What decision should your audit help you make?

Write the decision before collecting numbers. You might need to choose which channel deserves attention, whether to change an offer, or which content to repeat. Sprout Social recommends setting a goal for each platform before selecting metrics. See its audit process.

For a hypothetical independent consultant, the question could be: “Which posts deserve another test for generating relevant enquiries?” For a neighbourhood bakery, choose something different, such as making collection orders easier. Give each account a purpose that fits your actual business.

Set a fair review window

Choose a completed period and record its start and end. Compare it with another period of the same length, then annotate promotions, paid campaigns and unusual closures. Keep those notes beside the numbers when discussing results.

Also define what you will call a relevant enquiry. For this review, you might require a request for a service you sell in an area you serve. Apply your chosen definition consistently rather than counting every message as a potential customer.

If enquiries need a clearer offer, use the guide to creating a lead magnet to plan a resource worth requesting. Treat that as a possible follow-up project, not an automatic conclusion from the audit.

How do you check the accounts themselves?

Open every profile and walk through the customer journey. Profile images, descriptions, contact details, links and pinned posts belong in this check, according to Hootsuite's profile checklist. Include dormant accounts in your inventory.

• Record the account name, address and person responsible.
• Read the description without assuming prior knowledge of your business.
• Check contact details against your current information.
• Follow the booking, product or enquiry link on your phone.
• Review pinned content for expired offers.
• Record whether the business has working account access.

Write observations that someone can fix

Replace “the profile needs work” with a specific task. For example, write “replace the booking link because it opens the old service page.” Keep passwords out of the worksheet; record the responsible person and access status instead.

Hypothetical example: a furniture maker shows attractive finished pieces but gives no clear route to request a quote. Your first task could be to explain what information a customer should send. Do not claim that this will increase sales before testing it.

If you use printed materials to send visitors to your profiles, include those journeys too. The QR code marketing guide is a useful next step when planning that connection.

What belongs in a social media audit template?

Use one row per account and a separate sheet for individual posts. HubSpot recommends reviewing engagement, audience information, traffic and conversions alongside follower counts. Its audit guide explains that broader review.

A metric is something you measure. A KPI is a measure you select to judge progress toward a particular goal. For your social media KPI tracking, choose the main result first and add supporting figures only when they help explain it.

Keep definitions beside the figures

Copy each platform's metric label into your worksheet. Read its explanation before combining it with another platform's figures. If you calculate a rate yourself, write down the numerator, denominator and included actions.

Use “not recorded” when the information is missing. Reserve zero for a measured zero. If customer enquiries were never tagged by source, start collecting that information now rather than reconstructing precise totals from memory.

Separate paid and unpaid activity where the available data allows it. Where it does not, mark the limitation. Ask the sales owner to reconcile recorded enquiries with completed orders, and keep uncertain source assignments visible.

How should you review posts and competitors?

Rank posts against the purpose you chose. Hootsuite recommends selecting strong content using measures appropriate to the goal, which might include engagement, link clicks or conversions. Its content review guidance also recommends looking for patterns.

Look for a repeatable idea

For each selected post, record its subject, format, offer and requested next action. Add whether it received paid support. Review weaker posts using the same fields rather than discussing only the attractive examples.

Hypothetical example: an online shop compares product photographs with demonstrations answering sizing questions. Do not declare video the winner from one post. Plan another sizing demonstration and write down what you want that test to establish.

If customer photographs are part of the next experiment, consult the guide to using customer content in marketing. Keep the audit finding separate from the creative idea you want to try.

Compare observable information

Competitive benchmarking is part of Hootsuite's audit framework. See the framework. Select businesses serving a similar customer, then compare their visible offers, topics, profile clarity and public conversations.

Keep observations and guesses in separate columns. A visible comment is evidence of that comment; do not turn it into an estimate of revenue or profitability. Finish the competitor review with one question to test in your own business.

Which social media analytics tools should you use?

Start with the platforms' own analytics and your worksheet. Hootsuite describes built-in analytics as a way to find content results; HubSpot also lists tools including HubSpot, Sprout Social and Later. Sources: native analytics and reporting tools.

My recommendation for a small operation is to build the first worksheet in Excel or Google Sheets. Before choosing a paid reporting tool, test it with your actual accounts and required fields. Check data availability, export options and whether its definitions match your report.

For website activity, Google Analytics can connect social referral traffic with on-site behaviour. Sprout Social describes this role in its audit tools overview. Review your tracking setup before treating the resulting figures as a complete account of customer journeys.

Give AI a narrow assignment

AI, short for artificial intelligence, can help summarise patterns and flag unusual changes. Sprout Social describes these uses while retaining human judgement. See its AI guidance. Ask for a draft analysis, then check it against the worksheet.

Review this anonymised table. Group repeated content themes and cite the relevant rows. Separate observations from possible explanations. Identify missing information and suggest a test for each unresolved question. Do not invent figures or causes.

Remove customer names and contact details before sharing data. Check every calculation and reject explanations unsupported by the table. Keep budget changes and account closures as decisions for the business owner.

How do you turn findings into next week's work?

End with a short action list. HubSpot recommends assigning dates to changes and deciding how their results will be assessed. Its planning step provides that practical handover.

1. Fix: correct broken links, outdated details and unclear instructions.
2. Keep: preserve useful content approaches for another measured cycle.
3. Test: choose one unresolved question and a manageable experiment.
4. Measure: name the evidence you will review.
5. Assign: give every task an owner and a date.

For a hypothetical freelance team, the next experiment might be a clearer invitation to request a consultation. Agree what counts as a suitable enquiry before publishing. Review both the enquiries and the time spent handling them.

If your follow-up idea involves recommendations from existing customers, use the small business referral marketing guide. If the question is where to reduce effort, consult the guide to cutting business costs and include staff time in your review.

Bring the completed worksheet to your next team discussion. Ask each owner to confirm the task, missing information and review date. Save the current version so the next audit starts from a documented baseline.