Quick answer: A social media audit is a structured review of every profile you run, covering what exists, how consistent it looks, what performs and what to change. This version takes 60 minutes in six timed steps, ending with a start, stop and continue list. Run it each quarter and use the same template every time so results compare.
Key facts
- The audit has 6 steps and a 60-minute budget: 10 for preparation, 10 for the inventory, 10 for brand consistency, 15 for performance, 10 for audience and competitors, and 5 for decisions.
- Our recommendation is to repeat the audit every quarter, with a 15-minute check each month.
- On LinkedIn Page analytics, an impression counts when at least 50% of a post is in view for at least 300 milliseconds.
- LinkedIn defines engagement rate as clicks, likes, comments, shares and follows divided by impressions.
- Instagram's developer documentation describes reach as the number of unique accounts that have seen the content.
- Compare medians rather than averages when a few viral posts could distort your numbers.
What is a social media audit?
Set a timer for 60 minutes and look at your accounts the way a stranger would. That is the heart of a social media audit: a backward-looking review of what you have, how it looks, how it performs and what to do next.
An audit is not a strategy. A strategy looks forward, and our social media strategy template covers that. An audit also differs from competitor research, which has its own guide to social media competitor analysis. This post covers the review of your own accounts, with a short competitor snapshot at the end.
Run one when you take over an account, before you plan a new quarter, after a rebrand, or when results flatten and nobody knows why.
Before you start: access, data export and goals (10 minutes)
Preparation decides whether the next 50 minutes are productive. Gather three things first.
- Access: log in to every profile, or ask the owner to share analytics access. Note any account whose login nobody can find.
- Data: open the native analytics for each channel and set the date range to the last 90 days. Export to a sheet where the platform allows it.
- Goal: write one sentence stating what social media is supposed to achieve for the business.
Open a copy of the template below. You don't need a paid social media audit tool for a first pass, because native analytics and a spreadsheet cover everything in this process. A free social media audit built this way costs nothing but the hour.
Step 1: inventory every profile (10 minutes)
List every account the brand owns, including old, unofficial and abandoned ones. Search your brand name on each major platform to find profiles you forgot.
| Platform | Handle | Owner | Last post | Followers | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (name it) | (handle) | (person) | (date) | (count) | Active, dormant or retire |
Mark any dormant profile with no post in 90 days. Decide for each one whether to revive it, redirect it or close it. A silent profile with your logo on it still represents you.
Step 2: check brand consistency (10 minutes)
Open each profile on a phone and on a desktop. Check the same items on every one.
- Profile photo and cover image match the current brand.
- The handle is identical or as close as the platform allows.
- The bio states what you do in plain words and has a working link.
- Colors, fonts and logo usage follow your brand rules.
- Tone of voice sounds like one company across channels.
Score each item pass or fix. If you have a Brand Kit with colors, logos, fonts and tone, use it as the reference. If you don't, this step shows you what to write down first.
Step 3: analyze performance by format and channel (15 minutes)
This is the longest step, so start with the right definitions. Platforms count the same thing differently, so compare within a channel before comparing across channels.
| Platform | Metric | What the platform says |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions | Counted when a post is visible for at least 300 ms with at least 50% in view | |
| Engagement rate | Clicks + likes + comments + shares + follows, divided by impressions | |
| Reach | Unique accounts that have seen the content at least once | |
| YouTube Shorts | Viewed vs. swiped away | Compares how many people watched with how many swiped on |
Always check the definition inside each platform before you compare numbers, as names and counting rules change over time.
For each channel and format, record the number of posts in the last 90 days, the median result, the best post and the worst post. Use medians, because one viral post can hide a weak baseline. Then write down two patterns, such as "carousels beat single images" or "posts with a question get more replies."
Step 4: audience and competitor snapshot (10 minutes)
Spend five minutes on your audience and five on three competitors.
- Audience: does the follower base match the customers you want? Note the top countries or age groups the analytics show.
- Competitors: for each, record posting frequency, top format and main theme. Then name one thing they do that you do not.
