A single spreadsheet row per inquiry—with an ID, timestamp, source evidence, request summary and outcome—gives you documentation to report conversions, spot gaps and calculate cost-per-lead. Record each first contact when it happens, not when you remember to update a summary count. This structure also makes unknown or multiple source answers visible instead of forcing a guess that corrupts your data.
What belongs in a social-inquiry log
An inquiry log captures enough detail to answer three questions months later: Where did this person find you? What did they ask for? Did you book a job or collect payment? Each row represents one distinct inquiry episode, not every message in a thread.
Inquiry ID
A unique identifier—sequential number, UUID or YYYYMMDD-01 format—so you can join the inquiry to a later booking or invoice without re-opening old messages.
Timestamp
Date and time of first contact for that inquiry. A returning customer with a new request gets a new row and new timestamp; ten messages about the same fence estimate share one timestamp.
Platform and channel
The platform (Facebook, Instagram, Threads, phone, website) and the channel within it (DM, comment, group post, profile message button). Separate fields let you filter by platform or compare comments to messages.
Source evidence
What you can see: the group name, post URL, profile link or UTM parameters captured in a form submission. If the person contacted you in multiple places about the same need, list all observed touches in order. If you asked How did you hear about us? and received an answer, store both the raw text and a separate coded field so you preserve the actual wording even when you group responses into categories for reporting.
Avoid overwriting actual evidence with assumptions. If someone messages from Instagram but you do not know which post or story brought them there, record Instagram DM, source unknown rather than picking a post arbitrarily. UTM Tracking for Social Profile and Post Links explains how to label links so you capture source automatically when someone lands on your website.
Contact name or handle
Enough to identify the conversation without exposing unnecessary personal details in a shared log. A first name, business name or account handle is usually sufficient. Google prohibits sending data it can recognize as personally identifiable information to Analytics; URL paths, parameters and titles must not contain such PII.Avoid sending PII Keep full contact details—email, phone, address—in your booking or payment system under appropriate access controls, not in a shared tracking spreadsheet.
Service or product requested
A short phrase: deck stain, brake pads Civic, six-foot privacy fence, birthday arrangement. This field helps you compare inquiry topics to the content you posted and spot requests you cannot fulfill.
Qualification
Whether the inquiry meets your definition of a qualified lead. What Counts as a Social Media Lead? walks through setting qualification rules—service area, budget range, timeline, your capacity—before you start counting. An inquiry that falls outside your rules is still an inquiry; marking it not qualified preserves the numerator for inquiry-to-booking rate while excluding it from lead metrics.
Owner
Who is responsible for the next step. A comment reply may stay with whoever manages social accounts; a fence estimate may move to the crew scheduler. Recording the owner prevents inquiries from sitting unanswered when two people assume the other will follow up. From Social Inquiry to a Confirmed Call or Order covers handoff and confirmation rules.
Outcome and status
Current state and final result. States might include contacted, quoted, booked, completed, paid, declined or no reply. The precise labels depend on your workflow. A booking is not the same as a paid job; track both so you can measure booking rate and payment rate separately. Update this field as the inquiry moves forward, and add a timestamp for each major state change if you want to measure speed from contact to payment.
Notes
Anything useful for later: competitor mentioned, specific concern, special request, reason for declining. Notes are optional but often clarify patterns when you review the log monthly.
| Inquiry ID | Timestamp | Platform | Channel | Source evidence | Contact | Requested | Qualified | Owner | Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-12-03 | 2025-01-12 14:22 | Group post | Riverside Parents group, post /123456789 | Amanda | Flower delivery | Yes | Delivery | Paid | Birthday, same-day | |
| 2025-01-14-01 | 2025-01-14 09:15 | DM | Unknown (profile contact button) | J. Martinez | Floor mats, Camry | Yes | Sales | Quoted | Waiting on color choice | |
| 2025-01-14-02 | 2025-01-14 11:03 | Website | Contact form | utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=jan_promo | Greenfield Cafe | Bulk gravel delivery | No | — | Declined | Outside service area (45 mi) |
| 2025-01-15-05 | 2025-01-15 16:40 | Page message | Self-reported: neighbor referral | Tom | Deck refinishing | Yes | Estimates | Booked | Scheduled for Feb 3 |
Recording inquiries without creating extra work
- [ ] Open the log as soon as you see an inquiry; add the row before you reply so you do not forget.
