What is a social media audit and why are they important? Really, every brand – whether it’s commercial or personal – should be regularly auditing their channels (as well as others), before even thinking about a strategy for social media. Social media is constantly changing and evolving and is becoming integral to the success of many brands. This means you need to be aware of the latest trends, new features, or updates to ensure you’re not left behind. And it’s fun! It’s fascinating what you might discover.
An audit is the bare bones of any strategy, helping you to understand what type of content is performing well or not so well, and identifying any opportunities that might help boost your engagement. It goes beyond likes, retweets, resharing, following rates etc. – the audit delves into impressions, reach, audience and more. It can also show what channels are driving the most traction and whether you need to consider dropping any.
So now that you know what a social media audit is, here’s how we conduct a successful audit.
Know what to look out for
It’s important that your audits have a goal, a purpose. When planning a campaign strategy, ask yourself what it is you want. Is it to discover your audience or reach a new one? Do you want to improve content engagement? Are you using the best channels for your type of content? Whatever your goal may be, having a clear goal will make your audit more targeted and the results more valuable.
No stone left unturned
Make no mistake, audits are a tedious matter. But the more granular your research is, the better your findings will be. Select a few posts – not just the latest content – and take the time to try and pick out any noticeable trends, such as specific hashtags/mentions, the use of visuals, or the type of content.
Check out the competition
Looking at what your peers, or similar voices, are doing with their own socials and content is a good indication to what’s trending within your market and what works with your target audience.
Don’t be afraid to aim high! Take inspiration from the accounts that you’re a fan of and see where you can create similar types of content (if it’s relevant to your brand and audience).
Turn your learnings into actions
Now take your learnings and turn them into an engaging social media strategy and campaign. Use the insights from your audit to develop ideas for potential content. If you have more than one social media platform, consider the types of content that would perform best for each platform. For instance, visual-led content is essential for Instagram, where as Facebook is useful for building an online community.
The most important thing to remember when it comes to social media audits is: regularity is fundamental! Succeeding on social media is all trial and error, and therefore requires constant reviews and analysis. Consider bi-monthly or annual audits of your socials, alongside your general day-to-day monitoring, to ensure you’re always ahead of the curve.
Social audits and strategies take time and work, so please get in touch if you’re interested in an initial consultation session with our digital team: Ashley.baugh@midaspr.co.uk
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