Find opportunities to win with client social media audits
June 18, 2025
By
Kyra Goodman
Social media audits are powerful tools for earning trust and uncovering real growth opportunities. Help clients see what’s working, what’s not, and exactly how to move forward with a data-backed social media marketing strategy.
to uncover performance gaps, spot growth opportunities, and earn client trust. Done right, it goes beyond vanity metrics to reveal what’s truly driving audience engagement, conversions, and brand awareness—or what’s holding it back.
A well-structured audit lets you back up recommendations with data, align efforts across platforms, and shape a strategy that connects with a client’s audience and marketing goals.
Audits also build credibility. When you show up with a clear view of where a client stands and what they can improve, it positions your team as proactive, strategic, and focused on results.
But how do you use audits to win client trust from day one? Let’s dig in.
What is a social media audit?
A social media audit is the process of gathering and analyzing performance data across a client’s social platforms to create a complete picture of their social media efforts. It shows you the best way to improve results, and then, when you’re finished, you’ll have a single strategy document to present to the client.
While data analysis might not be the flashiest part of social media marketing, it’s essential. The insights you uncover can directly impact your client’s ability to reach their target audience, improve ROI, and align social media content with business goals.
To get started, you’ll need a simple audit spreadsheet, along with analytics reports from each active platform. From there, you can turn raw data into strategic clarity and a roadmap clients will value.
Speed up the process with our free social media audit template
When you're juggling campaign deadlines, client meetings, and constant content demands, running a detailed social media audit can easily fall to the bottom of the list.
Sked’s free social media audit spreadsheet takes the heavy lifting out of the process, giving you a simple, customizable framework to audit faster and more effectively. Instead of starting from scratch, you get a ready-to-use tool that helps you organize data, surface actionable insights, and outline strategic next steps, all in one place.
Here’s how to get the most out of the free template:
Follow the format, but make it your own: Customize sections based on your client’s social media goals or platform mix.
Pick a clear audit period: Whether it's 30 or 90 days, keep it consistent to make insights meaningful.
Don’t inflate numbers: This isn’t about proving social media performance but finding the truth.
Write next steps while it’s fresh: Capture recommendations while the data is top-of-mind.
Turn insights into goals: Every takeaway should feed directly into strategy.
Our social media audit template comes with built-in formulas and prompts, so you don’t waste time formatting or second-guessing what to include. It’s all laid out for you, ready to go.
How to do a social media audit for a client
If you constantly struggle with knowing where to start or what to focus on when conducting a social media audit, we’ve laid out a step-by-step guide to help you audit efficiently and effectively for your clients.
Establish the client’s goals for the social media audit
Before you begin a social media audit for your client, set up a phone or video call to align on expectations and understand what your client hopes to get out of it. Clarifying their primary concerns will help you tailor the audit to the most important areas of their strategy.
Some helpful questions to guide the conversation include:
Are they seeing a drop-off in follower count and aren’t sure why?
Are they putting a lot of time and effort into their social media content but seeing little audience engagement in return?
Are there specific marketing goals they’re trying to reach, like increased website traffic, sales, or brand awareness, that current performance isn’t supporting?
Once you understand their top challenges, you can tailor your audit accordingly. For instance, if their follower count is declining, you might examine post frequency, content variety, and the types of accounts following or unfollowing them.
When reviewing metrics, include percentage changes month-over-month and year-over-year for added context. This helps paint a clearer performance picture.
Now’s also the time to set benchmarks for future audits. We recommend conducting an audit monthly or quarterly to evaluate how well the client’s content is performing and to allow time to implement your action plan.
Determine how you will present your findings to the client
There are various levels of depth for social media audits. You can conduct a lighter, informal audit during a consulting session, walking through their platforms and pointing out general improvements. In the end, the client receives a list of actionable steps to implement, which you can include in your hourly or monthly rate.
If the client wants a deeper dive into the data, offer a formal report as a standalone service. You can also present your findings through a video or virtual walkthrough, sharing your screen to give real-time feedback and show exactly what needs to be updated.
Whichever approach you take, track the time your team spends on the audit, and use your findings as a springboard to pitch a full social media strategy. If you clearly show areas for improvement, clients are more likely to see the value and move forward.
You can use Sked’s social media audit template as-is or reformat the output into a style that aligns more closely with your client’s brand or reporting preferences. Let their goals and familiarity with analytics tools guide how you deliver results, whether that’s through an in-depth spreadsheet, a visually simplified report, or a combination of both.
