Tips on how to Conduct a Social Media Audit | Augur Tech

Social media marketing has quickly become a key component in most digital marketing campaigns. For agencies just entering this new territory, it can be overwhelming at first.

Clients can run the gamut from creating a basic social profile to maintaining multiple disorganized profiles, and it’s up to you to figure them all out. Between creating a posting schedule for an abandoned profile and targeting dozens of random sites, deciding what to do next can take a lot of effort.

That’s why it’s so important to perform a social media audit early on; to find out what your customers have, what they need, and what to do next. Also, it will allow you to determine whether or not your social media strategies were successful so you can adjust your approach.

What is a Social Media Audit?

The basis of a social media audit is to compile the client’s social media assets for an accurate assessment of their online presence.

After getting a complete overview, the next step is to decide where improvements can be made. Then what actions to take to get your online presence where it needs to be.

Since each client will come to you with a unique portfolio, it is important to know as much information as possible in order to move forward.

Social media audits are also occasionally provided as a service, like something you’d expect from a consultant, for companies that want to keep execution completely in-house.

Balance your checking accounts

There are hundreds of social media channels. Many clients will have a few accounts and will be able to provide you with a list.

The less, the simpler in the usual cases. Some clients will already have amassed many social media accounts, especially those with prior experience using search engine optimization marketing.

These clients will be more difficult to audit due to the high volume of accounts and diversified activity.

The first step to balancing your checking accounts is to ask.

This is usually something you can include on a client intake form or during an initial meeting.

After getting this list, you will have to do some searching. Almost every customer has some social media accounts that they have forgotten about.

Doing a quick Google search for a few variants of the customer’s name will help bring up any forgotten accounts. (Remember to use the ‘~’ search operator with terms like ‘Co’. Searching for ‘~Co’ will return results like Co, company, and other variants.)

If it looks like your client may have a large number of inactive accounts, use something like namechk.com to search hundreds of channels for their usernames.

Find the ideal channels

Now that you know which social media channels they’re already using, you need to figure out which ones they should be using.

A good rule of thumb is to automate three channels for each active channel. For example, if a client is actively running a Facebook campaign, they should connect it to Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+ for optimal exposure against the workload.

Keeping profiles active is important, but managing your time well is just as important.

Choosing the right channels can be tricky, especially when you take demographics and target audience into account. However, generally speaking, businesses that operate locally do better on Facebook.

National brands see greater success on Twitter. Pinterest and Instagram are great for people who have aesthetically appealing products.

Finding new outlets will require research, especially as the social web becomes more niche-focused.

A quick way to determine the usefulness of a social media channel is to look at your top influencers – do they align with your brand?

If that’s the case, that channel could be a great option. When choosing channels, be sure to jot down a few notes about why you’re choosing them, you’ll need them later!

Are the fundamentals in place?

With your list of current and potential accounts, you can start to see how they are being used.

For current channels

Determining what to do on current channels is more difficult than on new ones. This is mainly because you will need to work on an existing structure and you will inevitably need to critique something the client has written.

Make sure your notes are as polite as possible, or at least focus on purely constructive criticism.

Things to look for in existing channels:

Are all the spaces for images filled? Having a profile photo, cover image, and a few other photos is a good idea.

Is your company name correct? Local dating can have a huge impact on digital marketing campaigns, so make sure your profile name matches all online properties.

Are they using a custom URL? These make it easy to send people to your social networks and are crucial for cross-media campaigns.

Is your business information correct? Accurate addresses, business phone numbers, and websites are critical.

Do you have further information? Business history, description of services, hours of operation and more can help you get discovered. Well-written descriptions can even convert visitors.

If you find any of these missing, please document it and what needs to be done to complete it. When changes are needed, write notes for them too, along with some reasons why they should be changed.

For ideal channels

This section is simpler as you are just building a list of resources to complete the profiles. They typically include your profile picture, business name, address, phone number, website, and a description of the business. Some channels offer much more, so be sure to take advantage of expanded fields when possible.

Creating consistency across all channels

Now that you know everything you need for marketing collaterals, it’s important to reinforce consistency across each one. This does not mean that all images and ads have to be identical, just that they have to be similar.

If your client already has a well-crafted style guide, this step is easy. If not, you’ll need to define the common threads you want to represent in the digital landscape.

Whenever possible, make sure they are using similar profile pictures on different social media channels so your brand identification is clear.

Measurement of effectiveness

You probably have an idea of ​​how a good social media campaign goes; regular posts, useful content, community engagement, etc. Now you need to take your client from where they currently are to where they need to be.

Each channel will have its own unique characteristics, but here are some of the main factors to consider:

Regular publication and dissemination

While the regularity will vary from client to client, you need to make sure they post content to their social networks. If they’re having trouble keeping content fresh, suggest tools like a social media scheduler or less influential channel automation.

On a related note, if they post regularly but the content just isn’t going anywhere, give them guidance on how to improve. For Twitter, this could include rotating popular hashtags in posts, or for Pinterest, it could mean a different layout for images.

Engagement and interactivity

In addition to being a great lead generation tool, social media is often used to build a brand’s reputation. Check that your client is getting regular engagement with your content, and if not, suggest solutions. A common way to improve engagement is to use images and videos, or to ask questions.

Also, keep in mind the responsiveness of your customer. Do they respond quickly and appropriately? Hardly answer? Find ways to help them stay on top of their customer interactions.

One of the most common reasons for less engagement and interactivity is copied or plagiarized content. Always remember that your content is driven by both SM platforms and audience when it is unique. Also, use the paraphrase tool before posting to make your content unique.

Are they missing the mark?

What if your client is doing all of the above but still not getting the attention they deserve? The channel they are using may not match.

Not all social media channels are good for every business, and sometimes replacing old accounts is the best solution.

Holding the Bottom Line

Even if all other stats are performing below your expectations, if your main conversion metrics are successful, don’t worry too much! Distill what works for your client, determine ways to duplicate the results, and then find ways they can iterate to improve.

Create an audit report

You should have a modest stack of notes and data points by now. All that remains is to organize them professionally. Here’s a simple breakdown of how to structure your report:

The cover – This usually includes the name of your agency, the name of the client, the name of the report, and the date it was compiled.

State Social Media Goals – Put here what your client wants from their campaign, what goals are realistic and a brief description of how it will be achieved.

• Analysis of each channel: Break down each channel they currently use and should use. Talk about the statistics you have found, what changes need to be made, and why.
• Content audit: Always perform a detailed and thorough audit of your content. This will help you segment your content and learn about the interests of your audience.

Single Action List – Place all the action items that only need to be done once. Things like initially filling out account descriptions and uploading profile pictures go here.

Recurring Campaign Scheme – This piece goes over what needs to be completed on a recurring basis. All notes on how content should be handled, post times, and content types should be organized here.

Conclusion: A restatement of your social media goals and the “next steps” your client needs to take to get started.

Last words

With your report in hand, you can now be sure of your customer’s social media address! Put your report in a well-designed PDF and submit it (or better yet, review it in person). Do you have more questions? Leave a comment below!