The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Conducting a Social Media Audit for Your Clients

Last Updated on February 7, 2023 by Arif Chowdhury

The term “audit” deserves much more respect than it now receives.

Whenever anyone hears the word audit, it’s so apparent that it immediately conjures images of tax and a bunch of accounting documents to calculate with invoices and other documents stowed in the cabinet. Any audit may seem like a complex task, which is unfortunate since not all types of audits work the same way.

When you repair or customize your car in your garage, the inspection you first do is a vehicle audit. In contrast, visiting a doctor for a health check-up is a health audit. This kind of auditing activity will help you to gather lots of knowledge.

The same goes for a social media marketing audit. You may learn a lot from examining how you manage your online business. So if you want to become an expert in social media marketing, you have no choice but to utilize the audit technique.

Don’t let the term “audit” keep you from checking up on your social sites frequently. It’s a lot easier and more beneficial than you would believe.

So, the question is – how to do a social media audit for a client?

Here is how you can do it:

1. Define audit objectives and goals.
2. Gather data and analytics from existing social media accounts.
3. Analyze social media activity, audience, and content.
4. Evaluate social media channels in use and assess their effectiveness.
5. Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis).
6. Create an action plan to improve social media performance.
7. Implement recommended changes and track progress.
8. Repeat audits periodically to assess the effectiveness of changes made.

If you want to learn more, then why waste time? Let’s dive into the details.

Why must everyone audit their social media business pages?

By 2024, there will be more than 5 billion social media users throughout the globe. The total population of Earth is about 8 billion people. That’s wonderful since it allows you to attract internet customers.

You shouldn’t miss out on it. However, not every company can get the best results from every platform. Therefore, looking at what is currently performing the best necessary to become successful is essential.

If you do not improve, you lose your precious time and investment in failed initiatives. However, don’t be concerned. As part of a social media audit, this would be where it is relevant.

By reading this guide, you may learn how to conduct an audit for your client’s social media accounts in less than half an hour. The audit result will reveal if you’re on the path to success or in danger of losing more money.

For many people, maintaining an online presence takes a lot of time in a day; thus, it is hard if you work full time, and it demands that you dedicate all your time and effort. Once social media accounts are left alone, they rapidly deteriorate. An audit may assist in returning things to the way they were.

Some people never give up and keep constantly working to maintain their social accounts, even though it takes significant effort to keep things steady and up to date. Of course, audits may assist in other cases, too. Opportunities for self-reflection and development exist when others act as leaders.

Just as an audit is valuable for people at any level of their social media marketing, it is for every social media user.

Recommended Reading: How Do Beginners Start Social Media Marketing? (Definitive Guide)

Rules and guidelines of social media audit.

Before we start, let me give you a straightforward checklist that will make your first step easy.

Following the steps shown here may take 20-25 minutes to audit your client’s social media pages.

Everything you need to know about social media marketing is here in this guide, and you may dive deeper to make it your style. I want you to enhance it and make a particular social media audit for your business pages.

However, the audit must have to address the following issues:

8-step checklist to conduct a social media audit for your client.

• The first step is to use social media to identify your accounts.
• Next, define your audit objectives, such as sales audit, engagement audit, or brand awareness audit.
• Finally, collect all the relevant data based on your chosen audit objective.
• Be sure to review all of the facts on these accounts and ensure all imagery and messaging are consistent such as content and audience activities.
• Focus on your objectives and see how you perform nowadays based on previous years.
• Identify your social channels’ strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities.
• Craft an action plan to improve the lacking you have found.
• Implement your action strategy and assess the performance.

Boost social media performance by spying on influencers.

• Choose several influencers in your niche, then look at how they use social media to promote their business.
• Be on the lookout for personal branding and images on each profile.
• Benchmark your social media data, including the number of followers and interactions.
• Make a strategy for improving and achieving your social networking profiles.

So, are you ready now? Why waste time? Let’s get started.

Recommended Reading: [Free Template] How to Create a Content Calendar for Social Media?