Identify all the client’s social media accounts
Start your audit by conducting a web search for your client’s brand, company name, or the names of their products. Note both official and unofficial social media accounts to get a clear picture of their digital footprint. You might uncover platforms they didn’t even know they had a presence on, like a forgotten Facebook page or LinkedIn profile.
Next, search their name directly on major social media platforms, including those they believe they’re not using. Start with:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube
Pinterest
TikTok
Snapchat
In a blank spreadsheet, record each account you find, including the handle and a direct link. Flag any duplicate or impersonator social accounts to raise them with your client.
Sked’s social media audit template makes it easy to fill in relevant data for each social media channel, including:
Account manager (if assigned)
Number of followers
Average engagement rates
Total reach or impressions
Number of posts published during the reporting period
Most recent post date
Amount spent boosting posts
This step lays the groundwork for the rest of your audit by giving you a complete view of where the brand has a presence and where it may need to take action.
Collaborate effortlessly, save time and spend less
Why settle for a lackluster social media management tool when you could be using Sked Social? With unlimited collaborator access, streamlined approvals and advanced auto-post technology that lets you schedule to all major platforms, Sked Social offers everything you need.
After you’ve identified all of the client’s accounts, you need to make sure that their social profiles accurately represent the brand and are optimized for success.
A good starting point is to double-check that they have the following:
Branded profile and cover images on all platforms
Consistent handles or usernames
Bios that are clear, complete, and concise
Links to their website, landing page, or another value offer
Content that is formatted correctly for each platform
Recent account activity
Appropriate use of hashtags
In your template, take note of any profiles or content pieces that don’t fit the client’s brand. If any of their profiles seem inactive or inconsistent, this is a great opportunity for you to step in and provide strategies or recommendations.
Assess key social media metrics, benchmarks, and KPIs
When recommending changes, back them up with clear data. Evidence makes it easier for clients to understand your suggestions and builds trust in the strategy you’ll present later.
Where possible, collect key metrics for each platform, including:
Engagement rates
Audience size and growth
Audience demographics and insights
Content performance (which type of content is doing best, and which types are missing from your client’s social media)
The above metrics will help determine whether the client's content resonates with their audience. If the audience isn’t finding it interesting or useful, it may be time to re-evaluate their content calendar to better align with their industry or niche.
Key metrics to pay close attention to in your social media audit include:
Top-performing posts by format (Reels, carousels, Stories)
Audience demographics (age, location, interests)
Consider if your client is reaching their target audience for each platform
Looking at audience insights and demographics, in particular, helps determine what your client’s social audience actually looks like.
Check whether their audience is primarily male or female, their age range, location, and any other interests you can infer from their bios or profiles. You can also review what times of day or days of the week they’re most active, which will help inform the client’s posting schedule.
This information can also tell you if your client successfully reaches their intended audience. If the current social media demographic is significantly different from their target customer, it may be time to adjust the strategy and explore new ways to connect with the right people.
Sked’s social listening tools give you a clear picture of who’s engaging with your content and when. With in-depth audience analytics, you can see exactly who’s interacting across different platforms, broken down by demographics, behaviors, and activity patterns. This makes it easier to spot the best times to post, tailor your messaging to specific audience segments, and uncover which content types are resonating most.
Ask if the client is putting the right amount of effort into the right channels
Is your client on channels that are appropriate for reaching their audience? For Millennials, Instagram or Twitter might be ideal, but TikTok or Snapchat may be a better fit for a younger Gen Z demographic.
Some companies feel they need to be on every social media platform to succeed. Ask if they’re putting too much effort into channels that aren’t worth their time.
If a platform is costing them more in terms of time and money than it’s delivering in return, it may not be the best use of their efforts. For example, a clothing brand probably wouldn’t have much success reaching Gen Z using LinkedIn.
Consider if there are any channels your client should be on but isn’t currently using, and explore how they can develop content tailored for that platform.
Assess if the client is using their content effectively
Is the client producing evergreen content that can be repurposed for future campaigns? Are they creating original posts, or mostly resharing content from others?
While sharing third-party content can help boost engagement and build goodwill, it doesn’t position your client as a thought leader or industry expert. This is where native, platform-specific content becomes especially valuable.
One of our go-to strategies is to check whether the client has existing assets that could be turned into fresh content. For example, if they’ve recorded a podcast or regularly host Zoom webinars, those long-form pieces can be repurposed into branded social content, like audio snippets, quote graphics, or short video clips.
There are plenty of ways to get creative without asking the client to invest more time or budget into new content for every platform.
Review your client’s publishing workflow
Take a close look at how the client’s content is being created, reviewed, and published.
