Analyzing the success of your firm’s social media should be done on a regular basis. An in-depth audit will not only tell you how it’s performing, but what adjustments should be made to meet your key performance indicators. To help guide you through the process, here are the steps to conduct a social media audit.
Examine your social media accounts
Begin by reviewing all your active accounts and see if messaging and imagery are consistent with your firm’s brand. You don’t want to confuse your audience by displaying different logos or color schemes. A handy tool is to create a brand guide, which serves as a reference on how your visuals should appear, what language should be used, etc. If everything is on-brand, analyze recent activity to determine your posting frequency to ensure regular and consistent updates.
Rank Your Top Performing Posts
Congratulations, you hit one of your metrics! Now look at your successful post(s) with a critical lens to determine what made it successful. Consider the topic, the assets used, and most importantly, timing. This can help determine what elements should be considered in your next series or campaign.
Set-up Performance Indicators
For many firms, website traffic, conversions and engagement are the priority metrics to track. Many platforms offer back-end analytics and reporting tools that organize the numbers for you (shoutout to technology!) Note any trends or patterns that will help you strategize content for the next quarter.
Calculate ROI for Paid Campaigns
If you’re running a paid campaign or boosting posts, you should calculate your return on investment on a regular basis to ensure your ads are working. This can also help determine if you’re reaching your target audience or if adjustments need to be made. Your audience demographics will be different on each social media platform. For example, a younger audience tends to be active on Instagram whereas baby boomers dominate Facebook. Once you understand your audience, you can better tailor the content to fit their interests.
Determine Which Platforms Are Working—Or Not
Firms often think they need to have a presence on every social media platform, but that’s not true. As mentioned above, each platform has a unique demographic. Don’t waste time and resources on a platform that isn’t generating visibility with your target audience. Assess engagement and conversions for posts, and if you’re not seeing traction over time, consider focusing on the one or two social channels that are working.
Many websites offer free social media audit templates as a starting point. Identify the one that will work best for your firm and begin taking your social media presence to the next level. Be sure to conduct regular audits monthly, quarterly or after the completion of a campaign. This will allow you to adjust your content and overall strategy as needed.
