A social media audit is a systematic review of your social media presence, performance, and goals. It helps you identify what works, what doesn't, and what needs to change. But how can you match your social media audit with your objectives? Here are some tips to help you align your audit with your desired outcomes.
Before you start your audit, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your social media strategy. Your objectives should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, you might want to increase your brand awareness, generate more leads, or improve your customer service. Write down your objectives and how you will measure them using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as reach, engagement, conversions, or satisfaction.
Something I've learned in my experience as a content developer is the idea of ONE---one core idea, one emotion, one solution or endgame, even with personal content. If I have to scroll more than once to finish a Facebook post, it's too long. For example, hit the highlights of your grand European vacation, rather than a fully detailed diary. Include only the best pics, and skip duplicates or those that look too similar. If necessary, split highlights into posts of each day, or different subjects like landmarks or cuisine.
Connecting your audit to goals feels like completing a puzzle - the pieces need to fit. Start by listing objectives and metrics that define success. Then scrutinize social performance against those markers - engagements, growth, conversions, sentiment. Identify gaps holding you back from the next level. Shape future initiatives around strengths while addressing weak spots. With a detailed audit guiding plans, your social strategy picture comes into focus! Let’s connect those pieces! ??
Next, you need to evaluate your current social media situation. This involves collecting and analyzing data from your social media platforms, tools, and analytics. You should look at metrics such as followers, impressions, clicks, shares, comments, reviews, mentions, and sentiment. You should also compare your performance with your competitors and industry benchmarks. This will help you understand your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) on social media.
Based on your data analysis, you should be able to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. For example, you might find that you have a low engagement rate, a high bounce rate, or a negative reputation. You should also look for ways to leverage your strengths and take advantage of new trends or platforms. For example, you might have a loyal fan base, a unique value proposition, or a creative content strategy. You should prioritize the most impactful and feasible actions that will help you reach your objectives.
After identifying your gaps and opportunities, you need to set your goals and tactics for each social media platform. Your goals should be aligned with your objectives and KPIs, and your tactics should be specific and actionable. For example, if your objective is to increase your brand awareness, your goal might be to grow your followers by 10% in three months, and your tactic might be to launch a referral campaign or a hashtag challenge. You should also assign roles and responsibilities, budgets and resources, and timelines and milestones for each tactic.
Every piece of content should have a purpose and this should be considered when setting realistic goals. Sometimes all you need to do is step back and look at the wider picture and how this goal fits into the bigger strategy.
Finally, you need to implement your tactics and monitor your results. You should use tools and dashboards to track your progress and performance on each platform and KPI. You should also test and optimize your tactics based on your data and feedback. You should review your results regularly and adjust your strategy accordingly. You should also document your learnings and best practices for future reference.
A social media audit is not a one-time activity, but a continuous process. You should repeat and refine your audit periodically to keep up with the changing social media landscape and customer expectations. You should also celebrate your achievements and reward your team for their efforts. By matching your social media audit with your objectives, you can improve your social media strategy and achieve your business goals.
There's no one-size-fits-all social media practice, especially when it comes to frequency. Social media can be an energy and time suck, and daily, or even weekly posts might be too much for some people, and that's okay. Quality always trumps frequency, especially when it comes to connecting with your audience. It's also important to choose the platforms that fit your preferred method of storytelling and communicating. What's popular may not be the best for your business or personality, and what "experts" say is outdated may still be viable for certain users and audiences. Bottom line, choose platforms and schedules that suit you, rather that those that stress you out.