Reporting & Sharing Insights Playbook

Turn media data into a story that supports better decisions.

Monitoring tells you what’s happening.

Reporting is how you turn that data into a narrative that others can understand and act on.

This playbook focuses on the most effective ways teams share media insights in Meltwater and how to choose the right format for your audience.

Before you begin, make sure your search is saved in Explore. If not, start with the Brand Monitoring Toolkit.

Start With the Story, Not the Tool

Before choosing a report type, ask one simple question:

Do I need a quick snapshot or an ongoing view?

That answer determines how you should report. In Meltwater, most reporting falls into two clear paths

Reporting Paths

Reporting Path 1: Shareable Dashboards in Explore

Fast, snapshot-style reporting

Shareable Dashboards in Explore turn the insights you’re already viewing into presentation-ready reports.

Think of it as capturing the story at a specific moment in time.

Use Shareable Dashboards when you need:

• A quick summary of coverage
• Slides for leadership updates
• A one-time report you can share or download

📺 Watch: How to Export Search Results to Shareable Dashboards in Explore

🔗 Step by Step: How to Create a Shareable Dashboard

Reporting Path 2: Custom Dashboards (Analyze)

Flexible dashboards tailored to your reporting needs

If a snapshot isn’t enough, Analyze offers more control.

They require a bit more setup, but give you far more control over how the story is told and how often it updates.

Use Analyze when you need:

• Reporting on defined KPIs
• Custom layouts, widgets, and filters
• Reports tailored to different audiences
• A shareable link that stays up to date

This is the best option when reporting is ongoing, not one-and-done.

📺 Watch: How to Create a Dashboard in Analyze

🔗 Step by Step: How to Create a Dashboard in Analyze

When you need to pull a report from your Analyze dashboard, click on Share and choose from the available options.

📺 Watch: How to Share an Analyze Dashboard

🔗 Step by Step: How to Share an Analyze Dashboard

💡 You Don’t Have to Choose Just One

Explore and Analyze serve different reporting moments. Most teams use both, depending on what they’re reporting on and who it’s for.

Shareable Dashboards in Explore are ideal for fast reporting when something is unfolding, like an unexpected spike in coverage, a crisis or risk you’re actively monitoring, or an industry topic you’re researching.

Analyze Dashboards work best for structured reporting on a regular cadence, especially when tracking defined KPIs and sharing updates with executive leadership or stakeholders.

Supporting Tools (Optional)

These tools support reporting, but they aren’t reporting paths themselves. Expand this section (click on Show Content) for quick context on where they fit.

What’s Next

Reporting is just one part of the workflow.

• For building and refining brand searches, see the Brand Monitoring Playbook
• For staying informed day to day, explore the Monitoring Daily Media Playbook

Ready to Level Up Your Media Monitoring Skills?

Dive deeper into custom dashboard building with Meltwater Academy:

👉  Creating Analyze Dashboards for Reporting