By Kathi Kruse, Founder, Kruse Control Inc.

Whether your social media marketing is in-house or outsourced, it’s often difficult to see where the gaps are between your current successes and where you need to be. Your inbox is full of tips, tools, and hacks to “improve” results, and it’s exhausting. The best way to remove the guesswork is with a social media audit.

As social media has matured and become more complicated, social media audits have increased in popularity.

Due to the tremendous amount of time, skills, budget, and human resources it takes to master social marketing today, more dealers are opting for a social media audit before they decide on next year’s marketing budgets. They know it’s more crucial than ever to pinpoint where their investment is going so they can assess whether it’s delivering the best results.

A social media audit is a smart step because time and resources are often wasted trying to improve areas that don’t need improving while neglecting the things that need attention.

Social media audits uncover the gaps.

There are many moving parts to social media today. And these moving parts can get overwhelming for dealers trying to make social media work for their store and their customers.

If you’re new to social media, the need for an audit is even greater. It’s easy and comfortable to buy into what vendors claim is “optimal.” After all, whom else can you turn to? Just like any other purchase, you want to perform due diligence. There are all sorts of vendors out there, but how do you  know you’re getting the best results?

A social media audit puts the power in your hands.

A social media audit enables you to know which areas to focus your resources to get the best results. Authentic, transparent, objective advice from an established social media guide is ideal to have in your corner. The trusted expert’s allegiance is to you and your business goals, not your vendor’s.

9 benefits of doing a year-end social media audit

A social media audit takes a thorough look at your organization’s existing social media presence. The discoveries from the audit provide actionable feedback that helps engage more customers and set more appointments.

1. You want expert feedback about your content with insight into what to modify and why.

Content drives everything on the web. Whether it’s your website content, social media or social ads, engagement with your content is the catalyst to converting fans into customers.

Solid strategies get the right message to the right customer at the right time. A social media audit provides valuable feedback from an expert, and the knowledge gained is often the difference between getting leads and losing them.

2. Find out why your social media isn’t converting.

Social media conversions are the metrics that tell you that you succeeded in getting people to do what you wanted them to do.

I’ve witnessed many situations where dealers simply don’t expect to convert with social media. I’ve seen other situations where dealers are frustrated by the lack of conversions.

In both scenarios, a social media audit pinpoints areas for improvement and helps you to discover the path to more conversions: reach more people, get higher engagement, and increase leads and appointments.

3. Uncover opportunities to generate leads.

Social media is pay-to-play now. Facebook ads have certainly been a lightning rod for discussion amongst users, but for marketers, when done effectively, there is truly nothing more valuable for improving engagement and driving leads.

If you’re currently running ads, a social media audit will analyze current tactics and provide additional ad strategies to explore.

If you’re not running Facebook ads, then the audit will provide the first steps to promote content, increase engagement, and drive leads to your website.

4. Learn how you stack up against your competitors.

Competition is a good thing. It helps us do our best. It’s helpful to know why your customers choose you rather than your competitor.

Assessing how your competitors are using social media – and revealing their weaknesses – gives you a distinct advantage. The social media audit will reveal areas to concentrate on to attract more customers.

5. You know you’re losing people in your social sales funnel but can’t seem to figure out why.

One of the coolest things about social media is that every step of the buyer’s journey within the social media ecosystem can be met with helpful content that engages them, including ads and special offers.

• To engage them at each step requires proper strategy and proven tactics.
• Are you recognizing organic leads via your social channels?
• Do you have a process with which to engage and follow up on social media leads?
• Are you providing specific pages and/or content for in-market customers to learn more?
• Are your prospects clicking on Facebook ads but not completing the lead form?
• A social media audit will examine how, where, and when you’re losing people in your social sales funnel.

6. You need answers to questions, but you don’t have the budget for a deeper dive assessment or reworking of your website.

Dealers tend to assume that their marketing manager or vendor “knows it all.” The reality is that many social media managers are self-taught and eventually realize they don’t have all the answers – especially when it comes to achieving business marketing goals and desired outcomes.

Creating a comprehensive social media and/or digital marketing plan can cost upwards of $10,000+. A social media audit calls for a fraction of that investment and can provide the answers you need to keep the boss happy and informed while keeping your goals on track.

7. You’re considering hiring someone to help you with social media and need guidance on your options or their scope of work.

It can be very difficult to fill the job of a social media manager. Why? Because very often the person making the decision doesn’t exactly know for sure what the social media manager’s duties should be or how to install accountability.

Pro Tip: A comprehensive social media manager job description should be included in a social media audit, along with your manager’s specific monthly goals and reporting.

8. You want to find out what true social media success looks like.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are integral to social media success. You’ll achieve goals quicker by affirming what they are first.

Don’t depend on a vendor to tell you what success looks like because there’s no guarantee that they know. They don’t know your business goals or what your current operation can handle. Their perception of success is not yours.

Social media ROI is achieved when goals are set, results are measured, and tied back to your goals. A social media audit will provide KPIs to track and measure your results.

9. Learn social media Best Practices from someone who lives and breathes it every day.

There’s a glut of “information” circling about social media marketing and it’s hard to know what automotive social media best practices truly are, considering how often social media changes.

Information is not necessarily knowledge.

A social media audit determines where gaps lie in your tactics, uncovers them, and provides a better path. You should also receive a list of best practices to ensure you reach your goals. No fluff, just good data from which to grow.

Start 2020 off right!

You may be working with an agency that provides marketing for you. You could be disappointed in your vendor’s results and want to know what you can do to fix it. You could also be “flying blind” trying to make it work in-house or even trying to do it all yourself.

In each of these scenarios, a social media audit will bring you peace of mind. It will help you clarify your message, so customers engage.

About the Author

Kathi Kruse is an automotive social media marketing expert, blogger, speaker, coach, author, and founder of Kruse Control Inc. Born in the heart of Los Angeles to a family of “car people,” Kathi’s passion for the car business spans a 30-year career managing successful dealerships in Southern California. Kathi is the author of “Automotive Social Business – How to Captivate Your Customers, Sell More Cars & Be Generally Remarkable on Social Media.” Email:
[email protected]