How to DIY your Social Media Audit
At least once a week I’m asked questions about how to ‘fix’ a social media account. Sometimes people say ‘Can you tell me how to fix my Facebook account?’ or ‘Can you look at my twitter feed and tell me what I’m doing wrong?’
When it comes to social media, it’s best to look at all of your platforms from a 50,000 foot view, instead of trying to pinpoint issues from the ground. So to answer all of these questions, I usually end up booking them for a Social Media Audit.
With so many people finding themselves with more time on their hands, now is a great time to dig into the back end of your social media accounts.
First of all what is a social media audit?
A Social Media Audit is a thorough process to analyze everything on your social media feeds and review what works and what doesn’t for your business goals. It’s taking a step back to see what content has been well received and which content hasn’t hit the mark.
In an ideal world, you would be able to do a Social Media Audit weekly. While this is something I do for the clients I manage social media for, I know this isn’t feasible for most entrepreneurs. So, if you can’t set time aside weekly, then adding it to your calendar every couple weeks will also do in a pinch.
With a complete understanding of your platforms and audience, you can fine-tune your strategy and define your ROI (Return on Investment).
When doing an audit, you’re not just looking at what’s being posted, but also how the profiles are set up, the photos being used to represent your business, the use of graphics, the amount of different types of content, etc.
Once we have an overall view of the platforms as they are functioning, the audit will take a deep dive into your analytics of the platforms and sometimes your website, to see what’s working and what needs to be cut and replaced.
An audit also takes a look at the audience. Who’s interacting most, when are they interacting and what gives the company the biggest boost when it’s used. Is it images? Video of product? Video of the business owner?
Taking the time to review this content and make decisions on what works best can save you time and effort in what you’re creating for your social media accounts.
Understand your business goals
Of course, the best part of doing a social media audit is reviewing your goals. It’s a great time to ask yourself again:
How is social media helping me make money?
How is it helping my audience?
What value is it providing my customers?
Where are my efforts best spent?
If you aren’t sure what social media is doing for your business, you can always set up a consult with me to determine these goals for you. We’ll also make sure your content is engaging, your platforms are ready for performance, and you’ll get a whole list of ideas of content specific to your business.
Time to audit your social media accounts
#1 Create a Benchmark or Starting Point
The first thing you need to do is review what is already going on in your social media platforms. Open up a new spreadsheet and take a look at the following for each of your platforms:
Number of followers
Average Likes
Average Shares
Average Comments
Average Clicks
Average Views
Reach for posts
Mentions per platform
When you’re looking at each of your platforms, check to see what posts get really interactive questions or comments from your audience. What gets the most shares? What gets people excited to join your conversation?
#2 Audience check
The next thing you should do is make sure you have the right platforms being used.
Identify your top performing social media posts and what platforms are working best for you by asking yourself the following:
Is your audience on Instagram commenting and liking but you spend more time on Facebook?
Do you post on Twitter but no one responds to you?
Are you always using instagram stories but no one watches them until you post them to your Facebook?
These kinds of questions will help you determine if a platform is working for you.
#3 Check for Consistency
Once you’ve collected all your stats to create your ‘starting point’, it’s time to take a look at the consistency of your platforms. Ask yourself a few questions:
Are my profile pictures all similar and professional quality?
Are my brand colours present across the platforms?
Do my cover images tell people what I do and represent my business well?
Is my name/handle the same on all platforms?
Can they get to my website easily from each platform?
Once you’ve done that, check on your messaging and the way you speak with your audience. Sales professionals say that it takes 7 interactions to get a ‘yes’ from a potential customer, so consistency is also important when it comes to how you express yourself and how you interact. In your notes, answer the following:
Do I answer all my messages in a timely manner?
Do my posts have a similar writing style? (i.e. cheerful, professional, peppy, etc)
Do I use similar images and do my images convey what I’m offering?
Is everything up-to-date on my platforms?
Once you’ve answered all of these questions, jot down a checklist of things you need to go back and address after your audit is complete.
#4 Check your posting schedule
Once you have figured out your benchmark and reviewed for changes you need to make to your profiles, image use and writing style; next is checking your posting schedule.
We all know that when you’re using social media, you should have a plan in place as to how often you’re posting, what content you’re using and how you’re interacting (And if you’re not, you can check out my post here why you should be using a content strategy.)
So now you can review your profiles to check on your posts themselves.
After looking through your profiles, ask yourself:
Am I posting enough content on my profiles?
Am I posting consistently enough?
Am I mixing it up with my posts? (Video, text, images, etc)
Does everything still feel like you know it’s from my brand right away?
#5 Check your hashtags
Hashtags are important to make sure your posts are seen in the right place at the right time. Review your posts to see which hashtags are performing well and take some time to review your direct competitors to see what hashtags are getting a lot of traction for them by checking out their likes and comments.
Make a plan
If it’s going to be awhile before you can book a professional audit for your social media platforms, make a plan to check in with your accounts regularly. Aim to spend time updating your spreadsheet once a week until a professional audit can be conducted for your platforms.
Doing this will allow you to see what’s working and what’s not in the short term, which will help you create a stronger social media presence moving forward.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or what you find in your own audit!
Looking to book a professional audit? As well as reviewing the above, you can also expect a deep dive into your ROI (Return on investment) of any ads you’re putting out, a full review of your platforms and a full list of action item to prepare your social media platforms to bring in sales. Email kerra@kasocialmedia.ca to book.