What is a Social Media Audit?
Reminder: It’s Time for Your Annual Check-Up
One day we all set up a social media profile and most likely never looked back at it again. But how’s your profile looking now? Is your bio still reflecting your brand? Do these highlights need to be refreshed?
Let’s take a closer look at something every marketer and business should know about: social media audits. If you're ready to level up your online game, keep reading – we've got some juicy insights in store for you!
Understanding Social Media Audits
Simply put, a social media audit is a comprehensive evaluation of your online presence. It involves taking a close look at all aspects of your social media accounts, from your profiles to your content to your engagement metrics. We'd like to think of a social media audit as an annual doctor’s check-up, to see what's working, what's not, and what areas could use some improvement to match your digital marketing goals.
WHY & WHEN IS A SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT NECESSARY?
If you are using your social media solely as a passive user, seeking inspiration, and getting sucked into doom-scrolling content on your FYP – you might be fine. But if you are leveraging your social media accounts as touchpoints for your business, connecting to your audience, and utilizing your online presence for your marketing – this is for you.
A social media audit…
helps you understand what's working and what's not on your social media channels.
gives you insights into your audience's preferences and behaviors.
allows you to identify areas for improvement and fine-tune your strategy for maximum impact.
Now, let’s look at how a social media audit works…
6 Steps for your Social Media Audit
You might be wondering - what does a social media audit look like?
Follow these steps to perform your own social media audit.
Set Your Social Media Marketing Goals
Review Your Social Media Channels
Take a Look at Your Content
Review Your Hashtags and Keyword Approach
Understand Your Analytics
Analyze Your Competition
STEP 1: Set Your Social Media Marketing Goals
Before starting your digital checkup, take a moment to think about what you want to achieve on each platform. Your online presence should reflect your overall brand plan.
To drive results, your goals should be clear. Following the SMART-framework is a helpful formula to setting goals.
Specific: Clearly defined.
For example, increase your brand awareness within the next 6 months.
Measurable: Able to track progress.
Is your content being seen and converting viewers to followers?
Achievable: Within reach.
Nope, we’re not talking about going viral from one reel.
Relevant: Aligned with your brand.
Not every trend matches a brand and needs to be followed..
Timely: Set a deadline.
By the end of this quarter…
Defining your goals using the SMART method will help you create content, track metrics, adjust your strategy, and drive your strategy forward.
Once you’ve set your goals, you can move to the next step.
Unsure of your Marketing goals? We have the ultimate social media goal for you.
STEP 2: Review Your Social Media Channels
Social Media is all about first impressions - so it's important to refine your visual identity, tone, and overall look online.
Start by reviewing your social media profiles in depth. Are they up-to-date, complete, and consistent across all platforms?
Make sure your bio is clear for followers and non-followers coming across your profile. Focus on your story highlights, pinned posts, buttons and links.
Ask yourself: Is it clear who I am and what services/products I offer?
STEP 3: Take a Look at Your Content
Creating an account and sharing an obligatory quote or “happy holiday” post is not going to cut it. Your content is a crucial part of your online presence.
It’s important that your content is “on-brand”, reflecting your visual identity and brand strategy. From using the correct colors and fonts, to addressing your audience the right way - your content should create a cohesive experience for your audience.
Are you using all touchpoints on social media - stories, posts, carousels, reels, polls…?
What's getting likes, shares, and comments? What's falling flat? Analyzing your posts can help you understand what resonates with your audience and what doesn't.
STEP 4: Review Your Hashtag and Keyword Approach
Whether you're a fan or not, hashtags and keywords on Instagram can help you connect with your desired audience - opening doors to new followers.
Our tip? Instead of using the trendiest hashtags and keywords, opt for smaller ones that aim to reach a specific audience in your niche.
This way, you can attract and nurture a community of followers that is genuinely interested in your content.
By consistently using niche hashtags and keywords, you'll help the Instagram algorithm understand your identity and offerings better, leading to your content being shown to the right people.
#hashtagsarenotdead
STEP 5: Understand Your Analytics
We believe that your audience is more than just numbers. However, understanding your metrics means understanding your audience.
Your analytics are giving you insights on your audience. Who are they, where are they from, and what do they like? Understanding your audience is key to creating content that speaks to them.
STEP 6: Analyze Your Competition
This step might be confusing or seem minor, but don’t forget to look at your competition.
By checking out their online presence you can evaluate what they are doing right, and where they are missing the mark? Learning from their successes and failures can help you fine-tune your own strategy.
We believe a A SWOT analysis is a great strategic planning technique that puts your business in perspective. Following the SWOT-analysis will help you determine your strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats.
Can I do my own Social Media Audit?
Now, this is a question that often pops up: can I do a social media audit on my own or have a social media agency do it? The answer is honestly... both!
If you're a hands-on kind of person and have the time and resources to spare, you can definitely tackle a social media audit on your own. There are plenty of online resources and tools available to help guide you through the process.
However, if you'd rather leave it to the experts or simply don't have the bandwidth to take on the task yourself, hiring a social media agency to do it for you can be a great option. Not only do they have the skills and experience to conduct a thorough audit, but they can also provide valuable insights and recommendations based on their findings.
In other words, whether you choose to DIY or enlist the help of a social media agency, the important thing is that you're taking the necessary steps to evaluate and improve your social media presence.
A social media audit is just the beginning of your online journey – we’re here to help you, contact us.
