Introduction
In preparation for Stukent’s Social Media Marketing simulation, Mimic Social, I was tasked with performing a social media audit on Herschel Supply Co.’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in order to evaluate the competitor of my (fictitious) company, Buhi Supply Co. I found this process to be both interesting and insightful.
First of all, I learned that a social media audit is pretty much as dorky and scientific as it sounds. If only Stukent’s spreadsheet template included charts and graphs, it would have truly satisfied my inner nerd.
Overall, I felt that this experience was akin to training my brain to look at social media posts in a new light. Also, there is something comforting about collecting data (facts!) that will enable you to make informed decisions going forward in the simulation (way less stressful!).
Without further ado, here are my biggest takeaways from my social media audit.
Facebook – Post Category
- Promotional Facebook videos received the most likes of any category of post (because everyone loves a video, right?)
- The most engaging content was from image non promotional with link posts with twice as many shares and comments as either of the other two categories (image promotional with link and promotional video)
Facebook – Day and Time
- Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday posts received the most likes, shares and comments.
- Thursday was the best day for engagement with content.
- Saturday was a poor day for likes, shares and comments overall.
- Posts made around 2 pm to 5 pm received the majority of likes and engagement (share and comments)
- 9 pm was the worst performing time slot
- Content posted around 7 pm on Mondays and Tuesdays performed well.
- The most popular posts were images without the products and people outdoor with the product.
- On average, promotional videos received the fewest likes and comments.
Conclusion
While conducting my social media audit for Stukent’s social media marketing simulation, I looked at social media posts in an entirely different and very scientific way. This seems like a relatively painless way to gather data on social media in order to make informed decisions for your company going forward, which is what every digital marketer wants!
As an employee of Buhi Supply Co., I would recommend that we focus our social media efforts on content that delights our audiences rather than pushing for a conversion with promotional images and links. I feel this is especially true with Instagram, as audiences are still not accustomed or wanting to be sold to on the channel.
Additionally, I would also recommend videos to generate awareness. Otherwise, non-promotional content seems to generate more engagement which builds relationships with our customers and audiences in general. In other words, be part of the conversation but not necessarily the subject. The goal of our website is to sell to our customers; however, the goal of our social media channels should be to have conversations with our audiences, earn their trust and build our relationship with them.