All businesses, large or small, should have a social media presence. Using social media to reach your goals, however, requires a strategy.
A comprehensive social media audit is the best way to establish a foundation. It gives businesses and organizations a starting point to set them on the path to social media success.
Priority Marketing’s Social Media Marketing Team conducts social media audits in addition to strategic consulting, blog development, paid tactics, organic content creation, reputation management, brand and keyword monitoring, profile and content development, audience and demographic research, competitive analysis, social media monitoring, and reporting and analysis. Our social media marketing managers are industry experts with knowledge of the latest techniques, trends, strategies and best practices. They have helped hundreds of clients achieve social media success across major platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Below are seven steps of a social media audit to help position businesses and organizations for social media success.
Social Media Audit: The 7 Steps
Priority Marketing’s social media marketing specialists conduct social media audits for new clients to provide a foundational analysis and recommendations. For existing clients, the social media team reviews performance monthly, and adjusts plans accordingly. Annual social media audits ensure pages follow best practice and are keeping up with changes instituted by social media platforms.
A comprehensive social media audit includes dozens of steps. These seven steps are critical elements of a social media audit:
Take Inventory
Create a master list of all social media profiles: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat and others. Compile login credentials – username and password – and securely store that data. Also, compile a list of individuals who have administrator or editor access to social media accounts. This is important to take quick action if an employee resigns. It’s also important for establishing two-factor authentication, which provides a critical security step that protects social media pages from cybercriminals.
Then, search for your business or handle on each social media channel. Even if you did not create a page, one might already exist. Verified business owners or managers can claim these pages as their own, or have them deleted, by contacting that platform’s help desk or support team.
Evaluate Page Effectiveness
Social media pages should feature basic information about a business – location, telephone number, website address, hours of operation and an email address. Each item should be up to date.
Also, check the “About” section. It should contain an accurate description of products or services offered. A critical element for any social media page, or website, is a clear call to action. In many cases, it should help generate leads by encouraging website visits, online purchases, phone calls, emails, form fills or store visits.
Strong Visuals
Cover images and profile pictures say a lot about a brand. Choose strong, professional images that consistently present your brand in the best possible light across all platforms. Stock images are OK, but authentic, original images are best. Each social media platform has different specs for images, which must be properly formatted to ensure ideal cropping.
In addition to photos and graphics, videos help tell a brand’s story and showcase products, services and people.
Identify the Audience
Business owners, managers and employees see their customers in store and know what type of individuals purchase their products and services. Social media audiences might be different, though.
Learn about your social media audience through Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics and other sources. Details like age, location, gender, interests and occupation are often available. If that insight shows your social media following does not match your desired customer, Priority Marketing’s social media marketing managers can recommend paid and organic strategies.
High-Performing Content
Scroll through social media posts to determine what types of content drive the most engagement – likes, comments and shares. If certain types of posts resonate with your audience, do try adding more of that content to the social media plan. Not every piece of content is social media gold, so focus future posts on content that traditionally performs well. Many factors influence organic reach, including the time of day, day of the week, type of content, the platform itself and if you are currently paying for any advertising on that platform.
Research the best types of content for each platform and incorporate them into your plan. Instagram, for instance, provides a visual and conversation forum for users to express themselves through experiences and emotions using photos and videos. Learn and follow the best practices for the use of hashtags, videos and graphics.
Competitive Analysis
Don’t just focus on your social media pages. Check out competitors’ pages to see what they are doing well and what they are lacking. Then, identify what makes your brand unique.
Focus social media content on your top products or services to shine above the competition.
Goals of a Social Media Audit
All businesses and organizations have goals. Social media should have goals, too, such as heightened awareness, website visits or online purchases.
A social media audit also has a goal. A successful social media audit helps a business optimize its online presence with purpose-driven content to effectively position the company within the marketplace.
Following best practices ensures businesses and organizations are making the most of their social media investments.
Do you need a social media audit to ignite your online presence? Please give our marketing experts a call today at 239-267-2638 or send an email to LetsTalk@PriorityMarketing.com.
