{"id":22093,"date":"2022-06-07T06:34:33","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T13:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/?p=22093"},"modified":"2023-07-05T17:01:38","modified_gmt":"2023-07-06T00:01:38","slug":"socia-media-audit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/business-and-marketing\/socia-media-audit\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Do a Social Media Audit [+5 Templates and Examples]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you work in digital marketing and have been entrusted with your company\u2019s social media campaigns, then a social media audit should be high on your to-do list. As the name suggests, a social media audit is a process of identifying and assessing the efficacy and reach of your company\u2019s current social media presence. This involves tracking down your company\u2019s social media accounts and profiles, consolidating login information, running the accounts through analytics software, and measuring their performance against your company\u2019s goals and key performance indicators. In short, it\u2019s a survey of the landscape that precedes developing and implementing a social media strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media audits may seem intimidating, but they don\u2019t have to be. In fact, if you\u2019re running any kind of digital marketing campaign or social media strategy, then audits are your best friend. The data collected from social media audits can give you a complete picture of how your campaigns are performing, the reach of your messaging, and whether your social media efforts are bringing you closer to your marketing goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to learn more about the tools, templates, and techniques for conducting a successful audit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is a Social Media Audit?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A social media audit is when an organization evaluates its presence on social media platforms. This involves tracking the organization\u2019s social media accounts, monitoring its social activity, measuring the effectiveness and reach of its social accounts, gleaning audience insights, and using this data to inform the social media marketing strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, social media audits let you know where your social strategy currently stands so that you can make better marketing decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media Audits: How They Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Social media audits don\u2019t have to be complicated. Thanks to tools such as Google Analytics, Hootsuite Analytics, and easy-to-use templates, the process can be streamlined and social media audit results can be put to use right away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Should You Do One?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Social media audits should be conducted regularly\u2014on a quarterly basis for most organizations, and monthly for those who run many different campaigns. Regular audits will offer insight into the performance of a campaign (i.e. the efficacy of campaign hashtags, whether the target demographic is being reached, etc.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the Goal?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With better data comes more informed decision-making. Social media audits shed light on an organization\u2019s online presence, the types of content that are performing well, the social accounts that are underperforming, the channels that are worth investing in, and where the target audience is spending most of their time. With this information, marketing teams can evolve their content strategy to better reach their marketing goals.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are the Requirements?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Social media audits are accessible to organizations of all sizes. In fact, audits make use of digital marketing skills<\/a> that many digital marketers<\/a> already possess, such as data analysis, competitive analysis, project management, and long-term planning. In addition to these skills, all you need are analytics tools and templates (many of which are free to use), access to your organization\u2019s social media profiles, and the time to parse through the data.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the Process?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The social media auditing process begins by first wrangling the logins to an organization\u2019s social channels, then running the social accounts through analytics platforms, reviewing brand copy and design, analyzing competitors, and setting goals. Goal-setting is a particularly important part of the process because it determines how audit results will be used. Is your company looking to improve conversions, increase audience engagement, or raise brand awareness? Does the company have a different goal for each platform? In what ways can the data gathered be used in service of those goals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Tools Will You Use?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Whether you use a free social media audit template or pay to use feature-packed analytics tools<\/a> will depend on how many social accounts your organization runs, and the complexity of both the campaigns and metrics tracked. There is no shortage of tools and templates to streamline your social media auditing process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Do a Social Media Audit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n
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  1. \n

    Make a List of All Your Profiles<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  2. \n

    Choose (or Create) a Template To Streamline the Process<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n

    Review Your Brand Positioning, Copy Guidelines, User Personas, etc.<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  4. \n

    Review Account Owners and Access Permissions<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  5. \n

    Revisit (or Set) Goals for Each Platform<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  6. \n

    Review the Analytics for Each Platform<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  7. \n

    Review Non-Social Analytics<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  8. \n

    Review Your Top Competitors on Each Platform<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  9. \n

    Look for (and Record) Patterns and Opportunities<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  10. \n

    Use All Insights for Your Social Media Planning<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  11. \n

    Review and Update Regularly<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