- [ ] Use the same inquiry ID if the person sends follow-up messages about the same request; open a new row only when they ask about a different service or return months later.
- [ ] Capture source evidence exactly as you see it—group name, post link, UTM string—rather than simplifying it into a category immediately.
- [ ] Update outcome and owner fields when something changes: you sent a quote, the customer booked, the job was completed, you received payment.
- [ ] Review the log weekly to spot inquiries stuck in contacted or quoted status and decide whether to follow up or mark them closed.
If multiple people handle inquiries, store the log in a shared spreadsheet with edit access for everyone who needs to add rows. A private spreadsheet, CRM or simple database table all work; the structure matters more than the tool.
Counting leads and conversions from the log
A lead count is the number of rows marked qualified. An inquiry count is every row. The inquiry-to-lead ratio tells you whether your visibility is attracting the right requests.
Conversion rates need a clear numerator and denominator from the same cohort. If you want to know what fraction of January qualified leads resulted in paid jobs, count January qualified rows in the denominator and check how many of those rows reached paid status by your measurement date. Do not divide this month's payment count by last month's inquiry count; the timing mismatch makes the rate meaningless.
Revenue per inquiry divides documented payment total by inquiry count for the same period. Revenue per qualified lead uses only qualified rows in the denominator. How to Calculate Social Media ROI Without Guessing explains how to subtract production and marketing costs to calculate return rather than stopping at revenue.
When source evidence shows unknown for a significant share of inquiries, you have a measurement gap, not proof that those people arrived unprompted. Check whether your profile and post links carry UTM parameters, whether your intake question is clear, and whether staff record the answer when given. Forcing every unknown inquiry into a direct or organic social bucket hides the gap and prevents you from fixing it.
Using the log for monthly and campaign reporting
What a Monthly Social Media Report Should Include recommends leading with inquiry, lead and booking counts before activity metrics. The log provides those counts directly: filter by timestamp, platform or campaign source, then tally rows by qualification and outcome.
A campaign column—copied from utm_campaign or added manually when you know which promotion prompted the contact—lets you compare results across different offers, seasonal pushes or local events. If ten inquiries cite the same group post, you have evidence that the post worked; if a pinned profile link with UTM parameters produces zero captured sessions and zero form fills over two months, either the link is broken or no one is clicking it. How to Track Leads From Social Media describes the full system from link tagging through outcome recording.
Export the log to compare months, calculate rates or share a summary with a bookkeeper. The raw timestamped rows also let you reconstruct what happened when a customer calls six months later and you need to confirm whether they paid, what they ordered, and how they originally found you.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need separate rows for every message in a conversation?
No. One inquiry episode—a request for an estimate, product question or booking attempt—gets one row, regardless of how many messages you exchange. Update the outcome field as the conversation progresses. If the same person returns three months later with a new request, open a new row with a new inquiry ID and timestamp.
What if someone contacts me on Instagram and Facebook about the same job?
Record both platforms in the source-evidence field and use a single inquiry ID. Note the order if you can determine it—Instagram DM 1/12, Facebook message 1/14—so you know which touch came first. Count this as one inquiry. If you cannot tell which platform the person used first, write multiple and list both.
Should I record inquiries that are obviously spam or completely outside my service?
Yes, in a separate log or with a clear flag, so you can see total contact volume and decide whether to adjust your profile description or group participation. Do not include them in qualified-lead counts, but they explain the difference between every message received and messages you can actually pursue. A pattern of off-topic requests may mean your service description is unclear or the group attracts the wrong audience.
A timestamped row per inquiry—complete with source evidence, qualification and outcome—turns scattered messages into a record you can count, filter and report. How to Track Leads From Social Media shows the full workflow from labeled links to closed sales.
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