How to perform a social media audit in 10 simple steps
To carry out your own social media performance audit, follow these basic steps.
1. Take inventory of active and inactive social profiles
The first step is to create a centralized list of all your social media accounts, including those that are inactive or used infrequently. List out usernames, URLs, and account owners to keep the details organized.
You’ll use this information during your audit, and it also highlights what you may be missing. For example, if you haven’t created an account on a newer social media platform, such as Threads, it will be obvious when it’s not on the list.
It’s also a good idea to search platforms for unofficial accounts that use your brand name. Whether these accounts are impostors or coincidences, they can hurt your brand’s reputation. Misleading or inappropriate posts can damage your public image, and potential customers could interact with the wrong accounts, leading to missed opportunities. Report any accounts that infringe on your intellectual property to maintain control of your brand’s online footprint.
Having multiple accounts is an essential practice in the current social media marketing landscape, but it can be difficult to manage. Tools like ‘s calendar and profile switcher make it easier to manage all of your social media touchpoints from one place.
2. Define specific goals for each network
Determining how your social media goals help you achieve broader organizational objectives is the next step. Each platform offers different opportunities, so understanding their strengths and choosing the most effective places for different types of content helps you attain success faster. For example:
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YouTube:
Long-form videos can educate your audience about products and services.
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X:
Brief posts let you easily give real-time updates to followers.
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Instagram:
Reels, stories, and carousels offer countless changes for engagement.
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LinkedIn:
Posts bring brand awareness to professional audiences.
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TikTok:
Virality on this platform can lead to free brand visibility.
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Facebook:
This social media staple is excellent for community building and fostering customer loyalty.
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Threads:
Engaging posts on Threads can drive conversations and traffic to other pages and sites.
With clear goals mapped out, you can determine which platforms to allocate more resources to. Most companies will want to engage their audiences on multiple social media platforms for optimal results. Using ‘s content calendar helps you easily organize and post on various accounts and channels from one centralized location.
3. Check for brand consistency across platforms
Keeping a uniform style and tone across all platforms minimizes confusion and reinforces brand identity. You’ll need to check that your overall messaging is consistent with your style guide and that features like profile pictures, colors, and bios match. Verifying your usernames are consistent across platforms makes it easier for users to locate and trust your accounts.
You’ll also need to check that links and URLs work and are up to date. Using ‘s Link in Bio tool is an easy solution to make your content clickable and easier to find. By incorporating this customizable mini webpage into your brand’s bios on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, you’ll be able to track sales and direct users to your website and mailing lists. The tool also allows you to handle all links through one platform.
4. Open up your social media analytics
To understand what’s working and what isn’t, use social media analytics tools from or the native platform to track and analyze key metrics. Useful KPIs to take note of include:
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Impressions:
The total number of times users saw your content, including repeat views
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Engagement rate:
The percentage of users who interact with your content
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Reach:
The number of unique viewers for each post or video
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Click-through rate:
The percentage of people who choose to view your content
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Vanity metrics:
Counts such as likes, shares, subscribers, comments, and views that indicate how popular your content is
These metrics allow you to track progress and determine results. Use this insight to make data-driven decisions on which areas to focus your efforts.
5. Identify your top-performing content
Review all of your social media channels, but pay particular attention to those you plan to invest more resources in. Find the top posts and note the links so you can look over them later.
Pay attention to the platforms, formats, and content types that are getting the results you want. Remember, an X post with a lot of likes might not be as valuable as a less-liked post that brought about more conversions. Determine which metrics are most important to achieving your goals and base your top performers on those.
Study the posts, videos, and other content that have done the best, looking for similarities that equate to success. You can then use high-performing content as a template for future success. For instance, if an Instagram Carousel performed very well, you can use ‘s caption generator to replicate the voice used in the text for other Instagram posts or other channels.
6. Map out your traffic funnel
Carefully coordinating your social media strategy helps you build an effective marketing funnel. Plot out the journey a potential customer can take from finding out about your brand to making a purchase.
For example, you can spread brand awareness and expand your visibility through TikTok posts. When viewers interested in your engaging content want to learn more, they go to your profile page. There, they can click on the “Link in Bio”, which directs them to a landing page offering a free newsletter sign-up. Once they sign up for the newsletter, you can send them information and promotions directly via email to encourage them to purchase your product or service.
There are various ways a traffic funnel can generate leads and conversions. Map out appropriate strategies for each social media channel and make adjustments as needed to get the results you want.
7. Analyze audience demographics
During your audit, you may be surprised by how each platform’s demographics differ. It’s crucial to study the data and realize who you are promoting your brand to for each social media platform.
Each platform’s native insights combined with ‘s tools can help you determine crucial metrics such as the age, region, interests, and behaviors of your viewers.
8. Evaluate new platform opportunities
Tech companies are constantly developing new platforms, and you never know which one will be popular in the future. At the very least, choose a username that aligns with your brand on each one. Consider whether these new platforms align with your overall goals and fit the content you produce.
Be open-minded and look for opportunities that can unlock new audiences. You can often repurpose content from one platform to create a presence on a different platform. For example, if you want to give Pinterest a try, you can find pictures that you’ve previously posted on Instagram and Facebook to get your account off the ground and see where it goes.
9. Set updated objectives and content actions
With the data gathered from your social media audit, you can begin pursuing new routes and strategies. You’ll now have insights into your current strengths and weaknesses that you can use for direction.
Set platform-specific priorities and KPIs to keep yourself on the path to success. Also, look into helpful tools such as ‘s social media content calendar to optimize workflows and use fewer resources.
10. Share your audit with your team
For the new strategies and content to be effective, everyone involved needs to know the results of the social media audit. Create a one-page summary that details all of the metrics and findings across platforms.
Assign actionable steps for team members to follow to start down the new path. To optimize your new workflow, use to schedule future posts based on the data-driven insights you’ve uncovered with the audit.
