You might not be aware that 84% of C-level executives and 75% of B2B buyers say that social media contributes to their purchasing choices. 

It possibly offers you a fresh viewpoint on the function of your social media accounts in producing leads. You must keep accounts current and explain your brand points of difference clearly if you want to take advantage of the acquisition and retention social media platforms provide. Auditing needs to be done now. 

Don’t panic if the thought of a social media audit overwhelms you. A simple examination of your social networks and accounts can show important information, such as which ones are functioning well and which ones require more attention, strategies that are assisting your success, and even areas for improvement.  

Social media audit: what is it? 

An extensive analysis of every aspect of your social media activity is a social media audit. Your posts, comments, social media strategy, and objectives are included in this. Regular audits are a requirement if you want to ensure that your social media accounts are operating at their peak levels.  

Checklist for social media audits 

Do you remember that I said this would be simpler and more beneficial than you anticipated? A social media audit could be completed in 15 minutes or less if the outline below is followed. You can delve as deeply as you like to enhance your social media marketing because all the fundamentals are discussed in this article. The audit should include the following: 

Take a look at your social media profiles 

  • Find all of your social media accounts, both professional and personal, and make a list of them. 
  • Verify the accuracy of all the information on these profiles as well as the coherence of the visuals and message. 
  • Review your progress toward your goals and contrast it with how you were doing one and two years ago. 

Look at the experts in the field 

  • Select 4 to 8 specialized influencers, then look at how they handle their online reputation. 
  • Pay attention to the branding and imagery on each of their profiles. 
  • Track important indicators like engagement and following. 

List all of your social media accounts that you have 

Locate all of your past social media accounts to start. It’s possible that you only used Snapchat or YouTube a few years ago, but your profile is still available. While it’s acceptable to not be everywhere, maintaining profiles on social media with zero activity could be detrimental to your brand’s reputation and online visibility. Although you don’t need to be active everywhere, as I’ve already indicated, it’s a good idea to stay up to date on all social network advancements. Being an early adopter could provide your business with a competitive edge and establish it as a market leader.  

Keep track of the following factors while you search for your profiles and make note of the ones you find: 

  • When you last engaged in an activity 
  • The URL 
  • Your profile description or username 
  • The number of admirers or followers. 
  • the network of social media. 

To keep everything structured and to serve as a jumping-off point for any future follow-up audits, you can enter this data into a spreadsheet. 

Pruning is necessary now that you have your list of potential sites. Ensure that you are there with a specific aim in mind. To ascertain whether particular profiles are required, you can think about posing some of the following queries. 

  • What is the main motive for utilizing this social profile? 
  • Why do we wish to use it, you ask? 
  • How do we want to use this social media platform? 
  • Are our intended markets utilizing it? 

Don’t be afraid to cut ties and concentrate your efforts where they will be more effective if you no longer have a valid reason to use the account or you discover that your target market is elsewhere. 

Verify the accuracy and integrity of the details and pictures 

Once you have located all of your social media accounts, the following step is to carefully review each one. Start by making sure the profiles have been filled out entirely. These days, social networks allow for a lot of flexibility, making it simple to overlook something. It could be beneficial to open the personalize settings on each social network and review them one at a time to make sure that all of the photos, text, and options are being used and optimized. This will guarantee that everything has been taken care of. 

Verify that your branding is similar throughout all of your social media accounts after making sure that your profiles are fully filled out, or better yet, while you are personalizing them if you have a lot to accomplish. 

  • The sameness of all avatars 
  • Follow the theme/branding while choosing backdrops and other pictures. 
  • Is every URL and description the same? 

On various social media platforms, you could discover that it works best to project a distinct vibe. For example, Twitter may be a better fit for a laid-back demeanor, whereas LinkedIn may call for a more polished appearance. As long as the profile’s tone is appropriate for the network, consistency in this situation doesn’t hold quite as much weight as it could otherwise. Consider the surroundings first, then consistency. 

Review your metrics and goals frequently to gauge your progress 

How well is your social media presence doing? 

When you conduct an audit, that will probably be one of the main topics of interest. Is the success of your social media campaigns what you had hoped for? You can check in with your previous goals and the performance indicators you’ve developed to follow up on this. There are some typical metrics you can track;  

However, these are probably unique to your company: 

  • Those who support you. Using tools like Facebook’s page insights and Twitter’s Follower work, you can see how your audience has expanded over time. 
  • Regularity of your posting. Is there a connection between how frequently you post and how your audience expands? 
  • Engagement. Examine how many talks you have each week. Direct communication, shares, likes, +1s, and reshares are all examples of engagement. 

Once more, this data may be arranged into your primary spreadsheet so you can immediately determine whether or not your profiles are operating as expected. Benchmarking is one aspect that is useful here. What differences do these figures show from where you were a year ago? back in 2012? You may obtain these numbers with remarkable ease because many stats and tools automatically go back this far. For the remainder, make sure to note the crucial indicators today so you’ll have a reference point for your baseline the next time you conduct an audit. 

Set objectives for your social media strategy 

The use of social media requires a clear plan, which must be in place. Setting specific goals for each social media site where you participate is necessary to accomplish that. What do you hope to accomplish using Facebook? Consider Twitter. LinkedIn? 

Be specific and grounded in reality while setting your goals. Once you have a firm grasp on your objectives, you can start formulating a plan of action to reach them. 

These are some examples of social media objectives: 

  • Raising brand recognition 
  • Learning about the audience 
  • Producing sales 
  • Creating an active community 
  • Increasing website traffic 
  • Extending one’s reach on social media 

To measure your goals, you’ll need some tools: 

  • Google Analytics will assist you in tracking your traffic, sales, and conversion targets. 
  • The analytics offered by social media platforms will give you a lot of information about your followers, including location and demographic data, post reach and interaction, etc. 
  • Social media listening tool to find mentions, sentiment analysis, and brand awareness 

Review the specialized influencers’ and brands’ profiles 

You can identify strategies to enhance your own social profiles by taking stock of what others in your sector are doing. Those that are the best at anything can teach you a lot. Find four to eight brands or influencers in your niche to start. You probably already know a lot of individuals or organizations who operate in the same market as you and who frequently address the same audience. 

When you have your list, follow the same procedures you did for your personal accounts. Discover these influencers’ social media accounts. Seeing where they are present in as many places as possible may be helpful, or it may be better to concentrate only on the social networks you intend to use. To track this, you can either create a new spreadsheet or supplement the audit spreadsheet you already have. 

The inquiries you make about these influencer accounts are likely to be similar to those you made about your own account. In general, you need to be aware of the steps given below: 

Branding: In what ways does their overall appearance complement the brand? Can tourists accurately portray their personality or culture? How are the avatar and header images being used? 

Types of posts: What subjects do they typically discuss? What kinds of posts—pictures, queries, videos, conversations, and text—do they make? How engaged are people with each of these post types? 

Popularity: How many people like or follow the page? 

Engagement: How many individuals mention the brand in relation to its fan base? 

Frequency: What frequency do they post? How do they spend their weekends? 

You might wish to make specialized inquiries based on the network in some circumstances. For instance, what tabs are they employing on their Facebook page’s accessible area? These inquiries may have been sparked by your own activities and ideas that are unique to your individual marketing strategy.  

Conclusion 

Gather information to conduct a SWOT analysis and pinpoint your advantages and risks. Seize any chance that presents itself to promote your brand. The social media world is full of opportunities to raise brand recognition; it’s your duty to recognize them. Analyze the performance of your brand on numerous social media platforms, paying particular attention to important metrics like impact, sentiment, traffic, interaction, and more.