5 Steps to Auditing Your Social Media for Influencer Attraction

How many influencers do you follow on social media?

A social media influencer is one of those concepts that no one saw coming at the birth of social media. Today, influencers are more important than ever when it comes to marketing! Attracting influencers to your social media channels should be a key component of building your following. Getting a retweet from someone big in your industry can instantly bring many followers to your accounts!

Of course, that’s easier said than done. And before you get to that point, you need to make sure that your social media is in fantastic shape. When was the last time you revamped your bio? Do you have a growth-based strategy for your posts? If you want to catch an influencer’s attention, your social media game will need to be top-notch! 

To get the wind under your social media’s wings, doing a social media audit can be one of the fastest ways to supercharge the way you present yourself and your business online! Here’s how!

What’s Your Strategy?

As a small business owner, I create a brand-new business plan every year. I find this to be a super-important part of growing my business. Even if I don’t follow it exactly, my business plan will lay out a strategy that keeps me on track for the entire year. (If you’re interested, check out my free Business Plan Workbook!)

My business plan also directly impacts every aspect of my business, including my digital marketing strategy. When it comes to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other networks, my business plan must align with my social media strategy. If it doesn’t, then I might be spending time and money working at cross purposes. 

Auditing your social media includes much more than just checking out posts and bios. It involves taking a deep look at your overall strategy to determine what works and how it contributes to your business’ overall growth. After I finish doing an “audit” of a client’s social media or website, I always speak with them to determine how they see those social marketing components fitting with their overall business plan. If they don’t fit, well, that’s something that we’d need to look at!

For example, I might suggest that you look at current social media trends that you can use or modify for your own campaigns. Instagram Stories have recently become very hot, and many other social media companies are copying the feature. That means short-form video should absolutely be a crucial part of your strategy. 

When was the last time you checked in with your clients to see what they think about your online content? Are you engaging with them on a daily basis and tapping into their insights? If you aren’t, you’re missing out on an incredible resource that could entirely change the way you handle your posts. As a VA, connecting with your followers is a big part of my job. If you simply don’t have the time to respond to your followers, hiring someone to do it for you could how you unlock the potential of your social media channels! 

Are You Speaking to Your ICA?

I want you to picture your ideal customer. What do they look like? How old are they? What are they looking for?

Knowing your ideal client avatar (ICA) is one of the most important parts of building an effective digital marketing strategy. If you don’t know where you are targeting your marketing, it’s likely going to be a massive waste of your resources. 

When it comes to social media, you also need to know your ICA to get the most out of your marketing dollars and time investment. Many small business owners make the mistake of trying to speak with EVERYONE on social media. They think that by casting a wide enough net, they will bring in more customers. Tragically, that kind of thinking has been the downfall of many small businesses.

When you have a limited amount of time and money, you can’t afford to “speak” with those who aren’t going to be responsive to your message. If your ICA is an empty-nester in their 50s, why would you try to connect with a college student in their 20s? It simply isn’t going to do your business any good.

That’s why another essential part of doing a social media audit is determining your social media ICA. Once you know who you want to speak with, you can create content, like blogs, that attracts them. Rather than appealing to everyone, focus on those who will likely respond to your posts, with eye-catching graphics that make you stand out! Helping my clients develop their ideal client avatars is one of my favorite parts of my job! It’s fun to fully flesh out this “imaginary” person, then come up with a plan on how to market to them. 

What Are You Measuring?

Some people might consider measuring metrics to be one of the most tedious parts of marketing. But I have to admit, I kind of love it!

I adore it when I’m handed a massive amount of data to dig through and find key performance indicators! Call me weird, but it can be pretty relaxing, especially if you know where to look!

When it comes to social media, there are a few specific areas where you can measure your success, and this comes into play when you’re performing an audit of your accounts.

The first thing I like to look at is your top and worst-performing posts. The information you get from these two pieces of information can completely revolutionize your online content. Basically, your top/worst posts will tell you exactly what your audience is actually interested in. If you are getting a high level of engagement (likes & comments) with a specific topic, then that is definitely something that you want to feature more often in your social media posts. If you posted something and it got absolutely no engagement, well, you know what to avoid in the future!

Of course, a lot more goes into why a post performs well than just its topic. For example, what day was it posted? What time of day? What keywords were in the copy? These factors can impact the level of engagement a post gets from your followers. 

That is why you might want a marketing expert doing your social media audit for you. I know exactly what to look for to discover why a post takes off or lands flat on its face. Measuring that kind of engagement can entirely change the way that you post your content! 

What Are Your Key Performance Indicators?

But what if you aren’t currently watching your metrics like a hawk? Well, it might be time to put some key performance indicators into place!

This can be a difficult task for those who aren’t intimately familiar with social media. KPIs must include not only likes, comments, and shares, but also when those interactions happened and on what platform. By measuring this information, you can create a strategy that includes the best mix of content at the right times of day!

Another place where key performance indicators come into play is with social media ads. Facebook, for example, can offer a remarkable return-on-investment for those willing to invest the time and energy. Not only can you target your audience with laser-like precision, but you will also be able to gather valuable data that could inform your entire social media marketing strategy in the future!

What is Your Competition Doing?

Marching to the beat of your own drum is integral to being a successful small business owner. You can’t just do what everyone else does. You need something that sets you apart; a reason why your customers go to you instead of your competitors.

That said, you can’t just pretend that your competitors aren’t there! If you have a direct competitor in your market, you need to be super aware of what they’re doing. NOT to copy them, but to do what they’re doing BETTER.

A great example of this kind of awareness is in social media. If your closest competitor is getting incredible engagement levels with their posts, but you are left in the dust, you need to know why. Learn from their success, then do it better! If it is working for them, it will probably work for you too! 

So, What Did We Learn? 

Let’s review what we learned:

1. Getting an influencer to share your content is a fantastic way to build your followers.
2. An audit of your social media accounts can help you build your online presence.
3. Your social media strategy should align with your yearly business plan.
4. Keep in touch with social media trends, like Instagram Stories.
5. Always speak to your ICA in your social media posts. Don’t cast too wide a net!
6. Measuring success when it comes to social media can be complicated. Dig into your analytics!
7. Your top and worst performing posts can give you an instant snapshot of what works and what doesn’t.
8. Determine your KPIs (especially if you’re running social media ads)
9. March to the beat of your own drum, but be aware of what your competition is up to.
10. Never copy your competition. Instead, focus on doing what they are doing, but BETTER!

Social Media is Hard Work

While many people think of their personal social media as a great way to unwind and connect with friends, small business owners don’t have that luxury. Your business’ social media accounts could be a significant factor in driving forward your future success. If you’d like to learn more about getting a handle on your professional social media accounts, I invite you to download my free workbook: Making the Most of Social Media!

If it’s been a while since you’ve revamped your online presence, it might be time for an audit. Please feel free to contact me here for a free consultation. I would be delighted to look at your social media accounts and give you some advice on how we can “up” your entire social media game! Let’s get all of those social media influencers out there something to post about! 

Links For This Episode:

• Making the Most of Social Media: Workbook
• Write Your Own Business Plan: Workhttps://resources.jennielyon.com/business-planner-workbookbook

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