Digital Marketing

How to Create Digital Marketing Reports in Excel

Why you should create digital marketing reports in Excel and what data to include.

By Digital Marketing Jobs Board

They say you can’t manage what you don’t measure. And marketers can make accurate decisions based on these measurements. Digital marketing reports give you a comprehensive view of marketing efforts’ performance. After all, there’s no point in investing in something that isn’t working.

Over the past year, the value of marketing reporting has become clearer. More and more customers are expecting integrated, multi-channel online experiences. Over 75% of marketers report how their efforts have significant effects on revenue. Thus, the need to stay on top of marketing data has never been greater.

But not all reports are useful. Your digital marketing reports should include many data points and some visual representations of the data. In this post, we’ll explain why you should create marketing reports in Excel. It will also include some metrics you can use to grow your business.

Why Should You Create a Marketing Report?

If you want to improve the impact of your marketing activities, you need to report on your progress. The reporting process is an essential part of the end-to-end marketing funnel. It allows you to pinpoint where you have been successful and where you need to step up your game. You should translate data into meaningful and credible marketing reports.

But most marketers don’t know how to use Excel in a strategic and meaningful way. The spreadsheet program has been a huge part of their jobs. Yet some never learned how to use it to generate useful marketing reports.

You should step up your game by taking an Excel macro training course. This will help you do more than throw data at your boss or your clients and claim it’s important. With the right macro skills, you can streamline your Excel reporting and speed up your work.

How is Excel Helpful in Generating Digital Marketing Reports?

Digital marketing is so much more than posting statistics on social media. Marketers should track and analyze the data available to them. Excel has also become very important in the marketing field.

Excel was not designed for marketers. But, as time passes by, the software updates feature a lot of tools that help digital marketers. In-house marketers now use Excel as their platform for generating important reports.

Excel outperforms competing spreadsheet programs in various ways. With Excel, you can work with huge data files as compared to other programs. In fact, if you try to import too much data into these programs, they may slow down or even crash.

MS Excel is also your best option when it comes to functionality, formulas, and plug-ins. You can find a variety of advanced plug-ins on the internet, such as Power Query for data processing.

The program may have some limitations, too, but it doesn’t have anything that you can’t solve. Many businesses are still wary of using cloud-based solutions for data storage due to security concerns. They still prefer Excel as their go-to program.

using Microsoft excel

What Should Your Monthly Marketing Report Include?

Compiling a report is a key part of measuring a marketing strategy. But there are many different marketing tools out there to choose from. So how do you know which metrics are important and where to find them? Let’s take a look at six of the top things you should include in your digital marketing report.

1.   Goals

Focus on the marketing department’s role in accomplishing the larger corporate goals. Identifying where you are with such figures will aid you in making marketing modifications. Assess your advancement toward your aim for the end goal in each report.

2.   SEO Data

You can use website analytics and SEO data to assess website performance. It assists you in determining how many people visit your website and what they do once there. But, each business is unique. You are free to include and omit metrics as you see fit.

But where do you start looking for these metrics? Different website traffic measurement services are available. Google Analytics is one of the most popular services. Google Analytics offers you access to different metrics for your website and any linked web pages.

3.   Email Marketing Data

Use email analytics to determine which email campaigns are the most successful. You can then assess which messages are most effective with your target demographic. Your email service provider can give you statistics on your email campaigns.

4.   Leads and Customers

What happens when a contact becomes a lead, and then, eventually, becomes a customer? What is the typical amount of commitment required for each?

When you specify these, you’ll be able to calculate how many you’ve made. If you start with this section, the following sections will act as explanations. It’s easy to see how these figures came to be if you finish the marketing report with it.

5.   Explanations

Give it some insight. Don’t leave the numbers alone, particularly if they’re subject to interpretation. You don’t want someone to make an incorrect assumption when there’s more going on than meets the eye. Written descriptions help stakeholders comprehend what’s going on.

6.   Social Media Data

If you want to stay ahead of your competition, create a strong online reputation. This will attract new clients and convert them into loyal customers. So when should you add data on social media to your marketing reports? If you want to include social media in your reporting:

  • You should have brand awareness objectives that include social media reach.
  • You convert your leads to customers using social media.

You can access social media data in your online marketing dashboard’s insights and analytics tabs for each platform.

Marketing Reporting Best Practices

You should present your reports in a way that is easy to read. This way, you can make the decision-making process easier. Top management and stakeholders don’t have the time to weed through your numerical spreadsheets.

Let’s speed up this process and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. Here are some best practices to follow when creating digital marketing reports.

1.   Plan Your Marketing Reports Ahead

Arrange your marketing reports in advance. You can set a regular reminder on your calendar or schedule one. This removes any doubts about when to run your reports and to which audiences you need to send them.

2.   Collect Feedback

Request input from your audience when you send out your marketing reports. You should ask an open-ended question or a closed-ended question. Receiving input from those who use your reports can allow you to improve them in the future.

3.   Make Templates

Consider making a template out of it. This will help you save time and effort when creating each report. It will also give your visitors a dependable report design to read.

4.   Start With the Most Important Information

Long marketing reports are very acceptable. But the most important facts should come first. By doing so, your audience can stop reading once they have made up their mind.

5.   Make Your Data Appealing

Add some graphic data in your marketing reports when you get the chance. Your reports will have more impact on your coworkers and executives with visual representations of data. It will also reduce the time and effort required to process your data. Try including charts or screenshots from your reporting tools to do this.

Start Your Marketing Report Today

To be fair, there are no hard and fast rules for creating the perfect marketing report. But, with this guide, chances are you’ll have a successful report. This allows you to gain better insights and improve your marketing strategy.

Excel is an amazing tool, regardless of how you decide to tackle your marketing reports. It’s worth noting that there are programs available for generating reports. But, if you want a cost-effective program that lasts a lifetime, Excel is your best choice. It may not be the most dedicated program, but it does a great job of condensing your data.

Work smarter with the convenience of Excel. This way, you can save yourself extra time, energy, and effort without skimping on quality. More importantly, your clients and colleagues will be delighted to have an easy-to-read report.

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