How to Conduct Your Own Social Media Audit
Important topic today: making sure your social media presence is ACTUALLY working by (drumroll please)... Setting yourself up for success.
As we've talked about before, investing time and money into social media for your business is only worth it if it benefits your bottom line. What does that look like? It could be generating new client leads, growing loyalty among your existing customers, making online sales, or something else. The point is...
Your social media needs to be working for you.
And in order to leverage those social platforms, it's important to have your business's presence set up well from the get-go. You're not doing yourself any favors by creating whack profiles or sharing completely off-base content. In fact, that hurts, rather than helps, your business!
We've worked with lots of small businesses on creating on-brand social media profiles and content. By now we've developed a keen eye at spotting what you're doing right – and wrong. We offer professional social media audits, but you know we believe in transparency and empowerment to benefit small businesses.
So we're not going to hoard these key social media red flags to ourselves.
If you're the DIY type, this one's for you! We've put together a downloadable guide to your social media audit and are going to walk you through each point right here. So let's jump right in and get this show on the road.
Ready? Open up all of your social media profiles and let's check them over!
Let's start our social media audit for small businesses:
1. CONSISTENCY is key!
Keep these elements consistent across ALL your social media profiles:
• Your @handle or username
Keeping your @handle the same across all of your social media accounts helps customers find you and allows you to build a secure brand profile. We're @hootdesignco on all of the networks we use – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Periscope, and Vimeo – and ones that we're kinda-sorta scoping out to use in the future, like Twitch.
• Logo or submark
Make sure to use an up-to-date logo, submark, or icon across all of your social media profiles to be immediately recognizable to your audience. (Psst... Need a rebrand?)
[Related: The difference between a logo and a brand, as explained by pandas]
• Name (!)
Especially if you're on the personal account/business account border, you'll want to make sure you have ONE name on all social media sites. If you're in the middle of transitioning (like we have been for a while!) we suggest converting them slowly, at a pace that seems right for the platform.
• Description
Your descriptions don't have to be EXACTLY the same, but you want whatever short bio you use on your social media accounts to be similar and on-brand.
• Website link
Social media is a key part of your sales funnel.
[Related: How to funnel customers to your website again and again]
You want to use social media outreach to convert fans to customers by bringing them to your site (through your blog, most likely!), where they can find your products, contact, upcoming events, etc.
Think about it: If your social media audience just stays on social media, who's benefitting – your business, or Facebook's business? Facebook's business. YOU benefit from converting social media traction into sales; Facebook benefits from interaction that stays on Facebook.
2. PLATFORM PITFALLS.
Now it's time to go deeper into Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. For social media marketing on each platform, make sure you check the following things:
• Your business location, contact information and hours, and description are all up to date
• The tone, imagery and voice of your recent posts [Related: How to write with voice]
• Your cover image is on-brand and relevant
• You've included a Facebook call to action (and it's on-brand and makes sense!)
• At least 1/3 of your posts direct your audience to your website instead of keeping them on Facebook
[Related: How to Create an Effective Facebook Post that Drives Traffic]
• At a glance, your overarching color palette is coherent and on-brand
• You're using consistent lighting and mood in photos
• Your imagery is on-brand
• You've created a good balance between different types of content (like promotional posts, behind the scenes posts, and aesthetic posts)
[Related: Which Social Media Platform is Right for Your Small Business?]
• Your profile accent color is on-brand and appropriate (readable)
• Your followers-to-following ratio isn't spammy
• Your website link and location are both correct
• Your cover image is on-brand and sized appropriately
[Related: How to Get Started on Twitter – the Beginner Guide We Wish We Had]
• You've created a coherent look across your board covers
• Your boards are arranged in a way that puts the most relevant content first
• Your boards are appealing to your dream customer and build you as expert
• All boards are described accurately and use keywords
• You're pinning your own content and that of others
[Related: Why Pinterest Has Huge Potential for Your Small Business Marketing]
Did your social media profiles stand up to the test?
As networks continue to evolve, it can feel like a race to keep up with the latest trends.
We're all for pushing into new areas, but it's important to make sure your social media marketing is built on a strong foundation. Keep it consistent!
What's your biggest difficulty in social media? Shoot us a message to let us know!
Need some help? Check out our social media marketing services.
Hoot Design Co. is a marketing, branding, and design agency located in Columbia, MO. We specialize in creating a custom and comprehensive marketing strategy centered around your business's unique strengths and educating you with the tools you need from day one. From logo design to brand identity, website design and execution, and social media marketing strategies in-person and through online courses, we're focused on your business success every step of the way.