5 Steps To Audit Your Content for Better Reach and Engagement

If you’re consistently posting quality content, yet not seeing the reach and engagement you’d like, it might be time to consider a content audit.

What does this mean? Essentially, it’s an evaluation of your existing content across channels to assess its performance and relevance. It’s also a moment to pause, rediscover your inspiration, do a deep dive into your audience, and reconnect with your purpose as a Creator.

To get you started, we’ve put together a few steps for performing a content audit. We’d recommend starting a document or having a notepad handy to track your findings. 

And remember—the key is to try to look at your content objectively, as if you’re a regular social media user. Ask yourself whether you would follow and engage if you came across these posts in your feed.

1. Analyze Your Data

Before you dig into the qualitative aspects of your content, it’s a good idea to have a quantitative baseline. For example—how often are you posting? What’s your typical engagement rate? Knowing the answers to these questions is a starting point for understanding what content is performing, and where you might be able to improve. 

Take some time to analyze your content posting cadence and performance, and note certain statistics like:

• Content posting schedule: Take note of how often you’re posting on each platform over a given time period, and track the performance of each time period. Does your reach and engagement increase or decrease when you post more? 
• Reach and engagement metrics: Take a look at your average reach and engagement per post, as well as your totals over a specific time period on each platform. Note if this performance has changed over time. 
• Individual content performance: Identify which posts or types of posts are performing best and receiving the highest reach, engagement, traffic, clicks, etc. Try to find patterns or categories where you can—how does your video content perform? What about your static images? 
• Conversion metrics: Are you trying to drive affiliate sales from your content? If so, take a look at which pieces of content are driving the most sales, and to which types of products. For example, are Instagram Stories driving sales? Or do you see high conversion rates on Facebook?

2. Consider Your Value Proposition

The most successful Creators provide a specific or unique value for their audiences. Maybe their followers love watching their funny, relatable sketches. Or maybe they follow them for do-able home design tips for beginners. 

A content audit is the perfect time to take a step back, and critically ask yourself: what is my value proposition?

Write down the following questions, and try to answer them:

• Does your content educate, inspire, and/or entertain?
• What is your clearly defined niche or niche audience? 
• What problem(s) do you solve for your audience?
• What specific reason does your audience have to follow you, engage, or come back for more?

If you’re struggling to figure out your value proposition, your content may be too broad, and you may want to consider narrowing your focus to a more specific niche.

3. Evaluate Your Messaging

Take a good look at your content’s messaging. This can mean anything from your post captions to your video scripts. 

The way you speak to your audience can greatly impact your content’s success; social media users appreciate when Creators are candid, authentic, funny, and clever. 

Try to answer these questions:

• Is the copy intriguing and engaging?
• Do you have a clear and consistent voice?
• Does the content include a “hook” that gets your audience’s attention?
• Do your captions include CTA’s that encourage your audience to take an action?

Your voice should represent you and strive to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Relating to your audience is what helps build trust and a long-term connection.

4. Assess Your Aesthetic

Reviewing the aesthetic aspects of your content is imperative for creating a visually appealing and cohesive brand presence. 

You’ll want to take a look at all your visual elements, including images, videos, graphics, and the look of your feed as a whole. A few basics to look for include:

• Consider whether you’ve maintained consistency in your color palette, fonts, and aesthetic choices. 
• Ensure whether you’re always using high-resolution imagery and video.
• Identify high-performing visual content by reviewing engagement metrics associated with specific images, graphics, or aesthetic choices.

You should also evaluate the relevance, uniqueness, and overall impact of your visuals. Ask yourself these questions, and use the answers to adjust where necessary: 

• Are your visuals eye-catching, high-quality, and compelling?
• What elements do or do not make you want to watch, engage, comment, save, or share this content?
• What multimedia elements are you using, and how do these impact engagement?

By understanding which visual elements resonate the most with your audience, you can tailor your future content strategy to align with these preferences. Additionally, adapting the aesthetics to match the tone and values of your brand enhances brand recognition and fosters a stronger connection with your audience.

5. Study Your Audience

Understanding your audience is essential for creating tailored content that gets high engagement. If your content doesn’t seem to be resonating with your audience, you may want to take a step back and ask yourself if you’re truly targeting the right audience with your type of content.

Use these steps and tools to learn more about your audience:

• Demographic analysis: What is the age, gender, location, and language preference of your audience? Use your social media analytics, Google Analytics, and audience insights on various platforms to nail the basics. 
• Audience behavior: Use your previous data deep dive to help you learn things like what content they engage with the most and when they are most active online. 
• Preferences and challenges: What products do they like to shop for, and what are their biggest pain points? What are they generally interested in, and what do they want to see more of? If you’re not sure, you can use tools like Instagram Stories to conduct surveys, polls, and encourage comments to learn more about your audience!
• Community engagement: What encourages your audience to engage? How do they feel about your content, and what topics generate the most feedback and discussion? Take a look at your comments, direct messages, and participate in community discussions to find out.

Adjusting content based on these learnings not only enhances engagement but also forges a lasting connection, as audiences are more likely to engage with content that caters to their specific needs and preferences.

The insights gained from a content audit can empower you to refine your content strategy, and align it more seamlessly with your niche, audience, and interests. And tapping into the things that perform may even inspire you to try new ideas, or hone in on that one specialty that will enhance your brand and exponentially grow your reach.