Are there any bottlenecks, delays, or inconsistencies in their process? Understanding how the team collaborates can reveal gaps in communication or approval cycles that may be slowing things down.
In your audit template, note who’s responsible for what in the content pipeline, where slowdowns tend to occur, and whether the team is making the most of automation features. This is a great chance to recommend process improvements that make their content workflow smoother, faster, and easier to scale.
Reassess content pillars
Are your client’s core content themes still aligned with their business goals and what their audience wants to see? Over time, it’s easy for content strategies to skew heavily toward one area, like promotional posts, at the expense of value-based or community-focused content.
Review their recent posts and categorize them into key content strategy pillars (educational, inspirational, promotional, or behind-the-scenes). Then compare this mix to what their target audience is actually engaging with.
If the balance is off, suggest adjustments to better match their audience’s needs and ensure they’re maintaining a consistent and strategic message across all platforms.
Analyze your client’s competition
Keeping an eye on competitors can offer valuable insights into what’s working in your client’s niche. Look at the formats competitors are using, whether it’s short-form video, interactive polls, or educational carousels, and how they’re engaging their followers. What gets high engagement? Are there specific trends or tactics that could be adapted for your client?
Sked’s social listening competitor analysis lets you track and compare up to 20 competitors side by side, monitoring their audience behavior, content performance, engagement trends, and posting routines over time. This kind of direct benchmarking (without relying on generic industry data) helps uncover specific opportunities to refine your client’s strategy.
Check for patterns in voice, content type, or posting cadence that resonate with similar audiences, and think critically about how your client can do it better, more creatively, or in a way that reflects their unique brand.
Evaluate campaign performance
If your client has run social campaigns (paid, organic, or influencer-led), review how they’ve performed. Dive into campaign-specific metrics like engagement, reach, click-through rate, and conversions to see what delivered results and what didn’t hit the mark.
This is also where context is crucial. For example, high impressions but low clicks may signal weak calls-to-action (CTAs) or misaligned messaging. Use these insights to shape more targeted, effective campaigns that align closely with audience behavior and your client’s broader goals.
Sked’s Labels feature enables you to group posts by campaign or content pillar, track performance across those groupings, and uncover trends that might be missed in individual post metrics. With AI-assisted labeling and in-depth reporting, you’ll quickly see which campaigns are resonating and where there’s room to optimize for better engagement, clicks, or conversions.
Cross your T’s and dot your I’s: A social media audit checklist
Before you share your audit findings with the client or make final recommendations, take time to carefully review every element. Double-check your analysis, verify that your insights align with business objectives, and ensure your final social media report is error-free and easy for stakeholders to understand.
Here’s a high-level social media audit checklist to make sure you’ve covered all the essentials:
Identify all client social accounts and verify branding consistency across profiles.
Review recent posting activity and content formatting per platform.
Analyze audience demographics and engagement metrics for each channel.
Assess if the client is reaching their target audience effectively.
Examine content originality, repurposing opportunities, and alignment with goals.
Reassess content pillars to ensure relevance and balance between promotional and value-driven posts.
Analyze competitor activity to identify gaps and opportunities.
Evaluate past campaign performance to inform future strategies.
It’s important not to focus only on surface-level metrics like likes or followers without considering engagement or conversions. Each platform has unique audiences and goals, so applying one-size-fits-all strategies can mislead your audit.
Also, don’t overlook basic details like broken links, outdated bios, or inconsistent branding, as these minor errors impact credibility.
Use your audit to set goals for your client’s social media strategy
Now that you’ve completed your audit, it’s time to set goals for the client. Make sure these goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound). For example, a good SMART goal might be, “We will grow our Instagram account by 100 followers over the next 30 days.”
If the client isn’t meeting their current goals, identify 2–4 tactics per platform they could use to improve. These goals should be based on your audit findings and any gaps or inaccuracies you noticed.
If the client sees the value in your recommendations, offer to create a full social media strategy for them. After all, who knows their social presence better than you? Use your audit insights to develop a strategy that’s actionable and easy for the client to implement.
Simplify audits with tools that give you visibility into social media analytics
A thorough social media audit helps your clients grow by uncovering what’s working, what needs fixing, and where new opportunities lie. But the process is a whole lot easier when you’re not digging through spreadsheets or juggling multiple tools to track performance.
Sked’s reporting and analytics features bring all your client data into one dashboard, so you can monitor KPIs across different platforms, compare custom date ranges, break down post-level performance with labels, and generate clean, client-ready reports in seconds.
With tools built for agencies, Sked helps you manage scheduling, planning, posting, and approvals across every client account. Everything’s streamlined, so you can spend less time chasing data and more time delivering results.
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