Quick Note: Did you know that nearly 70% of businesses neglect to regularly conduct social media audits, even though they spend significant resources on their social media presence? This oversight can lead to missed opportunities, a waste of resources, and a disconnect between the business and its target audience. Don’t be part of this statistic – take control of your social media presence with a comprehensive social media audit today!

Step-by-step guidelines for social media audit.

Let us dive into how you can do a social media audit for your client or your business. First, make sure you read and follow all the below steps accurately; otherwise, there will be lacking in your audit.

Step #1: Define audit objectives and goals for social media.

The first step in performing a successful social media audit for your client is to define the objectives and goals of the audit. This first stage is crucial because it establishes the audit’s purposes and ensures that you and the client are on the same page.

When planning a social media audit, keep these primary goals in mind:

• Understanding the target audience: The audit’s primary purpose should be to learn more about the client’s ideal audience. Statistics, tastes, and habits are all included.
• Evaluating existing social media presence: The audit will also examine the client’s current social media presence. For this, it’s essential to investigate their presence on social media as a whole, as well as specific posts and user interaction.
• Identifying strengths and weaknesses: The audit should look for opportunities to improve the client’s social media presence and areas where they are currently struggling. As a result of this data, enhancement suggestions can be made.
• Improving online reputation: The audit’s primary focus should be on helping the customer enhance their existing internet reputation. One part of this process is developing a strategy to address any criticisms voiced.
• Maximizing ROI: The audit’s objective is to increase clients’ return on investment (ROI) from their social media activities. Raising participation rates, expanding your audience base, and generating more leads are all possible outcomes.

Ensure the audit process is focused and organized and that the client can thrive by identifying clear objectives and goals.

Step #2: Gather all data from your social media pages.

Before doing anything else, let us know where your client’s social pages are.

It is the most specific social media challenge in history. Where are you on the internet? It will be an easy win. It would be easy for you to list primary social media accounts.

However, what will we do with other social media sites besides the major, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube? For example, did you accidentally set up a YouTube channel a few years ago?

How many times did you visit each week for each new social network that you tried out when it was new and never looked at again? Be aware of all of them. In addition to the powerful four social platforms, you should check out these more social platforms:

• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Snapchat
• Tumblr
• Quora

Also, be on the lookout for unauthorized sources. Identify which are authentic and which are created by spammers. Search your brand hashtags throughout all leading social networks; you may be amazed by what you find. For example, look at Facebook results for Netflix; there, you will find several pages along with the original one.

As you discover new profiles, be sure to collect these pieces of information:

• Social media networks.
• The URL.
• Name, about info, a business description of those profiles.
• Followers.
• Date of last activity of those profiles.

To keep the information structured, you may store the data in a spreadsheet and begin with the audit from there.

Visit this site to get a free social media audit template.

Recommended Reading: Unleash the Power of a Mobile-Friendly Website: The Ultimate Guide to Optimization

Add monthly parts to your audits. It will be helpful for any future audits. Also, not all social media platform is the same; thus, you might also add some slots for social platform-specific metrics.

You may utilize your audit spreadsheet after you have this template set up. Let’s get started. Follow me as I show you how to research Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

Step #3: Analyze social media activity, audience, and content.

Performing a social media audit for your customer necessitates analyzing their social media activity, viewership, and content. Stepping back and analyzing the results can give you a better idea of how your client’s social media presence is faring and what, if any, adjustments need to be made.

When evaluating the effectiveness of your social media channels, it’s essential to consider the following factors:

• Social media activity: Each post’s reach, engagement (likes, comments, shares, etc.), and frequency must be evaluated. This data can be used to learn whether or not the content is attractive to the intended audience and, if not, what can be done to improve its appeal.
• Audience insights: Knowing the client’s ideal audience through demographic, psychographic, and behavioral analysis might yield fruitful results. With this knowledge, the customer may better cater their social media approach to their intended audience.
• Content analysis: As part of the audit, the client’s current social media content—including its format, tone, and publication cadence—should be analyzed. You can utilize this data to inform potential improvements to better the content’s quality and usefulness.
• Competitor analysis: The client’s rivals and how they employ social media platforms should also be considered. This data can inform the client’s social media strategy by revealing what approaches are successful (and ineffective) for similar businesses.