If you want help finding gaps quickly, Competitor Radar scans a public competitor URL and shows the core pitch, unaddressed gaps and 3 to 5 counter-angles. It reads a public page, so it does not replace a look at their actual feed.
Step 5: decide what to start, stop and continue (5 minutes)
End with decisions, or the audit is only a report. Fill in a three-column list and give every line an owner and a date.
| Start | Stop | Continue |
|---|---|---|
| One new idea backed by a gap | One format or profile that earned little | One format that clearly works |
Limit each column to three lines. If everything is a priority, nothing happens next week.
The free social media audit template
Copy this layout into Google Sheets or a spreadsheet of your choice. Each block is one tab.
| Tab | Columns |
|---|---|
| Inventory | Platform, handle, owner, last post, followers, status |
| Brand check | Item, platform, pass or fix, note |
| Performance | Channel, format, posts in 90 days, median result, best post, worst post |
| Snapshot | Competitor, channel, frequency, top format, theme, gap |
| Decisions | Start, stop, continue, owner, date |
A social media audit example
This filled example is hypothetical. It describes a small bakery with three channels.
| Finding | Evidence | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook page is dormant | No post in 120 days | Stop: close it or post only offers |
| Instagram bio link is broken | Link opens an error page | Start: fix this week |
| Short videos beat photos | Median reach is higher on video | Continue: aim for 3 videos a week |
| Competitor posts recipes | Two of three post weekly recipes | Start: test one recipe series |
How often should you do a social media audit?
Every quarter is a good rhythm for most teams. That figure is our recommendation, not a platform rule. Quarterly gives you enough new data to see a change while keeping the review fresh.
Add a 15-minute monthly check of inventory and top metrics. Run a full audit sooner after a rebrand, a change of agency, a platform policy change or a sharp drop in results. Save each audit as a dated copy so you can compare quarter to quarter.
How Publiqa helps with a social media audit
Publiqa is an AI tool that writes social posts and renders vertical video. It is not an analytics tool, so use each platform's native analytics for Step 3. It helps with the steps around it.
- Consistency: the Brand Kit and Persona Engine store colors, logos, fonts, tone, audience personas and negative keywords.
- Gaps: Competitor Radar surfaces gaps and counter-angles from a public competitor page.
- Action: Campaign Studio turns one idea into content for 12 channels, and the Smart Planner gives you a calendar with suggested posting times to test.
A workflow: take the first "start" item from your decisions list, such as a recipe series. Enter the idea in Campaign Studio, which builds the core plus 12 platform versions for about 10 credits, review the versions and place them on the calendar. Publiqa sends content to your tools through outgoing webhooks and headless CMS integrations, which are live, while direct publishing to social networks is rolling out.
FAQ
What is a social media audit?
A social media audit is a structured review of your social profiles, covering which accounts exist, how consistent they look, how each format performs and what to start, stop or continue. It looks backward at the last 90 days.
How do you do a social media audit?
Prepare access and exports, then inventory every profile, check brand consistency, analyze performance by format and channel, add an audience and competitor snapshot, and finish with start, stop and continue decisions. The template above runs in 60 minutes.
How do you conduct a social media audit for several clients?
Use one template per client and keep the same tabs and definitions. Run the inventory and brand check first, because they reveal access problems. Save each audit as a dated copy, and book recurring quarterly reviews on the calendar.
How often should you do a social media audit?
Quarterly is a good default, which is our recommendation. Add a short monthly check, and audit sooner after a rebrand, an agency change or a sharp drop in results.
Do I need a social media audit tool?
Not for a first pass. Native analytics and a spreadsheet cover the inventory, brand check and performance review. A dedicated tool becomes useful when you manage many accounts and want automatic exports.
Your next 60 minutes
Block an hour this week and open a copy of the template. Do the preparation, run the five steps in order and stop at the timer. Put the first quarterly audit date in your calendar before you close the file.
When the decisions list has an idea you want to test, start free with 200 credits. No credit card required. Turn one idea into content for 12 channels, then check the result against your brand checklist.