These days, it seems like everyone is trying to grow their presence on social media. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest have proven to be amazing tools for companies to reach their target audience and build a relationship with them.
Making it big in the social media world isn’t easy, though—the pros you see today certainly didn’t start with thousands of followers and likes. They got to where they are by perfecting their social media strategy and doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
In order to determine what’s working for your account and areas you can improve, you can conduct what’s called a social media audit.
What is a social media audit?
Similar to a tax audit, a social media audit is meant to examine if something you’re doing is worth your time, energy, and money. Essentially, you’re taking a close look at activity, audience, following, and financial investments on your media accounts. The goal is to find out if your efforts on social media are still relevant to your own blog or brand. An audit could help you figure out if what you have been up to on social media is helping you to achieve your goals for your brand.
How to conduct a social media audit
1. Dig deep into your stats
Make a chart where you can keep track of the stats of all of your accounts. Consider recording the following:
- Follower count
- Likes
- Shares
- Comments
- Clicks
- Views
- Reach (how many people are seeing your posts?)
You can track many of these analytics right within the social platforms themselves (like with Pinterest’s Analytics tool), but it may be worth investing in an additional tool that can give you more detailed insight (like Iconosquare).
By recording these stats on a regular basis (whether it be monthly or weekly), you can keep track of increases and decreases in your overall performance. Also, if you decide to change up your strategy, you can determine whether or not the change was successful. For example, maybe you want to focus on boosting your engagement on Instagram so you start adding hashtags to your posts. If you notice an increase in likes and comments, it’s likely the new strategy is working.
In sum, by keeping tabs on your stats, you can determine areas that need improvement and where you’re excelling.
2. Identify which platforms and posts perform best
A huge part of successful branding is being able to determine what your audience loves. Do you notice that you receive higher engagement on Instagram? Are your most-liked photos the ones where you show a behind-the-scenes look at your business? It’s important to notice these things and adjust your strategy accordingly.
A common mistake that businesses make on social media is trying to have a presence on all platforms. However, this might not be the most effective route to take. If your audience is loving your content on Pinterest, but you notice that they’re not as receptive on Twitter, it’s better to put more effort towards growing your Pinterest account. Remember that each social media platform is different, and it’s likely that your audience is more engaged on certain ones over others. The key here is to find where your audience is and create content that they love.
3. Take a look at the visual flow of your content
The world we live in today is more visual than ever. So, it’s important to really pay attention to the visual elements of your brand.
When someone lands on your social account, you want to make a great first impression by making it clear who you are and what you bring to the table. Is your brand known for being bright, bubbly, and cheery? Show this through your photos. Try to find an editing style that works for you and stick with it. This will create a cohesive overall feel.
Take a look at the difference the types of photos you post and the editing style you use can make on the appearance of your brand:
In order to keep the visual appeal of your social accounts in check, do a regular examination. Your brand will evolve over time, so always take a look at your accounts and make sure the photos you’re posting still align with what you’re trying to communicate as a brand.
4. Make the decision to cut what’s not effective
The last and final step of a social media audit is getting rid of the unnecessary. Check your progress and decide what you are spending too much time, money, or energy on. This will leave you room to put more energy toward the areas you need to! Learn from the past and start investing yourself elsewhere in order to grow your brand.
It’s so important to conduct a social media audit every now and then in order to keep your brand on track and organized. Remember that consistently evaluating your progress and adjusting your strategy is what leads to long-term growth.
Shannon Haupert is an editorial intern at Bloguettes. She loves all things writing, donuts, and coffee. She is currently studying communications at Grand Canyon University. When she is not in class, you can catch her hanging out a local coffee shop, working on her personal blog, or on a road trip to the mountains.