You may learn a great deal about the client’s social media presence and find places to make improvements by studying their activity, audience, and content on social media.

Quick Note: Are you aware that a staggering 80% of small businesses using Facebook for advertising are doing so ineffectively? They could be wasting valuable resources and missing out on potential leads and sales. Don’t let this be you! Instead, conduct a Facebook-specific social media audit to identify areas for improvement and optimize your advertising strategy for maximum impact.

Step #4: Evaluate social media channels in use and assess their effectiveness.

When doing a social media audit for a customer, it is essential to evaluate the channels already in use and their performance. In addition, this phase is necessary to ascertain which social media platforms best suit the client’s objectives and demographic.

When conducting a social media channel evaluation, it is essential to pay attention to the following:

• Channel relevance: The first stage is determining which social media platforms will be most helpful in achieving the client’s stated objectives. In contrast to a business-to-consumer firm’s success on Instagram, a business-to-business firm might find LinkedIn a more fruitful channel.
• Engagement levels: Examine the number of likes, comments, shares, and followers on each social media platform. By analyzing this data, we can see which channels are most effective in reaching our audience and which need fine-tuning.
• Content effectiveness: Analyze how successful the content shared on each platform is. In this context, “engagement” refers to how many people read and react to a post and its substance, tone, and frequency.
• ROI: Think about the ROI of your various social media efforts. Think about what you put into advertising, content creation, and distribution and how much you expect to get back in terms of new leads and engaged customers.

Identifying which social media channels are successful for a customer and which may need tweaking or removal is possible through careful evaluation and analysis of these channels.

Step #5: Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis).

The social media audit you undertake for your customer should always begin with a thorough SWOT analysis. The client’s social media SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) can be better understood after conducting this analysis.

• Strengths: Determine what is succeeding in the client’s social media strategy, such as high levels of engagement, a prominent brand presence, or a sizable following.
• Weaknesses: Find the problems, like low interaction, inconsistent publishing, or a lackluster brand presence, and fix them.
• Opportunities: Find new channels, audiences, and content types that clients may use to expand their social media reach.
• Threats: Determine whether the client’s social media presence is impacted by causes outside of their control, such as algorithm changes, increased competition, or a decrease in audience engagement.

You can thoroughly understand the client’s social media presence and potential areas for improvement through a SWOT analysis.

Step #6: Create an action plan to improve social media performance.

After doing the social media audit and identifying problem areas, the next stage is to develop a strategy to enhance the client’s social media performance. The plan’s purpose is to lay out the actions that will be done to counteract the threats, opportunities, and weaknesses that have been identified.

When formulating a strategy, keep these points in mind:

• First, prioritize goals: Seek out the most pressing needs for enhancement, and prioritize those. In this way, we may prioritize implementing the most crucial improvements.
• Define actions: Describe in detail what will be done to counteract each of the highlighted advantages, disadvantages, chances, and threats. For example, if users aren’t actively participating in your content, you might switch up the format or increase the frequency of your updates.
• Allocate resources: Assess the time, money, and tools that will be required to put the strategy into action.
• Assign responsibilities: Team members will be more invested in the action plan’s success if they are given specific tasks to complete.
• Set timelines: Timelines for accomplishing each phase and the overall goal should be established as part of the action plan.

Developing a strategy to boost the client’s social media performance is the best way to guarantee that the adjustments are required to meet their objectives promptly and effectively.

Step #7: Implement recommended changes and track progress.

A successful social media audit for a customer involves putting suggested improvements into action and monitoring progress. By doing so, we can be sure that our client’s social media performance will continue to improve as a result of our recommendations.

When making the suggested adjustments and monitoring the results, keep in mind the following:

• Implementation: See that the strategy carries out the proposed alterations. You could change the type of information posted, the posting schedule, or the social media platforms utilized.
• Communication: Make sure the client and their team know the adjustments and what is expected of them moving forward by sharing this information with them.
• Tracking: Track the client’s social media success using analytics and other tools. As part of this process, you will keep an eye on metrics like engagement, reach, and return on investment.
• Refining: Refine the approach and make changes to the action plan as needed to account for the results you’re getting.
• Review: Improve your social media results by regularly assessing your success and making necessary adjustments to your strategy and action plan.

