How to Do a Social Media Audit in 10 Steps | Power Digital
by Camilo Valencia •
To remain competitive in today’s social media landscape—which includes more than 5 billion social network users worldwide—brands must stay on top of their online presence. Fortunately, a social media audit can serve as a valuable tool. With an audit, brands can understand their online performance and identify growth opportunities, helping them connect more meaningfully with their customers.
A successful social media audit evaluates every aspect of a brand’s online presence. While it may sound daunting, brands can adopt a clear, step-by-step approach to simplify the task and produce actionable insights.
Here’s how.
1. Set clear goals the audit
A social media audit can serve multiple purposes, such as measuring campaign success, analyzing customer behavior trends, and identifying areas for improvement.
As such, knowing how to do social media audits successfully starts with clarifying the brand’s primary goals. For instance, a business may aim to:
- Pinpoint underperforming platforms.
- Boost overall engagement.
- Refine their content strategy.
Defining these objectives in advance helps focus efforts and ensures the right metrics are prioritized to produce the most meaningful insights.
2. Gather all social media account details
Actively maintaining and monitoring social media account details across platforms is crucial for ensuring an impactful online presence. Otherwise, businesses can experience inconsistencies in brand messaging, abandoned accounts, and missed analytics.
Consolidating and organizing social media assets builds a strong foundation for the audit and streamlines ongoing social media management efforts.
To that end, businesses should compile all of the following information in one place:
- Platform credentials – Document all platform login information including handles, passwords, and administrator privileges.
- Account statistics – Record each platform’s current follower counts and monthly growth statistics.
- Content and content plans – Assemble publishing schedules and content folders across all social networks.
- Analytics tools – Confirm that all tracking, analytics, and reporting tools are correctly set up and active.
If there are other loose ends, such as integration with a marketing suite or customer relationship management (CRM) platform, add this information during this stage as well. Businesses should store this information in a centralized document or folder to ensure easy access for team members and facilitate efficient updates for future audits.
3. Evaluate profile consistency and branding
A unified brand identity fosters a professional image and strengthens market positioning, building trust and recognition with consumers—and that trust is crucial for building revenue. In fact, in a recent study, 60% of companies reported that branding consistency increased revenue growth by 10-20%.
During this step of the audit, businesses should evaluate:
- Visual elements – Assess profile images, cover photos, and overall design consistency according to predetermined visual branding standards.
- Brand voice – Review tone, messaging style, and communication patterns from the core social media team.
- Company information – Verify that all profile bios, business descriptions, and contact details are accurate and current.
- URL strategy – Check destination pages and tracking parameters for all links to and from social media pages.
During the audit process, businesses must also recognize that each platform presents unique challenges and opportunities for brand expression. For example, Instagram’s emphasis on visuals requires considerations different from those of LinkedIn’s professional environment. Document any inconsistencies and prioritize updates based on which platform is impacted the most.
Creating a standardized brand kit or dedicated space in existing brand kits for social media can help maintain consistency and streamline future updates. Additionally, establishing clear guidelines for how brand voice adapts across different platforms while maintaining core messaging ensures authentic communication that resonates with each platform’s audience.
4. Analyze content performance
Closely analyzing content performance can reveal what resonates most with a brand’s target audience. As such, businesses should consider tracking metrics like:
- Content type and topic – Analyze content types such as videos, single photos, carousel posts, and text to find the highest-performing formats. Similarly, consider which topics receive the most engagement.
- Performance – Track likes, comments, shares, and overall interactions. Visibility and audience growth patterns are also valuable metrics to monitor.
- Quality – Assess the engagement level of each post using clear, objective criteria. While the definition of quality varies between brands, maintaining consistent production standards is key to captivating audiences and reinforcing brand identity.
While this analysis highlights successful content strategies and areas for improvement, understanding the context behind the data is essential for meaningful insights.
For instance, high engagement on one platform might be considered low on another. As such, brands must establish a baseline for each metric based on historical performance and industry standards.
When analyzing content performance, consider the immediate impact and long-term value of each post. Also, track how different content types perform across various audience segments to inform future content strategies.
5. Review audience demographics and behavior
Converting demographic and behavioral data into a targeted content plan requires careful interpretation. Demographic data like age, gender, and location can provide valuable insights into the “who” and “where” of a brand’s audience, forming the foundation for targeted strategies.
