Most marketing teams use social media channels to build relationships with brand audiences, share company content, and stay ahead of the latest trends in the industry. But, many companies are misguided with their use of social media (read as: too self-promotional) and fail to drive meaningful results on the channels they invest in. To better understand how businesses can connect and engage with their audiences on social media, a content audit is necessary to objectively measure the success of past content and inform a more effective strategy moving forward.
In this #ContentChat, we discuss how to conduct a social media content audit to inform your social media strategy. Read the full recap below, where we explain the ways you can structure a social media audit, discuss which social media KPIs to track, trade tips on quick social media channel fixes that you can make, and more. If any of your questions are left unanswered, use the comment section below and we’ll help.
Q1: What is a social media content audit, and why do you need to do it?
A social media content audit is a process where you analyze a company’s social media channels in relation to the goals for each channel. This gives an idea of what content is working and ways that the team can improve its strategy given any current shortcomings.
A1a: A social media content audit is a process whereby you document the current state of a brand or individual’s social media channels and the content they contain and share, and benchmark their engagement against their peers. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
A1b: It’s important to conduct a social media audit to ensure you are presenting a consistent brand voice across the various channel profiles, and to understand what you are doing well and where you can improve. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
A1. A #socialmedia content audit means revisiting your content to check it is relevant, consistent with your brand, resonates with your audience’s needs and is in line with your #contentmarketing goals.#ContentChat
— Shruti Deshpande (@shruti12d) November 9, 2020
Q2: How often does (or should) your team conduct a social media content audit?
Ideally, a team will conduct an annual, comprehensive social media audit that looks at everything, including a brand’s competitors. Review the KPIs each quarter to make sure you’re on track to meet your goals.
A2a: I like to conduct a comprehensive social media audit annually, and to review the defined and documented KPIs each quarter to make sure we’re on track to meet our goals. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
Jumping in to A2: I usually aim to do a yearly audit and then, ideally, look at how we’re progressing toward goals each quarter. Of course, that doesn’t alwas happen! At the very least, re-assess at the 6 mo. mark. #ContentChat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
Resources allowing, document your channel performance on a monthly basis. This is usually a simple process (especially if you have a template or tool to help) and can provide key stakeholders with the at-a-glance information they need.
A2b: I document channel performance on a monthly basis, however, due to that being the low hanging fruit option that everyone can provide/access through the in-platform analytics. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
A2b: We also do very detailed monthly reports, which can help us pivot as needed. #ContentChat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
Annual audits can be performed around budget reviews, as this is an ideal time to request more resources or tools.
A2. I prefer carrying out a #socialmedia audit every year around the time budgets are getting allocated. But I do think if your business goals change or any key pivots happen you got to relook at it to avoid any disconnects. #ContentChat #socialmedia
— Shruti Deshpande (@shruti12d) November 9, 2020
Love the approach of doing it around budget time. All too often we do these audits and realize we need more resources or tools, but have to wait a year or so for the next budget round! #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
Q3: How do you structure your social media content audit, and do you have a template you can share?
Erika shares her template audit spreadsheet below—feel free to download it for your next social media audit.
A3a: While your content audit’s presentation can be as fancy as you’d like it to be, I always start with a simple but comprehensive audit spreadsheet. You can take a look at my template here: https://t.co/EYgyFb4O5G #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
A3. Same here I use an excel sheet to map out channel performances month on month and then jot down graphs, key data and added information all in a worksheet #socialmediaaudit #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/UC0MEhpFn5
— Shruti Deshpande (@shruti12d) November 9, 2020
Document all of your brand’s channels (active or otherwise) to assess which channels are still relevant, which should be removed, and what new channel(s) should be added.
A3b; I start by capturing a current state of where the channels stand, including which channels are dormant or don’t exist that should be discussed. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
Look at your brand competitors to see their follower count, posting frequency, and engagement rates.
A3c: I include a tab where I document how the competition is faring with community size and activity over those same channels, and call out key interesting findings. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
Look at your organization’s leadership team and their social media channels to identify areas of opportunity.
A3d: I also take a separate look at the organization’s leadership team and their personal brand/professional social media channels, to identify who is active where, and uncover our biggest social media advocates. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
This process is intended to help your team make the best use of its resources to drive results on social media. As such, look at your team’s current resources (staff, tools, channels) so you can set reasonable goals and expectations.
A3: In addition to current numbers and activity/frequency, I also think it’s important to look at current resources (how many people manage the channel, what social tools are you using). This can help you set reasonable goals. #ContentChat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
This is critical. In many organizations, you have individuals from a variety of departments with fractional employees owning various social media channels, versus a centralized owner or social media team. That makes budgeting a challenge. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
Q4: How do you determine which social media channel(s) to focus on for your audit?
Your social media audit should include any channels where your brand or its competitors are engaging with your ideal audience.
A4a: A social media audit needs to reflect all the places a brand and its competitors are engaging with your ideal audience. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
Focus on the channels where your brand or account of focus has the opportunity to make the highest impact. Simply put, don’t try to be everywhere.
A4b: That said, I only go deep and delve into the right content types, hashtags, and influencers for the channels where the brand or individual has the opportunity and resources to make the biggest impact. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
A4c: Unless you are a brand with a huge social media team, it’s unlikely you’re able to be everywhere your fans are, making prioritization necessary, which a social media audit can help you do! #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
Q5: What KPIs should you track to help inform the success of your social media content?
