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How to do a social media audit in 2026 (+ free template)

What is a social media audit? A social media audit is a structured review of all your social media accounts that compiles and analyzes your performance across platforms. Think of your social media audit as a report card: It identifies strengths, areas for improvement, and next steps. It’s typically run by social media managers, marketing directors, or agency teams, and it covers both your organic and paid presence. It also helps marketing leaders evaluate social ROI, update content strategy, and make smarter budget decisions. Bonus!!! Get your FREE social media audit checklist and template to see what’s working and what’s not. Save time and improve performance. Download now Why run a social media audit? A social media audit helps you make better strategic decisions and gives marketing leaders the evidence they need to justify where budget and effort should go, especially when 59% of CMOs report insufficient budget to execute their strategy. Here’s what a good audit surfaces: In short, an audit turns scattered data into a clear picture of what to do next. Social media audit vs. social media strategy A social media audit is a diagnostic snapshot of where you are, while a social media strategy is the forward-looking plan for where you’re going. The two work together: the audit tells you what’s happening now, and the strategy uses those findings to map your next moves. An audit reviews your accounts, performance, branding, and audience at a single point in time. It answers “what’s working and what isn’t?” A social media strategy is the ongoing playbook that sets goals, defines your content approach, and guides how you show up over the coming months. Put simply: The audit tells you where you are, and the strategy tells you where you’re going. Run the audit first, then build or refine your strategy on top of it. Free social media audit template and checklist Now that you know what an audit covers, use our handy social media audit checklist to make sure you don’t miss a single step in the process below. If you’re ready to get into the audit (or want your own version of this checklist), download the free audit templates here. How to perform a social media audit in 7 steps To conduct a social media audit, follow these steps: 1. List all your social media accounts Jot down all your social media accounts to start, from the platforms you use daily to ones you may have neglected. Active or inactive, it’s important to catalog your online presence as part of your social media audit. Don’t forget newer platforms like Threads and Bluesky, which many brands added to the mix over the past year. In addition, think about the accounts you don’t have yet. With 5.75 billion social media users in 2026, the landscape keeps expanding. Are there platforms you haven’t considered? In larger organizations, this step also means checking for rogue or unauthorized accounts created by different departments or regions. Tracking these down keeps your presence consistent and protects your brand. You don’t need to be active on every network, but an audit is a good opportunity to add new ideas to your future social media strategy. Where to find this info: Search each major social network for your brand name (and even your products). Not only might this uncover long-forgotten Facebook groups, but it’s also a chance to catch any imposter or misleading accounts that you can then shut down or report. Pro tip : Set up a social media monitoring program to catch any future fake accounts. 2. Review branding and profile consistency Check each of your social media accounts to see whether they align with your current brand style guidelines. Review the following areas for each social account: Where to find this info: Visit each of your social profiles and see how you’re showing up online. Be sure to click on any links to see if they need to be replaced. 3. Identify your top-performing content Next, audit your social media content. For each social platform, list your five top-performing posts. Include links to each post so you can easily review them later. But wait – what makes a “top-performing post?” That depends! A good place to start is ranking posts by engagement rate to see what your audience responds to. That said, you may want to focus on a different metric, like link clicks, video views, or conversions, depending on your unique goals for each platform. Look through your top posts for patterns. For example: Record your thoughts in the notes column of your audit document. (We’ll come back to these notes later!) Where to find this info: You can use each social platform’s built-in analytics tool to find your top posts based on specific metrics. Not sure how? We have complete guides to using all of them: But hold up: That could take forever. A faster option is with Perch by Hootsuite, which offers more comprehensive social media reporting. With just a few clicks, you can find the top posts for all your social accounts in one place. You can even schedule regular custom reports that are sent straight to your email. 4. Evaluate each channel’s performance In this step, evaluate how each social channel contributes to your overall marketing goals. If you still need to create a mission statement and a few key goals for each social account, now’s the time. Several accounts may have similar goals, like driving website traffic and increasing conversions. Others may be exclusively for customer service or brand awareness. For each channel, list out its goal(s) and track your progress toward them. For measurable goals like traffic or conversions, write down the actual numbers. For example, how many website visits came from Instagram? How many sales came from Facebook Page visitors? If the goal is customer service, write down your CSAT score and see if it’s improving over time. Be specific. For goals without quantifiable data, record supporting evidence. If your Facebook account is for brand awareness, has your follower count increased? Have you increased your organic or paid reach? You want to get clear on the purpose of each of your social

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