your progress from post engagement to new Page Likes or followers can make reporting to your boss much easier.

When managers want to know why social media audience numbers are growing, whoever is in charge of social media needs to explain not just how much the audience has grown, but why that number has increased.

“Instead of responding with a simple, “We've gained 2,000 Page Likes in the month of May so far,” chart your progress over time to offer context,” Simply Measured explains.

“For instance, with a chart of new Followers over time you can pinpoint certain events – media pickup, content launches, product launches, and more – and show a correlation to increases in audience growth.

Feedback is an important part of social media campaigns. “While your boss may be happy to hear about compliments and positive comments from customers, they're likely worried about negative feedback, too,” Simply Measured says.

Sales from social media are likely to be top of mind for most managers. “To connect social media activity to sales, you'll need a top-down overview of conversion metrics, namely what you've been working on and any sales you can attach to your efforts.

“The main idea is to look at how your number of potential impressions converts to visits which convert to goals completed. You'll want to show which social channels drive site visits, where a lead might be captured, or a sale would take place.

“With all this data, it should be easy to set achievable goals for the upcoming month or your next campaign,” the report adds.

“Gathering and analysing this data on a consistent basis can not only expedite your team reporting and meetings, but can also help you improve strategies and make better decisions on your social campaigns.

For more information on how Simply Measured can help your business with social media, or to read the full report, please click here.