How to Run a Successful Social Media Audit for Your Business

If your business is active on social media, conducting a regular social media audit is essential for ensuring your strategy aligns with your goals. An audit allows you to analyze what’s working, identify gaps, and find opportunities for growth. In this post, we’ll break down how to perform a thorough social media audit and leverage the insights to improve your online presence.

Running a social media audit helps your business in several ways:

1. Performance Measurement: It shows which platforms and posts are driving the most engagement, traffic, or sales.
2. Strategy Refinement: Helps you identify content that resonates with your audience, allowing you to focus your efforts on effective tactics.
3. Competitor Insights: By reviewing competitors, you can identify opportunities to differentiate your brand.
4. ROI Improvement: A better understanding of your social media performance leads to smarter investments and higher returns.

Here’s a step-by-step process to perform a social media audit that can drive measurable results.

Start by making a comprehensive list of all the social media platforms your business uses. This includes major networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube, as well as niche platforms that may be relevant to your industry. You’ll also want to check for old or inactive accounts that may need to be deleted or revived.

Action:

• Document the URLs, handles, and followers for each profile.
• Ensure all profiles are consistent with your branding (logo, bio, etc.).

Next, analyze the performance of each social media profile. Depending on the platform, you’ll want to track key metrics like:

• Follower growth
• Engagement rates (likes, comments, shares)
• Click-through rates (CTR)
• Impressions and reach
• Conversions (if applicable)

This data will help you understand which platforms are driving results and which need more attention.

Action:

• Use analytics tools like Facebook Insights, Instagram Analytics, and Google Analytics to gather data.
• Identify the top-performing posts for each platform and understand why they succeeded.

Review your audience demographics on each platform. Who is engaging with your content? Are they aligned with your target audience? You might discover that certain platforms reach different demographics, which can help tailor your messaging more effectively.

Action:

• Compare your target customer persona with the actual demographics found in each platform’s analytics.
• Adjust your content strategy to better connect with the right audience.

Take a deep dive into the content you’ve been sharing. What type of content gets the most engagement (images, videos, infographics, blog posts)? Are your posts aligned with your business goals?

This step will help you determine if you’re publishing the right mix of content, and if your current messaging resonates with your audience.

Action:

• Categorize your posts by content type and track their performance.
• Identify gaps or content types you may not be leveraging enough (e.g., video, user-generated content, live streams).

A competitive analysis is a critical component of any social media audit. Check out how your competitors are performing on similar platforms. Pay attention to their content types, posting frequency, and engagement strategies.

Action:

• Identify your top competitors on social media.
• Analyze their top-performing posts and compare their engagement levels with yours.
• Take note of their unique strategies, but ensure any changes you make reflect your brand’s unique voice.

Once your audit is complete, it’s time to put your findings to work. Here’s how to optimize your strategy based on the results of your audit:

• Double down on what works: If certain platforms or content types are driving results, focus more attention on them.
• Fix what isn’t working: For platforms that aren’t delivering, reassess your content and posting frequency or consider cutting back if it’s not aligned with your goals.
• Set new goals: Use your insights to set clear, measurable goals for your social media channels moving forward.
• Track progress: Regularly monitor your metrics to see if the changes you’ve made are improving performance. Run audits at least once per quarter to stay on track.

Conducting a social media audit is a powerful way to refine your strategy, better engage with your audience, and boost your business’s online performance. By following these steps, you’ll gain valuable insights that can help you make smarter decisions and stay ahead of your competition.