    Ready to perform a social media audit? Follow these steps to get started: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Make a List of All Your Profiles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Create a centralized list of all the social media profiles associated with your organization\u2014this includes test accounts, inactive profiles, and imposter accounts that might be infringing on your company\u2019s copyrighted material. Take steps to address each type of account. Which ones need to be reported to platform administrators? Which ones should be referred to your company\u2019s legal department? What needs to be deleted or restarted?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Choose (or Create) a Template To Streamline the Process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Social media audit templates can help you streamline the auditing process by creating a centralized place to track social profiles and their metrics. Templates can offer a fuller picture of an organization\u2019s social media strategy and ensure that no social media stone is left unturned.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Review Your Brand Positioning, Copy Guidelines, User Personas, etc.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Evaluate your brand\u2019s presence across all social media channels for brand integrity and consistency. Do all images, banners, hashtags, copy, and phrases adhere to your company\u2019s brand guidelines? Are usernames and social media handles consistent across platforms? Do links and URLs lead to their intended locations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Review Account Owners and Access Permissions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Each social media account should be assigned an \u201cowner\u201d\u2014someone who is responsible for login information, adding users, and keeping the platform updated. Consider using analytics and template tools such as Hootsuite to keep the company\u2019s accounts secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Revisit (or Set) Goals for Each Platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    As with any digital marketing campaign<\/a>, a social media strategy should include goals. What does your company hope you achieve by having a social media presence? Is the organization focused on increasing conversions or raising brand awareness? Depending on the marketing or business goal, how might a social media strategy serve those goals? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Review the Analytics for Each Platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Many social platforms have built-in analytics tools that show audience engagement, clicks, and views, with Google Analytics filling in the blanks of traffic and conversion data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Best Performing Posts<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Use analytics tools and templates to identify the top-performing posts on each platform and figure out why it worked. Is there a certain type of content that appeals to a certain audience? Did campaign hashtags play a role? Did timing affect a post\u2019s success? These data points can be used to inform campaign content in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    User Demographics<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    \"social<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Your user demographics will likely differ from platform to platform. As you audit your social media accounts, look for data points on who is viewing your content, where most of your target audience is spending their time, and how you might craft different campaign angles for different audiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Core KPIs and Metrics<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    When developing a social media strategy, it\u2019s important to come up with KPIs<\/a> (key performance indicators) and other social media metrics to measure the success of your campaigns. Once you\u2019ve defined what success looks like, assess the performance of your company\u2019s social media presence one platform at a time.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Review Non-Social Analytics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Social analytics\u2014such as likes, shares, comments, and post engagement\u2014are important to track. But non-social analytics\u2014such as conversion and traffic to your company\u2019s website\u2014are also valuable metrics. Social media audits can give you a holistic overview of how the different components of your digital marketing strategy<\/a> are working together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Traffic to the Website<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    One way of measuring audience engagement is by looking at whether social posts are referring traffic to your organization\u2019s website. When conducting a social media audit, consider what types of content are leading to increases in referral traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Conversions from Social Traffic<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Conversions\u2014which can include direct sales, sign-ups, and subscriptions\u2014are often the ultimate goal for digital marketing campaigns. When auditing your company\u2019s social media presence, consider the extent to which social posts contribute to conversions. Are certain types of posts encouraging people to go through the sales funnel? Are conversions occurring after a certain number of campaign impressions? What is the tipping point for customers? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Performance in Other Marketing Channels Like Retargeting, Email, etc.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    If your company has taken a multi-pronged approach to its digital marketing campaign, it\u2019s worth assessing the performance of other marketing channels such as email marketing, influencer marketing<\/a>, pay-per-click (PPC), referral marketing<\/a>, media buys, and SEO<\/a>, and whether these other channels have boosted the messaging from social media or vice versa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Review Your Top Competitors on Each Platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A key component of any social media audit is a review of the competition. In order to determine where your company\u2019s social media strategy might be coming up short, look at where competitors are excelling\u2014what are their most popular posts? What are their strengths? On which platforms are they having the most success? How does your organization\u2019s social strategy compare? Knowing the answers to these questions can inspire new social strategies, offer fixes for struggling campaigns, and help marketing teams understand where they should be investing their resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Look for (and Record) Patterns and Opportunities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    If you notice patterns in both your own social media analytics or among competitors, use them to your advantage. For example, if one type of post seems to be performing well, you might want to double down on producing that type of content. If a particular competitor is finding success with visual content on a specific platform, you can use that data to inform your next social media campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Use All Insights for Your Social Media Planning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \"social<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Social media audits are essentially fact-finding missions. Your goal is to collect as much data and glean as many valuable insights as possible to inform your social strategy. A social media audit can influence your company\u2019s social media goals, content calendar, social media posts, and broader digital marketing strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Review and Update Regularly <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    It’s a good idea to conduct a social media audit on a quarterly basis so that you can track changes in trends, audience movements, and social media algorithms. New social media platforms, tools, and best practices are developed all the time, and an audit will allow you to stay on top of the latest.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Social Media Audit Examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Want some social media marketing experts to walk you through a social media audit? Then check out these videos that cover the basics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lyfe Marketing\u2019s Guide to Conducting A Social Media Audit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
    \"YouTube
    <\/path><\/path><\/svg><\/div>

