In today’s day and age, it’s crucial for brands to have an online presence. However, too often businesses fall into the trap of simply posting on social media for the sake of it or spreading their efforts too thinly in an attempt to be present on each and every possible channel. Both approaches can lead to a huge waste of time.
Instead, your goal should rather be to make sure that your brand has a strong presence on the social platforms that its target audience uses. A social media audit will be able to help you identify which channels and type of content work best. To enhance your social media management, consider incorporating Social Media Schedulers into your strategy. It’s not the most exciting part of social media marketing, but it needs to be done (at least once a year).
Social Media Audit Template
To help you with your social media management audit, we’ve created a free template on Google Sheets. The best approach would be to use this spreadsheet in conjunction with one (or more) of the following social media tools. Most of these tools will give you the information you need to complete the information required about your best posts.
Get a free template for your social media audit!
What’s Meant by Social Media Auditing?
In short, social media auditing refers to the process of listing all your social media accounts and including as many details about them. This information will help you to assess if the social media channels on which you’re active suit your brand and if your individual accounts are managed effectively. This exercise will also help you to identify any outdated or unofficial social media accounts that use your brand’s name.
How Often Should You Complete a Social Media Audit?
Ideally, you should have a once-a-year full-scale audit as well as monthly reviews. Your yearly review, which should be carried out more or less at the same time each year, will analyze all your accounts in detail to determine if it’s wise to continue using that platform.
The focus of your monthly reviews will be more on the content. You’ll study the analytics of the content that you’ve shared that month to help you identify which types of posts your target audience engages with better. If you partner with influencers, you can take your monthly reviews even one step further by looking at the performance of the content shared by your influencers.
Free Social Media Audit Tools to Crunch the Numbers
1. Buffer

Buffer is a robust social media management platform that empowers brands, businesses, agencies, and individuals to drive meaningful engagement and results. With tools for publishing, engagement, analytics, and team collaboration, Buffer offers a comprehensive suite designed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of social media marketers. One of the standout features is its Social Media Audit capabilities, which provide in-depth insights into performance, helping you grow your brand.
Read More2. Hootsuite

Hootsuite Analytics lets you identify the top posts for all of your social platforms quickly and in one place. It also helps you to track conversions easily with repeatable reports. Armed with these valuable insights, it becomes much easier to improve your social strategy.
It also includes a free ROI calculator that you can use to compare what you’ve invested into your social media marketing and what results this investment has delivered (like sales, followers, and conversions). Other useful tools for social media auditing include all-in-one audience reporting in Hootsuite Insights and their free, ready-to-use social media audit template.
Read More3. Crowdfire

With Crowdfire’s free plan, you can get access to social analytics and advanced analytics that include graphs of some important statistics. Though, sadly, with the free plan you’ll only be able to access one day’s data at a time. So, it’s more like a type of free trial that lets you try out its core capabilities without any financial commitment.
Read More4. Fedica

If you need a tool specifically for auditing your performance on Twitter, be sure to check out Fedica. It’s one of the top tools for monitoring brand mentions, but can also help you to analyze and optimize your social growth. With it, you can search Twitter bios, connect with fans or influencers and group them by authority, number of followers, or location.
Read More5. SparkToro

Similarly to Crowdfire’s free plan, SparkToro’s free plan is more for testing the functionality of its features. So, while it includes audience intelligence and text insights, these will only be sampled. For actual data that you can use, you’ll need to sign up for one of its three subscription plans.
Unlike most of the other tools on our list, SparkToro’s main focus is on audience intelligence and not so much post analytics. It can be especially useful for social media marketers who want to maximize reach and engagement as it helps you to identify which accounts reach your target audience. With this type of data, you’ll be able to prove which social accounts boast the most followers and best engagement.
Read More6. Listen

If you specifically want to audit your performance on Twitter, you can also check out Listen. Trusted by over 350,000 marketers across the globe, it offers analytics that you need to create an effective social media strategy and can basically help you to automate analysis. Its features include profile analysis that will help you to evaluate and optimize your impact on social media. This way, you’ll be able to grow your reach effectively.
Read More7. Squarelovin

Trusted by brands like Nivea and Stabilo, Squarelovin is another social media tool that you can use for Instagram analytics. It offers more than just the basic insights and will help you to identify which types of posts attract the most engagement and track the best time for posting.
Plus, as social media marketing is really about your target audience, it also offers comprehensive insights on your audience demographics.
Read More8. BuzzSumo

If you specifically want to get a better idea about the performance of your content, BuzzSumo can be a very handy tool. It’s one of the top content marketing tools and you can use it to quickly find out which web pages have gained traction on social media. Plus, as each social network is unique, it also lets you compare which content resonates most on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Another useful feature is that it can help you to identify backlinks to your content. With the help of their backlink checker, you can uncover any backlink spam which can hurt your online rep. It also includes social media monitoring to keep track of brand mentions on social media.
Read MoreBest Free Social Media Audit Tools Compared
We've explored the best free social media audit tools to enhance your digital strategy. Now, let's compare these top tools side by side to see which features align best with your brand's needs.
Tool Name | Influencer Analytics | Audience Analysis | Custom Reports | Post Scheduling | Hashtag Analysis | Competitor Analysis | Fraud Detection |
Sprout Social | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
Planoly | X | ✓ | X | ✓ | X | X | X |
Klear | ✓ | ✓ | X | X | X | ✓ | ✓ |
HypeAuditor | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | X | X | ✓ |
Buffer | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | ✓ | X |
ContentCal | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
Crowdfire | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | ✓ | X |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best tools for performing a social media audit?
The best tools for performing a social media audit include Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and Buffer for comprehensive management and analytics. Specialized tools like BuzzSumo are excellent for content performance analysis, while Snoopreport focuses on tracking Instagram activity.
How do social media audit tools improve marketing strategies?
Social media audit tools improve marketing strategies by providing detailed insights into content performance, audience engagement, and competitor activities. These tools help identify successful content types, optimal posting times, and key influencers, allowing marketers to refine their strategies, enhance engagement, and drive better ROI.
What key metrics should be included in a social media audit?
Key metrics in a social media audit include follower growth, engagement rates (likes, shares, comments), content performance (reach, impressions, clicks), audience demographics, and sentiment analysis. These metrics help in understanding the effectiveness of social media efforts and identifying areas for improvement.
How often should a business conduct a social media audit?
A business should conduct a social media audit at least quarterly to stay updated on the latest performance trends and adjust strategies accordingly. Regular audits ensure that the social media approach remains aligned with business goals, adapts to platform changes, and continues to engage the target audience effectively.
Can social media audit tools help with competitor analysis?
Yes, social media audit tools can significantly aid in competitor analysis by tracking competitors' social media activities, engagement metrics, and content strategies. Tools like Sprout Social and BuzzSumo provide insights into competitors' top-performing posts, audience engagement, and overall social media presence, enabling businesses to benchmark their performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
Comparing Social Media Audit Tool
These tools operate across diverse sectors, such as Business Services, Advertising & Marketing, Influencer Analytics, SEO, and Social Listening, among others. Explore the sections below for an overview of Social Media Audit Tool categorized by:
- 12 Tools to Run an Instagram Audit
- Top 25 Social Media Listening Tools
- 19 Best SEO Audit Tools to Boost Your Rankings
- Top 17 Influencer Analytics Tools for Marketing Campaigns
- Top 10 Social Media Engagement Tools
- Top 8 Social Media Planners for Optimal Performance
- Top 13 Share of Voice Tools
- Best Social Media Posting and Scheduling Tools


