Strategy
Social Media Audit: A 60-Minute Checklist for Businesses
10 October 2026 · 11 min read · By Orion Media Group
Most businesses don't need more posts first. They need to know which channels are worth keeping, what content actually leads to enquiries, and where interested people drop off.
A social media audit answers those questions. This is the version we run before taking on a new client: about an hour, a spreadsheet, and honest answers.
1. List every account, including the forgotten ones
Start with an inventory: platform, handle, who has login access, last post date and follower count. Old accounts that still rank for your brand name can confuse buyers, so decide whether to revive, redirect or close each one.
Check that the business, not a former employee or freelancer, owns admin access. This is the most common problem we find and the most painful one to fix later.
2. Check profiles the way a buyer would
Open each profile on your phone and read it as a stranger. Within five seconds, can you tell what the business does, who it's for, and what to do next?
- Bio states the offer and the audience in plain words.
- Link goes to a relevant page, not just the homepage.
- Profile photo and name match the website and other channels.
- Pinned or highlighted posts show proof, not old announcements.
3. Review the last 90 days of content
Export or screenshot your recent posts and sort them by format and topic. Then compare them against the metrics that matter for the goal: saves and shares for reach, profile visits and link clicks for interest, messages and form fills for leads.
Look for patterns rather than single winners. If every post that generated an enquiry explains a specific problem, that's a direction. If your best-reach posts never produce enquiries, they are entertainment, not marketing.
4. Trace the path from post to enquiry
Click through from a post to the point where someone would contact you. Count the steps, note anything broken or slow, and check whether the landing page continues the message from the post.
Add tracking parameters to profile links if you haven't, so your analytics can show which platform produced each visit and form submission.
If you can't tell which channel brought in last month's enquiries, fix tracking before you change the content.
Book a call5. Look at competitors briefly, not obsessively
Pick three competitors and note what formats they use, how often they post, and what their audience comments on. The goal is to spot gaps you can fill, not to copy their calendar.
6. Turn findings into three priorities
An audit that produces forty recommendations rarely changes anything. Choose three: usually one profile or tracking fix, one content direction to double down on, and one thing to stop doing.
Repeat the audit each quarter. Short, regular reviews beat an annual overhaul.
Want us to run the audit for you?
We audit social channels as the first step of every engagement and share a written list of priorities, whether or not you hire us afterwards.
Book a free strategy call and we'll review your channels with you.
Book a callFrequently asked questions
- How often should a business audit its social media?
- A short review each quarter is enough for most businesses, with a deeper audit once a year or before changing agencies or strategy.
- What tools do I need for a social media audit?
- A spreadsheet, the native analytics in each platform and your website analytics. Paid tools help at scale but aren't necessary to start.
- Should I delete inactive accounts?
- If you can't commit to maintaining them, update the bio to point to your active channels or close them, so buyers don't land on an abandoned profile.