If you’re a digital marketer working for a company, a small business, or managing your own agency or personal brand, then you know the importance of having a strong social media presence.

But how do you know if your social media strategy is effective and reaching your target audience? That’s where a social media audit comes in.

In this blog post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about social media audits, including what they are, why they’re important, and how to conduct one step-by-step.

We’ll also provide a free social media audit template to help you get started. So, let’s dive in and take your social media strategy to the next level!

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What is a social media audit?

A social media audit is a process of analyzing and evaluating the social media presence of a company or a brand. It involves a comprehensive review of the social media accounts, including the profiles, content, engagement metrics, and overall strategy.

The purpose of a social media audit is to identify what’s working and what’s not, so you can make data-driven decisions about how to improve the brand’s social media presence.

Why is a social media audit important?

A social media audit is essential for any business, no matter the size or industry. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Gain a clear understanding of social media presence: By conducting a social media audit, you will get a comprehensive overview of your or your client’s social media presence. This will help you understand how the brand is perceived by the audience, what kind of content resonates with them, and how you can improve the strategy.

2. Identify areas of improvement: A social media audit can help you identify areas where you can improve your social media presence. This could include optimizing your profiles, creating more engaging content, or improving your messaging or design.

3. Benchmark against competitors: By analyzing your competitors’ social media presence, you can gain insights into what they’re doing well and what you could do better. This will help you benchmark your performance against theirs and identify opportunities to differentiate yourself in the market.

4. Make data-driven decisions: A social media audit provides you with valuable data that you can use to make informed decisions about your social media strategy. This will help you prioritize your efforts and allocate resources more effectively.

Also read: Become a Freelance Social Media Manager: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to conduct a social media audit?

Now that we’ve established why a social media audit is essential, let’s dive into how to conduct one.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to conducting a social media audit:

Step 1: Identify your goals and objectives

Before you dive into the audit, it’s important to identify what you want to achieve with your social media presence. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or drive website traffic? Once you have identified your goals and objectives, you can tailor your audit to focus on metrics that will help you achieve them.

For example, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, you might want to focus on metrics like reach, impressions, and follower growth.

Step 2: Gather your data

The next step is to gather all the necessary data for your social media accounts. This includes data from all the platforms you are active on, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and any other relevant platforms.

You can gather this data using the platform’s built-in analytics tools, or by using third-party tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, or Google Analytics.

Step 3: Evaluate your profiles

Start your audit by evaluating your social media profiles. Make sure your profiles are complete, up-to-date, and consistent across all platforms. If you have multiple social media profiles, make sure they are all linked to each other and to your website. This will help users find and follow you on different platforms.

Review each of your social media profiles and evaluate them based on the following criteria:

  • Consistency: Is your branding consistent across all your social media profiles?
  • Completeness: Are your profiles fully filled out, including your bio, profile picture, cover photo, and contact information?
  • Optimization: Have you optimized your profiles for search? Are you using keywords in your profile descriptions?
  • Tone and voice: Does your tone and voice align with your brand? Is it consistent across all your social media profiles?

Step 4: Analyze your content

Next, analyze the content you have been posting on your social media accounts. Look at the types of content you have been posting, and evaluate which types of content are getting the most engagement.

You should also evaluate the frequency of your posts, and determine whether you are posting too often or not enough. This will help you optimize your posting schedule for maximum engagement.

Review your social media content and evaluate it based on the following criteria:

  • Relevance: Is your content relevant to your target audience?
  • Quality: Is your content high-quality?
  • Engagement: Are you receiving likes, comments, and shares?
  • Consistency: Do you have a consistent posting schedule?
  • Variety: Are you mixing up your content formats (e.g., photos, videos, infographics, etc.)?

Step 5: Review your engagement metrics

Engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares are important indicators of how well your content is resonating with your audience. Analyze these metrics to determine which types of content are driving the most engagement.

You should also look at your follower growth rate, and evaluate whether your social media strategy is helping you grow your audience.

Here are a few things to look out for:

  • Overall engagement rate: What’s your overall engagement rate across all your social media channels?
  • Engagement by channel: Are certain channels performing better than others? Why?
  • Top-performing content: Which content has the highest engagement rate? What can you learn from it?
  • Low-performing content: Which content has the lowest engagement rate? Why?

Step 6: Benchmark against competitors

One of the best ways to improve your social media strategy is to benchmark against your competitors. Analyze your competitors’ social media presence, and identify what they are doing well and what they could improve on.

Look at their content strategy, posting frequency, and engagement metrics, and compare them to your own. This will help you identify opportunities to differentiate yourself in the market.

Take a step back and evaluate your overall social media strategy. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Are you using the right channels to reach your target audience?
  • Are you posting at the right times?
  • Are you using the right hashtags and keywords?
  • Are you engaging with your audience effectively?

Step 7: Make data-driven decisions

Finally, use the data you have gathered to make informed decisions about your social media strategy. Identify areas where you can improve, and develop a plan to address them.

For example, if you find that video content is getting more engagement than other types of content, you might want to focus on creating more video content in the future.

Based on your social media audit findings, create an action plan that outlines the steps you need to take to improve your social media presence. This could include optimizing your profiles, creating more engaging content, refining your social media strategy, or investing in social media ads.

Free social media audit template

Check out this free social media audit template that you can use for any business. Simply “Make a copy” and start using it.

Acadium freelancing marketplace

The Acadium marketplace has a lot of businesses looking for help with social media, social media marketing, PR, graphic design, content creation, video production, and web design. It is also in demand for experts in WordPress, Canva, LinkedIn, and Tiktok.

If you’re an experienced social media manager or have completed 4 apprenticeships, you can apply to Acadium’s freelancing marketplace. Soon after you join, you are matched with clients who want your skill sets and are willing to pay your set rate.

It saves you a ton of time and effort as opposed to searching for clients on your own. This means you’ll be able to focus on what you do best–serving your client. And the best part? Acadium only takes 10% on client payments.

Sergio Felix, a former Apprentice at Acadium, shares how he successfully landed his first job and started freelancing after completing his apprenticeship. Listen to his story here:

The time has come to put what you’ve learned about becoming a social media freelancer into action. Remember, to get and keep clients, you have to stand out from the competition.

And by using the right social media management tools, you can work smarter, not harder.

Excited? Start freelancing in social media management today!