Businesses can also gain more insight by studying an audience’s professional context, like industry affiliation, as well as behavioral patterns, like peak activity times or platform preferences.
Studying these audience behavior patterns can help predict content performance and guide resource allocation. For example, if data shows professional audience segments are most active around noon, brands can schedule high-impact content within that timeframe. Regular demographic analysis can also identify emerging audience segments and shifting preferences, allowing brands to proactively adapt their content strategies.
6. Assess engagement rates
Social media engagement rates provide crucial insight into how an audience connects with a brand’s content: High engagement indicates that content resonates with followers.
To accurately assess engagement rates, brands can:
- Calculate the total engagement rate by dividing total interactions (likes + comments + shares) by the total follower count for each platform, then multiplying by 100.
- Compare performance variations across different social networks and content types.
- Track long-term engagement patterns to identify trends in behavior.
- Evaluate the quality and depth of audience interactions beyond simple metrics.
Importantly, brands should keep in mind that what qualifies as good engagement can vary based on factors like industry or account size.
7. Audit competitors’ social media presence
By comparing their online presence to that of competitors, brands can identify gaps in their strategy and uncover new directions for growth.
A competitor audit should include:
- Identifying and tracking direct competitors’ social media presence and activity.
- Comparing analytics across platforms to track follower growth rates, engagement levels, and other metrics.
- Analyzing the quality and types of content competitors publish, as well as frequency.
- Reviewing competitors’ visual branding and messaging for consistency, paying attention to how they engage with users on social media and within the broader community.
This type of analysis can identify industry benchmarks and help brands uncover opportunities to distinguish themselves from the competition.
8. Evaluate paid social campaigns
Paid social media has the potential to boost the effectiveness of any social campaign. Even still, paid efforts should be carefully evaluated to ensure they drive engagement and foster a positive return on investment (ROI).
Evaluation should include:
- Tracking click-through rates and conversions.
- Measuring audience response rates to different ad formats and messages.
- Calculating the ROI across different campaign types.
These audit findings can be used to refine future campaign strategies and improve targeting metrics and ad creatives.
9. Identify gaps and opportunities
Any successful social media strategy must also fill gaps in marketing or expand existing growth opportunities. A thorough social media audit will identify and prioritize opportunities based on potential impact and available resources.
When completing this step, brands should consider:
- Reviewing each platform for underutilized features.
- Searching for new audience segments.
- Evaluating the potential impact of new platform features and tools.
- Highlighting areas of improvement, such as inactive profiles, under-performing platforms, and missing content types.
To leverage these opportunities effectively, organizations should monitor trending topics using platform-specific tools like X’s Trending section or Instagram’s Explore page. When a relevant trend emerges, brands can quickly develop content that adds value to the conversation and aligns with their services and offerings.
10. Create an action plan
To translate social media audit findings into an actionable plan, summarize key insights from gathered data. Then, outline specific next steps based on those conclusions and the goals established during step one of the audit. The action plan should also include detailed timelines for implementing changes.
Future audits should be scheduled (typically quarterly or bi-annually) to continuously monitor social media presence. These consistent evaluations will also help brands stay on top of emerging social media trends and avoid pitfalls in social strategy, ensuring their online presence remains aligned with evolving business goals.
Level up your social media strategy with Power Digital
A thorough social media audit allows brands to evaluate their existing social media strategy and target new areas for growth with data-backed insights. A systematic approach can simplify the process and set a standard for regular social media audits, allowing businesses to adapt to the ever-changing digital landscape.
If you’re ready to optimize your social media strategy and drive more brand recognition, contact Power Digital today for a consultation. Our team of consultative marketers, creatives, analysts, and technologists can help transform your social media presence into a powerful engine for brand awareness and revenue growth.
Sources:
Statista. Social Media Advertising and Marketing Worldwide – Statistics & Facts. https://www.statista.com/topics/1538/social-media-marketing/#topicOverview
Wisernotify. 51 Impactful Branding Statistics (New 2025 Data). https://wisernotify.com/blog/branding-stats/
Corporate Finance Institute. Engagement Rate. https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/valuation/engagement-rate/