Honest business question for you: How did this year go for you? All COVID-ness aside, how did it go? Were you able to achieve any of the goals you set out for yourself at the start of the year? Did you find new opportunities? Did you grow, change, adapt?  

It’s a lot of questions, we know. But they are legit questions that you should be asking yourself when every year comes to a close. When you can reflect on what’s happened, you can make more effective plans for the future. Hosting an annual business check-in is a great way to help you review what went well, what stayed on track, what got away from you, and – most importantly – what you need to be doing next year. All that said, often those business check-ins focus on operations, finances, sales and so on. We want to make sure you spend a little time checking in on your brand and social media though!  

We’re bringing your attention to some key areas we think are critical for you to check in on. To get started, select one to two posts from each month over the past year. Ensure that you are selecting a variety of post types to give yourself a good basis to conduct this audit. Using those posts go through the following five areas: Brand Voice, Imagery, Balanced Messaging, Audience Connection, and Social Presence.

Audit Area 1: Brand Voice 

Your brand voice can be equated to the personality of your brand that is shared through your communication. Your brand voice should be consistent, easily identifiable, and an honest reflection of what your business is all about. 

• Language: do you use similar kinds of wording and phrasings throughout?  
• Attitude: What is the attitude like? Is it relaxed, professional, authoritative, friendly, empowering, austere. It’s ok to flux a little in this, but for the most part you should have one or two blended that you stick to. 
• Style: look at the length of posts, use of syntax, length of sentences, and grammar. 

Audit Area 2: Imagery

Imagery includes pretty much everything that someone sees. We’re talking pictures, graphics, colour palette, font choices…all the things. (Psst, check out this past post about how to create a brand guide.) Aside from the main things here, we want you to take it one step further. Look at the impression all of these things make. 

• Brand Alignment: Of the dozen posts you selected, do they align with what your brand stands for. Are you consistently using the same style of photos, graphics, fonts, and the same colour palette? 
• Authenticity: Are the images used an honest representation of your business?  Go back to the basics on this; do they give a clear idea of what you do, what value you provide and what you stand for? 
• Vibe: What emotional spark is going on with the imagery? Does it connect with the brand voice ‘personality’ of your business? 

Audit Area 3: Balanced Messaging 

Messaging in your business should revolve around brand awareness, business growth, and business goals. The balance between the three doesn’t always have to be even, but each of those areas needs to regularly appear in your content calendar. 

• Brand Awareness: This includes educating your audience what you do, demonstrating your expertise, and testimonials/social proof. 
• Business Growth: Marketing your products/services. Telling people regularly that they can drop some cashola to buy from you. 
• Business Goals: Sharing with your audience what’s coming, what’s changing, what’s growing. Ensuring that your content is evolving as your business does. 

Audit Area 4: Audience Connection 

How well does your audience ‘get you’? Building a strong audience connection means two things: They get you, and you get them. It has to go both ways.  

• They Get You: You have carefully selected tidbits about yourself and your business to share that you know (aka your market research supports this) will resonate with your audience, and you regularly share about these things. 
• You Get Them: You talk about their problems and desires and what it means to them. You present these in a way that engages them, rather than turns them off. 

Audit Area 5: Social Presence 

We’re big advocates of investing time on social platforms where your audience predominantly spends time, rather than hopping onto several platforms and spreading yourself a bit thin. Social presence – being present on your social media channels – is much easier to do when you can actually manage where you are and invest your time with quality, rather than quantity. For this part of the audit, you might want to dive deeper than the dozen or so posts you have selected. 

• Posting: Are you regularly showing up with new posts? It doesn’t matter if it’s once a week or once a day. The goal is to show up with consistency so people know what to expect.  
• Engagement: Are you frequently engaging with your audience? Do you respond to messages and comments? Are you in the habit of commenting on other people’s posts and engaging with them on their profiles?

You don’t have to wait until year end to host a brand and social media audit. Honestly, you should be doing this on a regular basis. It’s one of the activities we do with our Hustle + Flow Business Mentorship members every quarter. The more consistent and cohesive experience we can provide for our audience, the easier it is to build up a loyal following who knows you, likes you, and trust you. 

PS Not sure you can handle a brand and social media audit on your own? We’d love to help! We offer Brand + Social Media Alignment Audits that come with a jam-packed report full of actionable items you can start doing asap to boost your brand and gain traction on your social media channels. Contact us today to learn more about it!