Social Media Audit
What is a social media audit?
A social media audit is a process of evaluating your social media marketing strategy to understand what is working and what isn't. Conducting a social media audit on a post and platform level can help you refocus your strategy and achieve your marketing goals—whether that's driving traffic after you create a website, building an audience, selling products, or more. A social media audit can be conducted on any social media platform, whether you're using Pinterest marketing, or another platform.
A social media audit measures the following analytical data:
Engagement metrics: Likes, shares, follows, impressions, clicks, and comments.
Business metrics: Sales, signups, and conversions.
Demographics: Age and location of those who interact with your content.
Time of day: When most people engage with your posts.
Platforms: Which social media platforms contribute the most to your goals.
Why conduct a social media audit?
Most brands perform a social media audit for three reasons:
01. Determine weaknesses
The main goal of a social media audit is to identify weaknesses in your approach and make necessary improvements, such as updating your Instagram grid or Twitter bio to meet brand guidelines or simply posting more often. You might also want to consider your approach to social listening, for example. Once a brand has identified these weaknesses, you can begin to correct them.
02. Learn which content performs the best
Your goals for social media will determine how you measure the success of your performance. Have you aimed your social media presence at gaining followers, or converting them to buyers, too? Or is your goal engagement to increase brand awareness? Once you have identified these goals, a social media audit can help you identify which types of posts on which platforms have achieved these desired results.
03. Refocus your social media strategy
A social media audit analyzes your social media performance so you can evaluate and ultimately redefine your social media marketing strategy to achieve your marketing goals.
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How to do a social media audit
01. Make a list of all of your social media platforms
Seems obvious, right? This first step is to ensure you know how many accounts you have set up and on which platforms. Did you once set up a Pinterest account that you never used? Use this opportunity to decide if it’s worth including it in your updated social media marketing strategy. If not, you’re better off deleting it.
02. Identify your goals for each platform
Consider each platform’s strengths and come up with a list of goals you’d like to achieve. For example, you may decide to use Instagram to focus on brand awareness and use Facebook to push newsletter signups and sales. Check your social media analytics to see where you’re thriving on each platform and set your goals accordingly.
03. Ensure each platform aligns with your branding
Companies can use social media to establish brand awareness—a factor that 80% of consumers claim makes them more likely to purchase directly from brands on social media. To effectively use social media to cultivate brand awareness, make sure all social media content you publish aligns with your brand values and style. Use your social media audit as a good opportunity to comb through your old posts and make sure they’re all on brand.
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04. Analyze performance
Return to your analytics tools and document how well or poorly each platform has contributed to your social media marketing goals. While conversion and engagement goals may be easy to analyze, brand awareness can be a difficult metric to measure. Research how other companies in your industry measure this metric, or try tracking your follower growth and post shares over time.
05. Check audience demographics
To create relevant content, you need to understand who’s going to see it. You can’t cater every piece of content to everyone, so narrow in on your target audience and what they want from each platform. Plus, read up on each platform’s demographics of each platform and check your analytics to see who interacts with your content the most. Then, create content specifically for them.
06. Update your strategy
Now make sure your strategy aligns with your best performing channels, target audience and goals. If not, drop channels or try out new ones. You may have even discovered a new target audience. Test new tactics, measure and optimize the ones that work. Just make sure you detail your strategy in a detailed structured marketing plan for each social platform.