5 Steps to Review and Revitalise your Social Media
By Emily Rhodes
It’s no secret that behind any successful social media marketing lies a social strategy - a plan and aim of what you want to achieve, who you want to target and through which channels.
You know having a social media strategy is important, but squeezed for time, the familiar overwhelm can sink in and leave you thinking ‘where to start’?
This often results in sporadic or inconsistent content that lacks engagement and that all-important reach. No reach = no growth…
You can’t build a house without foundations and you can’t create a winning social media strategy without first knowing where you’re at. Conducting a quick social media audit can give you a clear picture of your starting point and highlight any areas for improvement.
We’ve put together a checklist to help you bag some easy wins!
1. Collation
Firstly, you want to know where you are online. Note down in a table all social media accounts you regularly use along with follower count, URL and the date of the last activity. This will give you a good starting point and make it easier to record platform progress.
Think of all your social media accounts - including those you created on a whim that may be inactive. Conduct a search engine browse and social media dive to locate these legacy accounts and close them down.
2. Completion and Consistency
Once you have rounded up all your relevant platforms, it’s time to take a thorough look at each one in more detail. Start by checking each platform is complete. Many platforms will highlight where info is missing, like LinkedIn which is a great platform for prompting you to fill in vacant sections.
But don’t stop while you’re ahead, now make sure all details across the platforms are consistent and on-brand with the same imagery, links and wording.
Questions to ask yourself…
Are the profile pictures and cover images the same? (Refer to your brand guidelines)
Do all Bio’s and About’s match up? (Refer to your tone of voice guide)
Are all URL’s uniform and working?
3. Consider
Now take a look at the people you’re trying to reach and who is engaging with your content. Some networks such as Facebook and Twitter will highlight the demographic of your profiles users. Ideally, this data should be synonymous across all platforms and align with your target market.
Researching and using the relevant hashtags for your keyword, is a great way to make sure your content is reaching the right people. Tools such as best-hashtag.com are handy for this.
4. Content
Analyse your posts and identify which performed the best. This will highlight what content works and what doesn’t. Looking at each platform’s analytics will show you the performance of each piece in terms of Impressions, Engagement & Reach.
This data should help shape which future content to create.
5. Competitors
Taking note of what other brands are doing in your field can give you inspiration for ways to improve your own social media.
Make a list of the key players and their social media accounts, go through the same steps you did for your own profile. This can give you a broader understanding of what works with your target audience and could even identify areas for you to do better.
Speaking of competitor research, I’ve written a previous post all about market research, check it out here.
If you’re looking for straight-talking, BS-free marketing advice, check out our services page for more details.