As long as the suggested adjustments are made and the client’s social media performance is monitored, the client’s social media presence will grow, and they will be closer to reaching their objectives. The client’s confidence in you will grow, and the worth of your services will become more apparent.

Step #8: Repeat the audit periodically to assess the effectiveness of changes made.

Repeating the social media audit will help you gauge the success of your adjustments and maintain a solid social media presence for your customer. In addition, the client’s social media strategy will remain up-to-date and effective with the support of regular audits that help identify areas for development.

The audit should be repeated every 6-12 months or whenever necessary, and the strategy and action plan should be updated and fine-tuned accordingly. In addition, the client’s social media profile and ability to compete in their industry would benefit from this.

By doing the audit regularly, you can show your client how your services continue to benefit them and how they can adapt to the ever-changing social media landscape.

Let us give you some guidelines for auditing specific social media platforms.

Facebook audit: Quick steps.

Doing a Facebook audit is simple as a piece of cake. Don’t believe me? Let me show you how you can do a Facebook audit with simple steps:

1. Login to your Facebook account and visit your desired page.
2. Click on the “business suit” option.
3. Click on the “insights” option.
4. Visit the “trend” option to audit your post reach.
5. Visit the “audience” option to audit your audience demographic info.
6. Visit the “content” option to audit which content is performing best.
7. Finally, click on the “export” option to download the full analytic report.

Okay, these are a quick direction; now let us show you the details.

Facebook audit: Detailed step-by-step guidelines.

Facebook gathers all available useful metrics of your page.

Step #1: To audit your Facebook page, login and visit your account.

Step #2: You will see the “Business Suite” option. Though you may use insights, I recommend you visit the Business suite.

Step #3: Now click on “Insights.” It will show you relevant metrics for your Facebook page.

Step #4: Check the “trend” option. You will see how many reach your page gets and how many are paid reach in the overview section. If you do not use any Facebook ads, then paid reach will show you 0% and 0 organic reach. You can also see which one of your page content is getting how much reach in the overview.

Step #5: Check the “audience” option. Here scroll down a little, and you will also see demographic information. If you want detailed information about your demographic, such as age, gender, and location, click on the detailed reporting.

Step #6: Now, click on the content section to get a detailed report based on the contents. From here, you will see how much reach, reaction, and engagement your content receives each. It is helpful to find out how your content is performing.

Step #7: If you want to download the full report, click on the “export”button.

Now, the question is – How can you audit your client’s social media with this information?

The simple answer is – to do it according to your client’s needs. But I will show you some simple ways to audit your client page.

Target Objective	Measurable Metrics
Sales	Clicks, visitors, and sales conversions
Visitors (eCommerce shop, website)	Clicks
Mass awareness (branding)	Engagements (likes, shares, and comments), hashtags
Downloads (eBook, white paper)	Clicks, download conversions
Install app	Download conversion

These are simple yet effective ways to audit a business page’s performance.

For example, if a Facebook page solely exists to send visitors to its associate website, getting tons of engagements is helpful. Because your goal is to get as many visitors as possible to your site, likes, shares, and comments have no meaning.

In contrast to this example, if a page’s target is to build mass awareness among the audience, getting tons of visitors to their site is ineffective. Your target is to get as many engagements from your audience as possible, not clicks on your links.

Recommended Reading: Facebook Marketing: 7 Advanced Ad Targeting Strategies for Business

Quick Note: Surprised that only 7% of businesses on Instagram use their profile bio to its full potential? This small oversight can significantly impact your business’s ability to attract new followers and convert them into customers. Ensure you’re getting the most out of your Instagram presence by conducting a comprehensive social media audit today!

Twitter audit: Quick steps.

