You do not need a dashboard full of charts. You need to know whether social brings in customers. In HubSpot's 2026 report (vendor data), 69% of social marketers felt more pressure to prove ROI.
Track four numbers
- Reach: how many people saw your posts.
- Engagement rate: interactions divided by reach.
- Conversations: DMs and comments that ask about buying or booking.
- Conversions: sales, bookings or sign-ups you can trace to social.
Tag every link
Add UTM parameters to links in bio and posts so your website analytics show which platform and post sent the visit. Short links with click analytics also count clicks per post.
Count conversations as leads
For many small businesses, the DM is the sale. Record how many enquiries each month came from social and how many became customers.
Do the maths monthly
ROI = (revenue from social − cost of tools and time) ÷ cost. Use a realistic hourly rate for your time.
Act on it
Each month, keep the post types that drove conversations, drop the ones that only drove likes, and test one new idea.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good engagement rate?
It varies by platform and audience size. Compare against your own last three months rather than industry averages.
How do I track sales from Instagram?
Use tagged links, ask new customers how they found you, and count DM enquiries that convert.
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