Why Your Business Needs a Social Media Audit
Social media marketing has become increasingly popular in recent years as marketers scramble for business opportunities on various social platforms. Moreover, the ever-growing social media user base presents an enticing market for businesses. As a result, more than 93% of businesses now have a social media presence.
Unfortunately, few businesses benefit from their social media campaigns. In fact, many small businesses find social media a “waste of time” and resources. There are various reasons why social media marketing can suddenly feel like a waste of time and resources. However, a social media audit can help and is key to boosting campaigns and traffic.
What is a Social Media Audit?
A social media audit is a process of reviewing your business’ social media operations. It allows you to uncover and seal loopholes while discovering new marketing and growth opportunities.
A standard social media audit involves reviewing your profile information and audience demographics. You will also evaluate your engagement data, publishing metrics, channel metrics, and referral traffic. This allows your business to establish an outlook of your social media marketing campaigns.
Benefits of a Social Media Marketing Audit
Every business with a social media presence needs a social media audit for the following seven reasons:
1. Discover what’s working and what isn’t
A social media audit allows you to determine if our current methods work. For instance, do the posts you publish and the influencers you use have a positive return on investment? Are you hitting your goals and objectives? From there, you can determine what needs to change.
2. Set SMART(er) goals and objectives
Upon discovering what works and what doesn’t, marketers can set more Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals. This is important because setting realistic goals keeps your team on track. They also allow you to measure success more easily. Consider staffing allocations; putting the right people in the right places can help boost outcomes.
3. Better understand your audience
It is very important to try and understand your social media audience. Fully appreciating their needs allows you to improve your products and offers. It also gives you the information necessary to better package your marketing messages. Targeting posts better can also translate to increased engagement and more leads.
4. Better understand your competitors
A social media audit provides the data necessary to compete against the best businesses in your industry. It tells you what your close competitors do differently, what they don’t do, and what they do better. It also measures your KPIs against industry benchmarks to reveal areas where you need to improve.
5. Uncover leads and sales opportunities
We’ve already seen that social media audits enable you to identify what you’re doing right and where you’re lagging. This can help you discover opportunities for lead conversion and sales. For instance, you may uncover new markets or discover previously-unknown marketing channels.
6. Shrewder budgeting
Social media marketing can be very expensive. According to the Content Factory, the average organization spends $200 to $350 per day on social media marketing, translating to $72,000 to $126,000 yearly. Interestingly, according to AD Parlor, 20% to 50% of this amount goes to waste. Thus, a social media audit helps organizations minimize waste through better budgeting and planning.
7. Greater marketing efficiency
The above benefits usually lead to greater marketing efficiency and ultimately can increase revenue and profitability. For instance, understanding your audience better reduces the risk of publishing poorly written posts. Similarly, careful budgeting eliminates waste, thus giving your business higher profit margins.
Summary
A social media audit is the first step to a high-ROI social media marketing campaign. It helps you identify opportunities for improvement and growth while weeding outdated methods and data. The result is more conversions, higher revenue, and bigger profits.