Just like Facebook, auditing a Twitter profile is also easy. Let us show you how you can do a Twitter audit with simple steps:

1. First, log in to your Twitter account and visit “Ads manager.”
2. Next, visit the “Analytic” menu and choose “Tweet activity.”
3. The change time frame for analytic data to measure the performance.
4. Visit the “Top tweet” page to identify the best-performing tweet.
5. Next, click on the “Audience insights” tab to get the demographic info of your audience.
6. Next, visit the “Lifestyle tab” to get information about your audience’s interests.
7. Next, check the “Consumer behavior” tab for your audience’s activities.
8. Finally, click on the “Mobile footprint” option to understand which devices they use.

Okay, now let’s get started with proper visual illustrations.

Twitter audit: Detailed step-by-step guidelines.

Because it’s so straightforward, Twitter promotion is one of my favorite methods for immediately attracting attention.

Step #1: You may check your account’s metrics by going to the Ads Manager.

Step #2: Go to the “Analytics” menu and pick “tweet activity.” You’ll see tweet activity, views, and more using this.

Step #3: Twitter has an excellent user-friendly handy analytic feature that provides data on your tweet views for the last 28 days. You may adjust it to specific days according to your liking.

Step #4: To check which tweets from your profile were the most popular within a specific period, go to the “Top Tweets” page. Twitter calculates this based on interaction and views.

Do you see any patterns? Is there any specific tweet that is performing better than other tweets? These are the kind of questions that are beneficial to identify the secret behind success. Therefore, remember these questions when conducting the audit.

Step #5: Knowing your audience is the ultimate secret. Do you have any idea who your audiences are?

You may find out by going back to the top, clicking on “Audience insights,” and then clicking on the “Analytics” menu. Make sure to choose followers.

You’ll see a summary with multiple tabs at first look.

You may obtain data about your audiences on this initial page, such as their:

• Client interest
• Audience buying habits
• Audience income levels
• Location
• Gender

Step #6: It’s reasonable to argue that Twitter’s analytics system is unique. It’s also practical. You will find something regarding your followers’ information, from their locations to house values. If you go to the “Lifestyle tab,” you’ll see their interests. It is excellent information for customizing your content.

Step #7: The best practice is finding your audience’s interest and producing content according to their liking. When your audience realizes that your content reflects their needs, they will experience much more connected to your business. For example, the following tab, “Consumer Behavior,” has a specific value if you have an eCommerce business.

Twitter analytics tells us our audience’s buying habits and interests and what things they want to purchase. If you sell items online, this is a goldmine. It means you know exactly how they like to buy a product and which type of products they want.

Step #8: Finally, the “Mobile Footprint” option shows you which devices your audience chooses to use the most. Therefore, you can target the correct audience with the right content type.

Recommended Reading: How to Go Live on Facebook Business Page? (Practical Guide)

Pinterest audit: Quick steps.

Auditing Pinterest is almost similar to other social media platforms. So, how can you audit a Pinterest account?

Here are simple steps for you:

1. First, log in to your Pinterest account.
2. Next, click “Analytics” and choose the “Overview” section.
3. Next, select the “People you reach” tab to get the demographic info about your audience.
4. Next, click on the “Interest” section to learn more about your audience’s interests.
5. Next, check the “Profile” tab to get the analytic info of your pins.
6. Finally, choose the “All time” option to get the analytical data from your account’s beginning.

So, these are just pointers; let us show you more details.

Pinterest audit: Detailed step-by-step guidelines.

For marketers, Pinterest is a gold mine. It’s a site that focuses on visual content. It also has a fantastic analytics page.

Step #1: If you still need a business account, I want you to upgrade your account. It’s free to upgrade. To get started, first log in to your Pinterest account.

Step #2: Go to the top-left corner and pick “Analytics” and “Overview.”

Here you will find data about your pin’s impression, engagements, and other analytic data in the overview. These first two indicators help track the progress of your account.

Understanding what material works well, like you usually see in Facebook analytics, can help you provide more valuable data for your future content. In addition, it will improve your interaction and pins even more.

Identify which type of content works best for your audience.

Step #3: To learn more about your Pinterest follower’s demographics, click on the arrow next to “People you reach.” You’ll learn about your audience’s location, age, gender, and native language.

