How To Do A Social Media Audit (And Why You Need One)

What does your social media presence say about your brand?

If you haven’t that question lately, then it’s definitely time. In today’s digital world, your social presence will say more to your potential clients than your website, email list, and advertising efforts combined.

Social media is often the first touchpoint for your potential clients and customers. And what they find there can turn them away quickly if you don’t portray your brand in the right way. From Facebook to LinkedIn and Instagram, social media is always evolving and changing. And you’ll need to regularly adjust your brand’s strategy so you aren’t left in the dust.

If you want to make sure your social media presence reflects who you are and what you have to offer, a social media audit can help.  In fact, you can use it to create a plan based on data in just an afternoon! Building a strategy this way will help you to reach the next level of visibility with your fans and potential customers.

Ready to do a comprehensive audit of your brand’s social media presence? Start right here. You might be surprised at what you uncover.

Step 1: Layout all your data

Make a list of all the active (and inactive) social media accounts that exist for your business. Make sure you don’t miss any accounts you’ve left sitting for a while. If it’s still public and it has your name on it, it’s reflecting on your brand. Once you have a list, jot down this information for each to give you a full snapshot of your brand on each platform.

• Your audience size on each platform
• Your username, and any info on your current branding (Profile images, banners, etc.)
• Your current bio and contact information
• How often you’re posting on each platform
• The types of posts you’re currently sharing on each platform
• Find your recent posts that received the most and least engagement. Jot down what types of posts they were. (This post is a great resource for finding that information on each social platform.)

Step 2: Gather inspiration

Now that you’ve got a snapshot of the social presence for your brand or business, it’s time to gather some inspiration. What are a few brands you love that are doing well online? Scan through their social media accounts. What do you see them doing on their accounts that you haven’t tried yet? What types of posts are getting the most engagement? What kind of CTA’s are they using on each platform? Where are they pointing people in their Stories? Jot down a few thoughts and hold on to them. We’ll use this info in the following steps.

Step 3: Look at the numbers

Now look over all the data you’ve collected for your business accounts. Are there social media accounts that you aren’t actively using? It may be time to shut them down and focus on the 2-3 platforms that you’re seeing results from. Next, take a look at your posts that aren’t receiving any engagement. Should you pull back on those types of posts, and double down on the ones you’ve seen garnering the most engagement? Now, which types of posts seem to be working well for you? What types of content are working well for the brands you’re inspired by? How can you start experimenting with those post types in your own feeds?

Step 4: Build out a strategic plan

Now it’s time to take all your ideas and shape them into a strategy! For each of your remaining active social platforms, write out the following:

• How often you’ll post each week and what time of day
• What types of content you’ll post on which days of the week
• The CTA’s (call to action) you’ll use on each platform and how you’ll point your audience to them
• A measurable goal (or two) centered on follower count, engagement or sales from that specific platform.

This is your plan centered around your audit results. Put it somewhere where you can review it often. Start following this plan to shape your strategy on social media. This is the best way to ensure each of your actions line up with those goals and strategies.

Step 5: Schedule regular audits

You’ve done it! That wasn’t so painless, was it? Now that you’ve completed an audit and built out a social media strategy, you’ll need to audit regularly to keep moving in the right direction. Block out space on your calendar to do a social audit once a quarter or twice a year. Then, sit down and start this process again. Review your numbers from past audits so you can keep track of how you’re growing.

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Are you looking for an expert to walk you through the process of your first social media audit? Our Red Bird Social team does extensive audits that help our clients see tremendous growth in their social platforms and audience size. To set up a consultation or book your social media audit, reach out to us right here!