Social Media Reporting: How to Do It Right for Strategic Decision Making

As social media became essential for communication, organizations collected vast data from platforms like Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram, and LinkedIn. However, turning this data into actionable insights for strategic decision-making was often inconsistent. This study explored ways to enhance social media reporting to improve strategic outcomes. Through literature review and expert interviews, it identified challenges such as misaligned metrics, low data literacy, siloed departments, and limited integration of insights into planning. Despite investments in dashboards and analytics tools, these resources were often underused due to interpretive gaps and a focus on vanity metrics. The findings highlighted the importance of aligning social media KPIs with organizational goals, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and enhancing interpretive capabilities among staff and executives. Importantly, the study also underscored the broader public value of effective social media reporting, particularly in the public sector, where data-driven communication enhanced transparency, responsiveness, and citizen trust. This research contributed to the growing discourse on data-driven strategy by emphasizing not only the technical and analytical dimensions, but also the often-overlooked human, organizational, and public value factors that influenced the real-world effectiveness of social media reporting.