Step #4: The “Interests” page displays the categories your audiences are interested in.

Make a note of them in your excel sheet. You might produce additional material in these categories in the future to see whether your followers like them.

Step #5: On the “Profile” tab, you’ll see your pins, views saved, and clicks.

The essential statistics here are probably saved and clicked. By looking at which posts receive the most saves from the audiences, you can choose which information to prioritize and reduce. It also displays which pins are bringing the most visitors to your site.

Step #6: When you choose the “All-Time” option, you’ll see which pins receive the most engagements, saves, and clicks are the most popular in searches. Identify if there are any commonalities amongst the pins with the most positive feedback. You should record this in your excel sheet.

Remember to make a note of any important information you find. Then, if you do it correctly, your database should be complete with helpful information for audit.

Instagram audit: Quick steps.

Instagram is one of the best and most effective social media platforms for food, furniture, clothes, and entertainment business. So, how should you audit an Instagram business account?

Here are simple steps for you to follow:

1. First, log in to your Instagram business account.
2. Next, access your “Instagram insight” by making your profile public.
3. Then, click on the “statistic” icon at the top of your post to see the “insights.”
4. Next, check the “Follower” section to get the audience demographic information.
5. Next, analyze your Instagram posts by clicking on the “view info.”
6. Finally, check the “Action” section for audience engagement statistics.

That’s it. However, read the guidelines below to learn details with visual illustrations.

Instagram audit: Detailed step-by-step procedures.

For food, fashion, cosmetic, and furniture businesses, Instagram is a perfect social platform. Instagram has more than 1.35 billion users. Furthermore, most US companies are currently utilizing it to contact clients.

Step#1: Log in to your Instagram business account. Note that Instagram Insights are only available if you have a business account. It is a built-in analytics tool that will let you measure performance. Unfortunately, it will not provide you with analytic data about the post you publish before upgrading to a business account.

However, it will show you data about the posts you make after that.

Step #2: To access “Instagram Insights,” ensure that your Instagram profile is public.

Switch from a personal to a commercial Instagram account – you can link your account to a Facebook Page. If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to establish one. Not to worry, you do not need to submit anything; all that is required is that it exists.

Need help with how to do it? No worries, here’s a quick video for you to check out.

Step #3: It is available through your account and your specific posts, as you can see below.

You’ll get a broad summary of your Instagram business account if you visit Insights.

You will also find below statistical information:

• Impressions.
• Post organic and paid reach.
• Profile impression.

Step #4: The “Followers” section offers some fundamental demographic data about your followers on Instagram.

Click ‘See more in the upper right for more information about your followers. It will draw up two additional graphs—when your audiences actively browse their Instagram account newsfeed.

The other one shows the most active days. You may use it to identify the best day and time to publish.

Step #5: Next, analyzing the performance of your images is a smart move. You may utilize some methods to do this. For example, you may first choose a single post and click on the button “View Info.“

Step #6: The top appears for engagements, i.e., likes, saves, and comments. Instagram shows you the statistics of profile views, engagements, followers, and link clicks you are getting under the section “Actions.“

Because hashtags are a significant element of Instagram’s marketing, invest some time to discover the most popular ones.

Think about adding something to your table.

Over time the less efficient hashtags will be removed and replaced with better hashtags. The second way is to visit the Insights homepage postal area.

Click on the option, and it will show all posts and impressions from last year.

You may also sort it by date, the genre of a post, and metrics like comments and likes. You may make use of this in a variety of ways.

For example, you may filter by post to see whether your followers prefer images, videos, or other content. Then, if you analyze the comments section, you’ll see which content types or CTA attract the most attention.

Recommended Reading: What are the Best 6 Types of Social Media for Online Marketing?

Conclusion.

A social media audit is simple enough. You may finish your audit within less than half an hour if you follow the steps given in this guide. In addition, all social media site provides data and audience insights that are essential for your audit.

If you are dedicated and learn what we have taught you, you’ll be able to audit any business page or account from any social network. They’ll help you strengthen your marketing techniques and communicate with your target audience. The elements of a good audit are preparation and organization. That is why a primary excel database is so helpful.