Fundamentals of a good social media audit
New year, new opportunity … to audit!
Like many people, you probably have some rituals associated with the start of a new year. For example, I fill a box with my records from the previous year and set up my top file drawer with a new set of folders for the new one. The new year is also a great time to either do or plan your next social media audit.
I know – nothing says please stop reading now more than the word “audit.” But before you pull a Homer Simpson retreating into the bushes maneuver, stick with me.
Here’s why doing a social media audit is important:
Inventory. It is astonishing how many companies don’t know how many social media accounts they have. Or they know about the accounts but have been locked out of some of them (read my post on that here). One of my first fundamental rules of social media governance is that you have to know what you’ve got and be in control of it all. If you don’t have a good inventory – an audit is a great place to start.
Safety. Most companies do not pay enough attention to the security of their social media – you may be leaving your brand’s online presence open to cyber criminals, hacking, etc. You spend a lot of money to protect your brand – protect it on social media, too.
Defense. Good and accurate records are the key to defending yourself and your team if the poop emoji hits the fan. If there’s a major crisis or incident, being able to clearly say who had access, who was granted permission, etc. can save you. Records are also super important if you work for a large company with an actual audit department. If they haven’t worked their way around to auditing social media, they will.
Liability. Departing employees don’t get to keep their access to the company network and email, but for some reason companies have not yet figured out that access to social media accounts is something that also needs to be addressed. If someone has access to your social media accounts after they leave the company or your agency, that is the definition of unnecessary risk. And if those employees do something they shouldn’t, you can create quite the headache trying explain why an ex-employee was in there in the first place.
Regulatory compliance. I know it’s not sexy, but companies are responsible for making sure they comply with social media guidelines from the FTC, plus laws like GDPR in Europe and the new California Consumer Privacy Act. If you think these things don’t matter, let me just say that the fines being levied for violating GDPR are substantial - $40 or $50 million in some cases. Try explaining that to your C-suite. And if you work in a regulated industry like financial services, there very well may be additional requirements for archiving, post-level auditing and compliance.
OK. So – now that I’ve convinced you that you need to DO a social media audit, what does that mean? In the interest of not turning this post into a novel, I’ll settle for simply providing you a list of things a good social media audit should include. If any of these is of special interest to you or you’d like me to expound on any of them, please say so in the comments!
A proper social media audit should include:
An inventory of all social media accounts on all platforms and who is responsible for them.
An inventory of all advertising accounts being used for social media on all platforms and who is responsible for them.
All of the related login information for all accounts, including usernames, passwords, email addresses and phone numbers associated with those accounts. Note that for some things like YouTube accounts, you may need the login credentials for the underlying Google/Gmail account too.
Examine all accounts for third-party apps that are connected to the accounts. Verify why they are in use and remove any that are no longer being used or shouldn’t be there. Read my post on third-party apps here.
Branding – make sure the logo is the correct version, make sure the images are on brand and fit the spaces well (ie, cover images aren’t cropped oddly, images are not pixelated, etc.). Make sure the About or Bio section is filled out completely.
Activity – is the account posting actively and responding to comments and questions quickly? Or are the owners of the account letting it go dormant and leaving people hanging? Again – inactivity and lack of responsiveness in the end will damage your brand.
Other – remember that a proper audit should be a 360 degree view of your social media footprint. So don’t forget to audit anything else that you use in conjunction with your social media accounts, including especially tools you use to manage your social media like Hootsuite, Khoros, Sprinklr, etc.
Tools can help you accomplish some of this. Every company should have a password management tool (LastPass or Keeper Security are the leaders here), and any company doing social on more than a handful of accounts should consider a management platform like Hootsuite, TweetDeck or Khoros and Sprinklr for major enterprises. In addition, there’s a tool I like called Brandle, which helps you keep your inventory in a digital place and your audit process on track. (Mandatory disclosure: I don’t get paid by anyone to mention any of these specific tools.)
A proper social media audit may turn up dozens or even hundreds of individual issues with your accounts that need to be addressed. And though it’s not super fun, there is nothing like getting your house in order and understanding your social landscape completely. It will save you many headaches in the future!