Because social media is constantly evolving, your social media strategy should too. A social media audit will confirm any marketing strategy and offer information on what is working and what needs to be improved. 

There are numerous audit forms available, but whichever one you use should be straightforward, repeatable, and regularly yield insights.

Below, we’ve included a list of the most common social media audit questions. Keep in mind that you might have other questions depending on your specific industry and business goals.

 

1. Analyze your current social media performance

During a social media audit, you will want to note down any inconsistencies in the way your brand presents itself on different channels. Make a list of all your social media profiles using Google Sheets, then check each one to see if the name, logo, bio, or CTA needs to be changed. Share this spreadsheet with your team and plan how you want to update each profile so that they all look consistent.

Next, you’ll want to look at each channel’s statistics and content. You can do this by either downloading the data from each platform or using a third-party tool like Sprout Social or Hootsuite.

 

2. Derive inspiration from competitors

You can get inspiration from your competitors by analyzing their businesses. Studying them can help you zero in on your own company’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

Around 90% of Fortune 500 companies engage in competitive analysis.

Here are three sure-fire steps to conducting an effective competitive analysis: 

• Make a list of your top competitors
• Analyze their current strategy
• Use the insights to guide your implementation strategy 

After you’ve completed your analysis, draw up an action plan for implementing the insights to guide your strategy for improving your social media channels.

 

3. Zero in on suitable social media channels

Focus on the social media channels your audience uses. For example, if your customers are marketers and C-level or VP executives, it doesn’t make sense to focus your marketing efforts on Instagram—you’re likely to perform much better on a B2B platform like LinkedIn or Twitter. And you can figure out which platform will work best for you by looking at how your audience engages with your content.

When you’re determining which social media channels to focus on, consider the following:

• Which platforms are most popular with your target audience?
• How often do they use those channels?
• What types of content have they been sharing recently?
• What types of content do your competitors share?
• How can you create unique and engaging content that will resonate with your audience?

 

4. Identify opportunities from new social media platforms

It’s critical to stay up to date with the newest social media platforms and channels because they can open up new avenues for communication with your audience. A women’s fashion brand, for instance, might succeed on Pinterest because the majority of its users are female. 

Twitch and Discord are also excellent choices for gaming brands.

The most crucial step is to test new platforms and channels. 

Be careful not to get carried away by the hoopla surrounding a new platform; just because it’s popular doesn’t guarantee that it will be the greatest fit for your company.

Here are a few steps you can take to determine whether new social media platforms are worth your time:

• Refer to the list of competitors that made the short list in your competitor study.
• Look at the websites to learn what platforms they use.
• Make a list of all recent platforms and determine whether or not your audience is present there.
• Do a thorough analysis of the user demographics and content categories for each platform.
• Make a list of benefits and drawbacks to assist you in selecting the platform that is best for you.

If a platform’s benefits outweigh its drawbacks, sign up for it and monitor the effectiveness of your postings to see whether marketing on it is worthwhile. Utilize data to support your choice to participate on a platform and adjust your strategy as necessary for improved results.

 

5. Create an implementation plan

By now, you know which social media platforms your brand should focus on to reach the most customers. Now it’s time to create content and tailor it for each one of them. Your Lifestyle Business has developed a 5-step system to help you do this quickly and easily:

Step 1: Determine the purpose of your content. Are you trying to build brand awareness, boost sales, drive traffic to your website or improve customer loyalty? Your overarching content pillars should reflect the answer to this question.

Step 2: Organize your content into specific topics. You could break down “social media marketing” as a content pillar into more detailed topics like “social media analytics,” “influencer marketing” and “paid ad campaigns.”

Step 3: Write down ten questions per cluster. This will give you a content bank of around 50 pieces of social media content.

Step 4: Create a content calendar. Once you have your posts ready, use a scheduling tool like Planable to schedule each post.

Step 5: Repurpose your posts in different ways to create content banks that are tailored to the platforms you’ve identified in previous steps.

 

Additional Step: Track results over time

Monitor your social media performance over time to make sure you’re focusing on the right audiences and producing content that benefits you.

The actions listed below will assist you in finishing the process:

Step 1: Choose two or three SMART objectives you wish to accomplish by the time of your next audit.

Step 2: Select appropriate performance indicators

Step 3: Produce thorough reports to verify your plan.

These can be used to alter your strategy and improve the results for the following quarter.

 

Although conducting a social media audit may initially seem frightening, after a few cycles the procedure becomes natural. 

Your social media presence and return on investment can be improved with the appropriate components and a few SMART goals to support them. 

After all, in today’s dynamic business environment, being relevant is essential.