As an influencer, your office is your online presence, and your reputation on social media is as crucial as that in your workplace. The online space can be enticing and filled with opportunities for engagement and connection. However, it also comes with its challenges, from mild picture misrepresentations to more serious issues like online conflicts. In this context, conducting a social media audit becomes not just a good practice but a necessity.
Performing a social media audit is a valuable exercise for influencers looking to evaluate and enhance their online presence. This process provides insights into the alignment of your social media efforts with your business goals, highlighting top-performing content and platforms. It also offers a closer look at your audience, shedding light on their preferences and behaviors.
How to Perform a Social Media Audit to Evaluate Your Online Presence
To maintain a positive online presence, performing a social media audit is a crucial first step. This process helps you understand how well your social media efforts align with your goals, revealing your top-performing content and platforms. Let’s explore how you can conduct a comprehensive social media audit:
1. Identify Every Social Media Platform You Use
Begin by listing all the social media platforms you’re active on, which can be traced back to you or your brand. While major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Twitter are common, remember that this isn’t an exhaustive list.
2. Compare Your Profiles and Ensure Consistency
Ensure that the information on all your social media accounts is consistent. Beyond matching profile and banner images, tone of voice, and location, verify critical details like your contact information, website URL, and bio.
3. Find Out What Works for Your Audience
Dig deeper into your audience demographics on each platform using built-in analytics tools or third-party platforms. Understand your audience’s age, gender, location, interests, and more. This insight can inform your strategy and content creation.
4. Determine How Well Your Current Strategy Is Working
Analyze your content to identify the best-performing and worst-performing posts for each social profile. Use engagement metrics such as likes, comments, shares, or other KPIs aligned with your objectives. Evaluate the reasons behind the success or failure of these posts.
5. Consider Post Frequency and Timing
Review your posting frequency on each platform and ensure it aligns with best practices. Timing is also crucial—understand when your audience is most active on each platform and tailor your posting schedule accordingly.
6. Always Be on the Lookout for Questionable Content
Identify potentially harmful content on social media promptly. Review comments for harm, check for content that may incite harassment or violence, identify outdated content, and be wary of false information. Use content filtering and moderation tools to manage harmful content effectively.
Cleaning Up Different Social Media Platforms
For a proper social media cleanup, you must delve into old posts, email addresses, and forgotten accounts linked to you. A comprehensive review of the platforms you’ve been on the longest, even if not actively used, is essential. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter each have their own cleanup processes.
- For Facebook: Navigate to your profile, tap the three dots, and select “Activity log.” Manage your posts by selecting and removing, archiving, or deleting them for an efficient cleanup.
- For Instagram: Manually remove photos and videos from your feed by going to your profile, selecting the post, tapping the three dots, and choosing “Delete” or “Archive” to hide them.
- For Twitter: Remove tweets manually or use specific keywords to search for potentially damaging content, allowing for a streamlined audit process.
4 Practical Steps for Effective Social Media Cleanup
The following steps provide a practical guide for cleaning up your social media history:
- Deleting Inappropriate Posts and Comments: Review your profile for inappropriate content and promptly remove posts and comments with profanity, excessive drinking, drug use, or illegal activity. Leaving harmful posts can have significant repercussions.
- Archiving Old Posts: Instead of deleting, consider archiving posts that didn’t perform well but are otherwise harmless. For highly damaging posts, it’s advisable to delete them. Archiving allows for future visibility if needed.
- Updating Your Profile: Ensure consistent display names and profile pictures, use high-quality images, include relevant keywords or promotions in your bio, and maintain a consistent level of quality across all accounts.
- Managing Tagged Photos and Posts: Check tagged photos on Facebook and Instagram, removing tags from inappropriate or problematic photos. Untagging on Instagram is simple, while on Facebook, navigate to your profile, tap on the photo, select “More Options,” and then tap “Remove Tag.”
Leveraging Tools and Techniques for Social Media Cleanup
Several social media management solutions, such as Google Trends and Google Alerts, can aid in tracking performance and analytics. These tools help analyze keyword usage, track mentions across platforms, and identify potential issues that require cleanup.
Regular Reviews and Clean-Up Sessions
Maintaining a positive online presence requires ongoing efforts. Regularly review your social media profiles, remove negative posts, and eliminate inactive or fake accounts to streamline your presence. As societal norms evolve, regularly cleaning up your social media ensures relevance and alignment with current trends.
Navigating the Social Media Clean-Up Process
Rebuilding control over your narrative after reputation damage is challenging but possible. Reflect on the factors leading to the damage, be truthful about the situation, and focus on slowly rebuilding trust. Authentically presenting yourself aligns your online persona with your online presence.
Transform Social Media Maintenance into a Habit
A robust social media strategy involves creating engaging content on the right platforms while minimizing risky content. Consistently producing positive content and conducting regular cleanups allows you to build engagement, show your audience the value you bring, and maintain a positive online image. Your online reputation is your brand, and with strategic maintenance, you can ensure it aligns with your goals and aspirations.
