A Media Audit is a powerful way of assessing the effectiveness of an organization’s social media presence and performance. By analyzing available data and insights, businesses can create tangible goals and track their progress against them. It is useful for helping organizations understand how to maximize their social impact.
What is a social media audit?
A media audit comprehensively analyzes an organization’s current presence and engagement on social media channels. It requires an assessment of the organization’s existing content strategy to identify what is working well and what can be improved to increase visibility and reach in front of its target audience. This involves creating and using analytics tools to compile reports that track how often the brand posts, which platforms generate more engagement than others, audience demographics and interests, competitor performance and more. Data gathered through a social media audit can help inform decisions around creating effective goals and campaigns to reach their audiences better online.
How often should a social media audit be completed?
Conduct a media audit regularly to assess the effectiveness and reach of a business’s online presence. Depending on the size and scope of the business, audits should be completed every month, quarter or year to ensure that efforts are aligned with short- and long-term goals. An audit will allow businesses to monitor relevant data such as website visits, followers, impressions, brand sentiment, engagement metrics and conversions to implement necessary changes. Identify subtle trends in analytical data allowing for better-informed decisions regarding marketing efforts. By conducting regular audits, companies can stay up to date with their digital strategies helping them remain competitive in today’s ever-evolving digital landscape.
What are the red flags to watch for when conducting a social media audit?
When conducting a media audit, it is important to keep an eye out for potential red flags that may indicate larger issues down the road. These include low engagement rates, growth rate abnormalities, frequently changing uploads or posts, follower account irregularities such as numerous followers from foreign countries, irregular patterns regarding days and times of uploads or posts, and quality or content discrepancies. Pay attention to consumer sentiment by looking for negative comments or pointed inquiries that appear on your accounts with no response. If trending topics in customer feedback don’t align with current focus areas, it could signal a need to revise direction and messaging. An overall lack of customer satisfaction should set off alarm bells. Keeping tabs on these various factors can help identify areas that need improvement and prevent damage control scenarios caused by neglected social channel management.
How to analyze the results of a media audit?
An analysis of the results of a media audit should include an evaluation of both quantitative and qualitative data and an assessment of the actionable insights derived from the data. The qualitative information includes customer sentiment, the type and frequency of posted content, engagement rate, and other metrics. The quantitative data could include metrics such as mentions, shares, clicks and views that can help inform decisions on further optimizing social media presence or strategy. Analyzing these metrics together paints a picture for understanding how effective a brand’s social media presence is compared to its competitors.
When should a re-strategy be completed based on the results of a media audit?
When doing a complete re-strategize after a social media audit, it is important to consider the amount of time that has passed since the last audit. It may be time for a reassessment if it has been over 6-12 months. It is important to assess whether there have been any major changes in the demographics of your target audience and changes in the landscape of social media itself. If you do not see an uptick in engagement or other desired outcomes (e.g., leads or sales), take a step back and re-strategize your current approach.