    In this brief video, digital marketing agency Lyfe Marketing gives viewers a quick overview of how to conduct a social media audit. The video covers core aspects of audits such as how to set social media goals, what types of metrics are worth tracking, and how to track those metrics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jamie Higuera\u2019s Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting a Social Media Audit for Businesses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
    \"YouTube
    <\/path><\/path><\/svg><\/div>

    Entrepreneur Jamie Higuera offers a step-by-step guide for conducting a social media audit with a focus on pitching auditing services to a business and conveying audit findings to stakeholders. Higuera\u2019s guide is particularly useful for those who already know social media auditing basics and want tips to bring stakeholders on board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Social Media Audit Templates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"Social<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    There are many free templates available, many of which function as social media audit checklists that guide users through the platforms, social networks, and metrics that are worth tracking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Backlinko\u2019s Social Media Marketing Template<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Backlinko\u2019s free template is available as a simple Word document or PDF in which organizations can create a centralized list of social media accounts, types of activity, login information, business metrics, and competitors to watch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Clickminded\u2019s Social Media Audit Template<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Similar to Backlinko\u2019s template, Clickminded\u2019s social media audit template creates a centralized location for accounts, logins, and competitors to watch. However, it includes additional fields for follower numbers, monthly growth, average engagement, and profile images and banner images to track visual consistency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Google Sheets Social Media Audit Template<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    For those wanting a template in Google Sheets, this straightforward template can be used to track social media accounts, follower counts, follower growth, reach, changes in traffic, and clicks per post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Social Media Audit FAQs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Still have questions about conducting a social media audit? We have answers to some frequently asked questions below. <\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \n
    \n

    Can I Do a Social Media Audit Myself?<\/h3>\n
    \n\n

    Anyone can do a social media audit. To make sure that your audit leads to accurate results, consider using some of the aforementioned social media audit tools and templates to help you stay on top of all your social accounts, metrics, and KPIs. If you don\u2019t have a background in social media marketing and lack the confidence to attempt a social media audit, consider taking a free online marketing course<\/a> or a comprehensive online bootcamp<\/a> that offers hands-on social media marketing experience and mentorship<\/a> from industry experts. In addition to practicing social media audits, online courses in social media marketing will also give you the context and knowledge for what to do with your findings and how to improve existing social media strategies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    How Often Should You Audit My Social Media Accounts?<\/h3>\n
    \n\n

    For most companies, performing a social media audit on a quarterly basis is enough. Organizations that run multiple campaigns across many different social channels might want to conduct audits as often as once a month. It is important to conduct regular audits to measure content performance, determine audience engagement, and inform the content strategy for future campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    How Long Does a Social Media Audit Take?<\/h3>\n
    \n\n

    Thanks to easy-to-use social media audit templates and analytics tools, a social media audit doesn\u2019t have to take long. Simple audits for companies with few accounts and campaigns can take as little as thirty minutes. Even the most basic of audits can yield valuable social metrics and audience insights.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    \n

    Since you’re here…
    <\/strong>Want to start your career in social media marketing? In our 8-week     Social Media Marketing Certificate Course<\/a>, you\u2019ll build your CV with real-world projects, work 1-on-1 with an industry expert and complete an end-to-end social media campaign. Peep our student reviews<\/a> to see what we can achieve together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you work in digital marketing and have been entrusted with your company\u2019s social media campaigns, then a social media audit should be high on your to-do list. As the name suggests, a social media audit is a process of identifying and assessing the efficacy and reach of your company\u2019s current social media presence. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":22188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"marketing_tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business-and-marketing"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22093"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47279,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22093\/revisions\/47279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22093"},{"taxonomy":"marketing_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/marketing_tags?post=22093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}