How to conduct a social media audit from Social Media Marketing: Strategy and Optimization by Martin Waxman
About Lesson
How to conduct a social media audit
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– Many organizations approach digital media from a platform first perspective, that is they jump on a social network and develop their strategy later. As a result they may have multiple accounts on various networks, abandoned profiles, inefficient processes, and a content plan with few actionable goals. That’s why it’s important for companies to take stock of their digital assets. And one of the best ways to do that is with a social media audit, you’ll find some helpful tips on how to conduct an audit in our exercise files. In a social media audit, you’ll examine your social and digital properties through a critical and curious lens. You’re looking at your strengths and challenges, your paid, earned, and owned media and how well your team is achieving its goals. Everything’s on the table, so try to be as honest as you can. We prepared a resource to help you get started in the exercise files. But an audit isn’t just about looking inside, you’ll also want to pay attention to what your competitors are doing and how successful they are. Assess a landscape and listen to conversations your customers, suppliers, competitors, employees, and other stakeholders are having. You can find more tips on listening and monitoring in my learn social media monitoring course, you’ll also want to talk to thought leaders in your industry, your staff, and customers, make sure you let them know you’re capturing their comments anonymously, that way they’ll be more inclined to give you an unfiltered response. When you think about your business, ask questions like who are you trying to reach? What platforms do they use? What’s your organization currently doing versus what are you doing well? Where are the gaps, challenges, strengths, and weaknesses? Are there internal barriers to change? Are your social media programs tied to your business goals? Audrey Topsy from Topsy Turvy bakery is really focused on growing her customer base, so I asked her who she’s trying to reach. – [Audrey] Well brides of course, wedding planners, busy moms planning birthday parties, and really almost anyone with a special occasion. – [Martin] That’s a pretty big audience. How are you using social media to connect with them? – [Audrey] Well, we used to get a lot of comments from young moms and active brides on Facebook who would share photos of our cakes, but that’s gone down in the last year or so. One of our younger staff members has been posting behind the scenes stories on our Instagram account and I like that idea, should we continue? Will Instagram posts help grow our business? – You know, Audrey, those are all questions you could ask in your social media audit. But before Audrey begins, Topsy Turvy, like your brand needs to develop goals and objectives. That way you’ll know what you want your audit to accomplish. When you start, try to be as objective as you can, pay attention to all the pages on your website or blog, your social media properties, your digital and traditional content, and marketing materials. And look at competitors through your customer’s eyes. Then analyze the results and identify trends, areas for improvement, and opportunities. Done well, a social media audit can open your company’s eyes to the realities of your business landscape and get you the insights you need to develop a strategic roadmap with recommendations designed to achieve your social media goals.