Social media KPIs should ladder back to your brand’s goals for social media. The most notable KPIs can include (but are not limited to): community size/follower count, engagement rate (particularly comments and shares), posting cadence, comment/feedback sentiment, and conversions.
A5a: While your KPIs will vary depending upon your business goals, some of the overarching social media goals you will capture in your audit will include community size, engagement rate, posting frequency, and overall comment/feedback sentiment. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
A5: Engagement metrics are important (interactions with your posts, comments etc.) but what’s even more critical: conversions, conversions, conversions! If your social strategy isn’t helping you meet business goals, you need to adjust! #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
A5b: Conversion metrics will vary based on your business, market, goals etc., but make sure you’re tracking social efforts in context of conversions. Look at those assisted conversion metrics, too! #ContentChat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
A5. Engagement rate – checking which posts are causing that all important engagement among audience is important #Contentchat
— Shruti Deshpande (@shruti12d) November 9, 2020
Consistently assess if your team is meeting its KPIs. If it isn’t, have an honest conversation about why the team has been unable to meet its goals, and consider rebuilding your strategy.
A5b: The important thing is to consistently measure, and if you aren’t hitting the targets you set, to take the time to thoughtfully assess why not. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
Q6: What information do you include about a company’s competitors for a social media audit?
Resources allowing, you should look at your competitor’s social channel community size/follower count, review their most and least successful posts, and note any keywords or topics they frequently explore.
A6: In my competitor social media audits, I capture basic social channel community size data, and capture notes on what kind of content is working well, and what keywords or topics they have seen success with. I also note where there are gaps and opportunities. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
A6: Follower size, posting frequency, the type of content they post, general tone and which content seems to perform best for them. I like to use the built-in tools that Facebook and LinkedIn provide for this, as well. It can help us track after the audit. #ContentChat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
A6: Time allowing, I prefer to do a deep dive on each competitor to see what type of content is performing best for them. What is getting the most likes/comments? What visual(s) are included? Is the content created by them, or is it promoting someone else’s work? #ContentChat
— Alek Irvin (@AlekIrvin) November 9, 2020
The goal is to identify new ideas you should try and learn from your competitor’s successes and failures, but you cannot copy the competition and expect to achieve similar results.
A6b: Understanding your own audience and their unique needs is crucial for success on social media, but looking at competitors can give you ideas on what else to try. Do not just copy your competitor’s strategy, though. #ContentChat
— Alek Irvin (@AlekIrvin) November 9, 2020
Q7: What tools do you use to build out the content of the audit? What value does each tool provide?
Most social media channels have built-in analytics that will cover the bulk of your audit content. Supplement this with data from tools like Buzzsumo, Followerwonk, Google Analytics, and Hashtagify (among countless others).
A7: I mostly use publicly available social media data, Googe docs, and social media channel analytics. But I also use social sharing data from @Buzzsumo and Twitter follower active time data from @Followerwonk to round things out. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
A7: I use the built-in analytics (like the previously mentioned competitor data tool) and cross-check that with data in Google Analytics as well as any existing social management tool analytics (Hootsuite, Hubspot etc.) #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
A7: I love @hashtagify to ID different hashtags to try (although that is more on the “next steps” after your audit is done) #ContentChat
— Alek Irvin (@AlekIrvin) November 9, 2020
Q8: What are some frequently uncovered social media channel issues brands can find, and quickly fix, as a result of conducting a social media audit?
Erika and the community share the easiest inconsistencies to spot and fix during your social media content audit. Are we missing any? Let us know in the comments.
A8a: My social media audits almost always uncover inconsistencies with brand bios and voice that can quickly be made more consistent. For example: Different logos, headers, descriptions, commas, trademarks, etc. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/66LiLOi48y
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
A8b: Social media audits also make it more obvious when a channel is rarely used, or has become a dumping ground for repeats of other channels’ recycled content versus being used to its full potential, which is a sign it may need to be rethought or even retired. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/oBRDBC7vhK
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
Yes! I was going to say the same. Almost every audit I’ve done finds these inconsistencies and it’s usually the first thing we tackle. #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
It makes such a big difference too!
In one company, I found their executive team had 6 different descriptions of what the company did across the leadership team’s LinkedIn bios… to say that this confused prospective employees is an understatement.#ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Expert (@SFerika) November 9, 2020
A8: I often find that the brands are posting a lot of content that’s meant for more of an internal audience, but because they’re not tracking metrics closely, they don’t realize it’s not resonating with their followers. #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
A8b: Almost always, the audit also highlights that the brand is trying to do too much with too few resources. #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) November 9, 2020
A8a: Quick fixes a #socialmedia content audit can uncover:
– Inconsistent (or nonexistent) use of hashtags in posts
– Disproportionate amount of brand vs 3rd party content
– Glaring absence of any engagement with audience (fix by.. engaging with your audience)#ContentChat— Alek Irvin (@AlekIrvin) November 9, 2020
A8b:
– Rogue or inactive brand or exec accounts
– Inconsistent tone or voice
– Missing calls to action
– Irregular posting cadence (get a tool to auto-post content, like @SproutSocial)
– Content is too uniform (all text, no visuals. Or, boring visuals)#ContentChat— Alek Irvin (@AlekIrvin) November 9, 2020
A8. Some of the bits that can be quickly fixed are get- the content on brand, look at the %of new vs old content, look at engagement and get an idea of it needs to be ramped up or otherwise #Contentchat
— Shruti Deshpande (@shruti12d) November 9, 2020
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