03: Learn How to Conduct an Audit of Your Social Media
COMPILE KEY INFORMATION ON EACH SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT
After reading the title, “Learn How to Conduct an Audit of Your Social Media,” you might be thinking about skipping this step entirely. Maybe you feel nervous when you hear the word “audit,” as it conjures images of people coming to your office and digging into your records.
As an agency owner, you already know that social media is an essential component of your marketing strategy. With so many platforms to choose from, it can be difficult to determine
- Which channels to focus on
- What content to create
- How to measure success
This is where a social media audit comes in handy.
Learning how to conduct an audit need not be scary. It doesn’t involve any tax authorities. And no one will rifle through your documents or receipts.
Nope, this audit is simply about compiling key information on each of your social media accounts in one place. You can learn quite a lot from a review of how you manage your online brand. Be sure not to let the word “audit” deter you from checking in regularly on your social profiles. Before you learn how to conduct an audit, let’s talk through the details and define what this audit might look like.
What is a Social Media Audit
You can think of your audit like a quarterly or yearly health checkup. The aim is to evaluate and analyze your business’s social media presence, content, and performance. This type of audit is essential for businesses of all sizes because it provides valuable insights that can inform your social media strategy moving forward.
A social media audit helps you determine which social media channels are worth your time and effort. Just because a platform is popular doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for your business. By analyzing your target audience and their behavior on social media, you can determine which platforms they use most often and where you should focus your efforts.
No doubt you’ve heard of and use many of the planet’s largest social networking sites.
- YouTube
- TikTok
Need I go on?
As you conduct your audit and cruise the information super highway that is the internet, be aware there are many hyper-niche networking sites where your audience might be spending their time.
Let’s imagine you operate a brewery. Your days are spent sipping beer, comparing beer logs, clearing, a lot of cleaning, and of course, paperwork. The platform, Untappd, specifically for beer drinkers, is likely where you want to be online. The app shows users nearby bars and breweries and allows them to rate beer, share pictures of beer, earn badges, review tap lists from venues, and see what beers their friends on drinking. Another pint, please!
Then there’s Academia, a platform for academics and researchers to share academic research. Users have uploaded more than 47 million papers, and the social network has 204 million active users every month. If you serve researchers or academics, this platform is certainly worth further investigation.
beBee, a collaborative platform for professionals, was created to help people market themselves to employers, clients, vendors, and the media, sharing their personal brand. Users can also network with one another through personal and professional interests.
Looking to target mothers and potential mothers? Check out Peanut, a social platform meant to help moms make friends and establish strong networks to support them from fertility through motherhood. The app offers tons of useful resources, forums, and groups.
Not sure which social media platforms your customers and clients use most, why not just ask them? Call some of your existing customers and conduct a short interview about where they spend their time online, what value they get from being there, and what they like most about their platform of choice.
Review the Performace of Your Content and Other Brands
As part of your social media audit, take a close look at the content you’ve been posting. Is it engaging and valuable to your target audience, or is it falling flat? Are there any gaps in your content strategy that you could fill with new types of content, such as videos or infographics?
As you take stock of your social media efforts, ask yourself the following questions:
- What’s working, and what’s not?
- Who is engaging with my content?
- Which networks does my target audience use?
- How does my social media presence compare to the competition or similar organizations?
Speaking of competition, an important aspect of a social media audit is analyzing your competitors. What are they doing well on social media, and how can you learn from their successes and failures? By understanding the competitive landscape, you can differentiate yourself from the competition and create a unique social media strategy that resonates with your target audience.
Locate the social accounts of your competitors. Add a new tab to your audit spreadsheet and ask yourself the same questions you asked for your own accounts. Document what you find.
- Branding: How are they using imagery and branding on each profile? How does their overall look promote the brand? Can visitors get an accurate sense of their personality or culture?
- Popularity: How many followers/likes does each account have?
- Frequency: How often do they post? What do they do on weekends?
- Engagement: What is the number of people talking about the brand compared to the number of fans?
- Types of posts: What topics do they frequently discuss? What types of posts do they use: photos, questions, videos, chats, text? What is engagement like for each of these post types?
But don’t stop there.
Examine the profiles of niche influencers and brands that you admire. Find three to seven influencers or brands to follow. Now take your list from above, and go through the same steps that you did for your competitors. Branding, popularity, frequency, engagement, post types.
PRO TIP: As you evaluate your social media accounts, audit your existing assets library. Does your library contain custom photography, or are you only using stock imagery? Will you need a set of icons? Figure out where gaps exist in your image library, create a list of image priorities, and organize your assets. Next, identify free stock image resources like Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay. Remember that social media messaging can be just as important as the visual component that accompanies it.
Put It All Together
Once you answer questions about your company’s social media accounts, those of your competitors, and those that inspire you, you’ll be ready to put it all together.
From your audit, begin to list ways to improve what you’re currently doing on social media. Within your notes, document the types of content that resonate most with your audience.
Read the first two chapters of the six-step social media strategy guide
01: Create Social Media Marketing Goals >>> 02: Create Buyer Personas to Attract Your Ideal Customer