Digital marketers love a good report.
To marketers, reports are more than just numbers on a page. They tell the story of how your campaigns are performing and where you should go next.
Whether you’re running ads on Meta, Google, or TikTok, a great report helps you understand what’s working, what’s not, and how to adapt.
So what should you look for when reviewing campaign performance? Here’s what we look for in our own reports at Your Marketing People.
Sections
1. Are you hitting our KPIs?
At the heart of every great marketing report is the question: are we achieving what we set out to do?
- For Facebook and Instagram, that might mean tracking engagement rates, click-through rates (CTR), or cost per acquisition (CPA).
- On Google Ads, the focus could be conversions, return on ad spend (ROAS), or quality score improvements.
- For TikTok, you might be paying closer attention to video views, watch time, or how often users click through to your site.
A strong report clearly highlights the agreed-upon key performance indicators (KPIs) so you don’t get lost in vanity metrics. It should also provide context — hitting a $30 CPA is great, but not if the goal was $20. Reports that benchmark against your ROI goals help ensure your marketing dollars are working as hard as they should.
2. Were there any unexpected drops or spikes?
Digital marketing rarely follows a straight line. Algorithms change, new competitors enter the market, and creative fatigue sets in. That’s why a great report doesn’t just show the numbers — it calls out where things are unusually high or low.
For example:
- On Instagram, a spike in impressions might look great at first glance, but could actually indicate wasted spend if your CTR drops.
- On Google Ads, a sudden increase in clicks could come from a broad match keyword pulling in irrelevant traffic.
- On TikTok, engagement might dip when an audience grows tired of a particular topic, meme, or video format.
The best reports surface these anomalies quickly and pair them with possible explanations. They don’t just tell you that your CTR dropped by 20%. They give you insights into why it may have happened and what you can test next.
3. How are things looking year-over-year (YoY) or month-over-month (MoM)?
Numbers in isolation don’t mean much. Context is everything, which is why comparing performance across timeframes is a hallmark of a great report.
Year-over-year comparisons (YoY) are particularly useful for businesses with seasonal patterns. If your Google Ads campaigns always see a bump in Q4, you’ll want to know whether this year’s spike is higher, lower, or flat compared to last year.
Month-over-month reporting (MoM), meanwhile, helps you catch short-term trends. For Meta and Instagram ads, MoM analysis can show whether your new creative is outperforming old assets. For TikTok, MoM results might reveal whether your recent influencer partnerships are moving the needle — or not.
A great digital marketing report blends both views, helping you understand whether performance shifts are part of a long-term trend or just short-term noise.
4. Where can you dive deeper?
Finally, the best reports don’t just summarize results. They also open the door to deeper insights. For example, maybe your:
- Instagram report shows strong overall performance, but one audience segment is delivering twice the ROAS.
- Google Ads report reveals that branded search is doing the heavy lifting, suggesting you should diversify into more non-branded campaigns.
- TikTok report uncovers that 80% of conversions are coming from just one creative concept, signaling both opportunity and risk.
Reports that call out these opportunities for deeper analysis save you time and guide smarter decision-making. They help you decide what deserves an immediate test, what requires a bigger strategy shift, and what can wait until next quarter.
Marketers and reports
A great report doesn’t just track metrics. It tells the story of your marketing performance across key channels, from Google Ads to social media. It shows whether you’re hitting your KPIs, explains unexpected changes, provides meaningful context through YoY and MoM comparisons, and points out where you can dig deeper.
When you consistently review reports with these elements in mind, your campaigns become more than a collection of numbers. They become a roadmap for smarter strategy, better decisions, and stronger results.
Ready to build custom reports like these for your brand? Your Marketing People can help.
