Have you ever felt like your content just wasn’t resonating the way it used to? Seen changes take place on the accounts you manage and weren’t sure the best way to adjust?

It happens (and probably more often than we like).

The fact is — audiences change — and we must be ready to change with them. There’s many ways to try and keep up with these changes. One which I’ve suggested to those I’ve worked with and consulted is a two-week social media content audit.

What is a Content Audit?

Content IS king — the content audit helps to ensure you’re sharing the right content.

Simple in theory, a content audit is slightly more complicated in reality. How often do you sit down and take a look at your content over a pre-determined span of time and measure what works (and what doesn’t). It’s a task that can require sometime — but in the long-run, when conducted can provide valuable information and help you find better reach and stronger engagement.

It’s important to note that an audit is more than just taking a data sheet from Facebook and looking at it, it’s a planned out document which includes specific information that may not be provided. By adding the content manually you’re also able to better track specific trends throughout which will make analysis much easier when the audit is over.

How Long Should a Content Audit Last?

This is up to you, the account or community manager. That said, the most important thing is that you get real results. Since an audit will likely take quite a bit of time on the side of one’s normal duties, it’s a good idea to be realistic on what you can afford to do versus the time it will require to capture enough data.

My general suggestion is to conduct a social media content audit twice a year for approximately two weeks. You can certainly do it more often than this — but as I’ve said — it can be a time consuming process depending on the number of accounts you may have or the amount of content you are currently producing.

Alright, I’d Like To Start A Content Audit — Where Do I Begin?

Determine where you’re content needs the most improving based on current social media analytics. If you’ve got any networks where you’ve seen a decrease in your engagement, for example, that may be the place to start. You’re welcome to do more than one network at a time, but I personally suggest tracking them on a different excel file or Google Doc. Make sure to utilize the column filter tools provided to help you analyze the data after.

What Kind of Data Should I Capture?

Remember, you’re trying to determine what kind of content is BEST resonating with your audience. There are many factors in play here — from the way the content is worded to the type of content you’re providing.

Here’s just a few suggestions that may assist you — though this is by no means a one size fits all list.

• Copy of the content (text)
• Did it use an image (yes or no)
• What type of image (include link if possible)
• What type of content was it?
• Image? Link? Photo Album? Text only?
• Category
• Suggestion: Provide a key to make it easy to define which content fits in a given category. Don’t try to push into subcategories unless you have the time to do so — as they’ll add to the already time consuming process.
• Keywords (What words stand out in the content)
• You may be able to later define a key connection between content performing well with a certain keyword (or vice versa)
• Metrics
• Depending on the social network, include key metrics in relation to the ultimate goal of your audit. If you’re frustrated by your lack of engagement, for example, ensure you’re keeping an eye on those key analytics (comments, likes of post, ect.)

Ultimately, the audit can help you track whatever it is you feel is needed. These examples should help you get started.

Analyzing Your Results

After conducting your audit for the previously determined length of time, take a look to try and see if you can pick up on any trends. Using the filter tools (as previously discussed), you should be able to see which posts did the best (with regards to the set goals) and what they had in common with one another.

If you have a social team, bring the results back to them and discuss. Utilize this document to improve your current social offering and put the record on file for future reference.

End Notes:

A content audit can certainly take up time — even if you are pulling information directly from an account (such as Facebook’s Page Post analytics), you will still need to update information on your document to reflect other key pieces of the audit — so there’s no truly “quick” way to do an audit.

The value of an audit cannot be stressed. To learn what works and what doesn’t in a social media world which is always changing — is in valuable to both you and your audience. By delivering a better experience to your fans or followers, you are building brand loyalists who will help you expand your product — from an education at a university to a product on a shelf — above and beyond your simple wall post.