It’s important for companies to conduct social media audits regularly so they can see how their social channels are performing and whether they’re reaching the desired goals.
However, no matter how effective a social media strategy from a business might seem, it’s not going to be truly effective unless it’s tied to the target audience and their interests or needs.
Original Goals
The first step in conducting a social media audit that a company needs to take is to go back to the beginning of the business and revisit the core goals that the company had. The goal of this process is to see how the company’s current social media strategy is performing in terms of those original goals.
Then, the company should make a list of all of its market competitors and research to see if their social media strategy is similar to the company’s own. Every niche and market has different quirks, and the odds are that most of the competitors of a business tend to follow a strategy that aligns with the standards the audience is set.
Doing this type of research allows companies to better understand whether their own strategies measure up in the market. The idea here isn’t to copy the strategy of the competitors but to see whether the company’s strategy aligns with its competitors.
Next, the business should compare the current social media strategy to the ones that it used when it first started operating and figure out which tactics worked and didn’t, whether there’s been any progress, and which parts should be improved upon or abandoned.
After doing all of those steps, companies should have enough information to understand what’s going on with their positioning and figure out if there’s any misalignment between the overall brand goals and the strategy that’s being used.
Audience
It’s important for companies to listen to their target audiences so they can better cater to their needs. Unfortunately, according to a recent study, 4 out of 5 customers have stated that they didn’t feel like companies really knew them as individuals.
Through audience research and social listening, companies can learn more about who their customers truly are and what they think of a business.
These strategies can also help companies get more information about their consumer’s pain points and which communications channels they prefer to use when interacting with brands and corporations.
The right social media campaigns can change the perception that the public has of a brand and even attract new customers, as long as the campaign is focused on the customers and solving their pain points, and not the brand itself.
Another effective strategy that companies can use to learn more about their target audiences is conducting surveys using open-ended questions that allows the survey participants to elaborate on their answers further.
This way, companies can get even more insights that can determine how to best create a social media strategy that’s tailored to the target audience.
Mike Paffmann is the CEO of Virgo PR. He has previously worked as a Vice President at Clarity PR, 5WPR, and Highwire PR.
Virgo PR is a full-service digital marketing and digital PR agency that caters to clients in all industries. Paffmann has over a decade of experience in the public relations industry and has provided diverse media relations programs for brands and corporations across enterprise, software, eCommerce, technology, and consumer apps of all sizes. He has worked with clients including IBM, Genies, Glint, Rebel Ventures, AppAnnie, Owl Labs, car2go, Vkanesee, and more.
