Are You Web 3.0 Ready? Learn 12 Steps Social Media Audit

Before we get started, let’s discuss about web 3.0!

Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is the 3rd generation of internet services for websites and applications that will focus on providing a data-driven and Semantic Web using a machine-based understanding of data. Web 3.0's ultimate goal is to make websites that are more intelligent, connected, and open.

Web 3.0 Examples

Let’s see some examples of web 3.0.

• Blockchain Technology
• Cryptocurrency
• Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
• Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
• Decentralized Apps (dApps)
• Smart Contracts
• Distributed Computing (Edge Computing)

Conducting a Social Media Audit in Web 3.0 World

Now, we will discuss 12 tips for executing a social media audit in a Web 3.0 world.

1. Schedule It

Schedule an audit for your brand, a semiannual checkup, and an annual exam ahead of time, rather than waiting until a potential problem is discovered or failing results appear.

A social media audit will result in an effective and trackable update to an existing social media strategy or a fresh start to a new one.

Keep your team responsible and transparent by scheduling social media audits on a calendar and inviting all stakeholders to participate.

When it comes to social media audits, use the SMART method of goal-setting. Keep it:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timeframe

2. Include PR, SEO & PPC, and New Innovations of Web 3.0 in the Audit

Remote working or living behind locked doors in the social media advertising room causes dehydration and a loss of healthy nutrients.

A social media strategy that incorporates public relations, search, and PPC will add depth, optimization, and vital content.

Combining marketing agendas creates a sense of coherence and complements social media planning with coordinated business goals and objectives.

Web 3.0 innovation and technology are having an impact on all aspects of digital marketing, including social media.

Web 3.0 is defined as the internet's next generation, but it operates in a more decentralized environment.

This means that marketers and brands can rely less on big tech companies like Google and Facebook and instead focus on community, creators, and even cryptocurrency.

Social media marketers should keep a third eye on new social networks that emerge from Web 3.0, NFTs, virtual worlds, and how physical and digital worlds merge.

"It's also important to evaluate relative to the digital marketing landscape to see if all of your internet marketing is connected with your social strategy," says Krista Neher, CEO, and Founder of Boot Camp Digital.

3. Grading Scale

A social media audit process and methodology are critical for long-term success and efficiency.

Using consistent methods, whether it's your own Excel process, a template from a third-party source, or a platform like Sprout Social, puts science behind historical comparisons.

Given that 45 percent of content professionals say managing content production workflow is a challenge, Landscape Management Network's Chief Marketing Officer, Sarah Collins, explains how she conducts a social media audit.

4. Headlines & Grades

"We begin with competitors and determine 'who to beat.'" Then we write the headline for each competitor's apparent strategy. Collins explains, "We map it on a quadrant to evaluate the white space for the brand we represent."

Collins breaks down a social media audit approach using quantitative and qualitative factors as follows:

• The quantitative analysis takes into account competitors, community size, engagement, native channels (including Meta insights and analytics), and paid channels (such as Iconosquare, Cubeyou, Nuvi, and Rival IQ).

• Qualitative content analysis, paid social through Rival IQ, and engagement.

Examine your competitors' social media profiles to see what they're missing and what you can do that they're not.

5. Website & Blog Assessment

Look for social media factors on the relevant website and blog pages, such as:

• Shareability
• Meta titles and descriptions
• Formatting
• Keywords
• Visuals
• Content performance
• Links
• Accessibility
• Integration with paid media
• Behavior
• Security and privacy

Questions to Ask

• Do you have a newsroom on your website where you can post media coverage and press releases?
• Is it simple to share your blog posts and pages?
• Do your shareable titles and descriptions make sense?
• What about those graphics? Are they interesting or uninteresting?
• Have you tried out the most popular types of content, such as videos, reels, augmented reality, filters, avatars, and AI-enhanced content?
• What content is the most effective? (If you're surprised, you might want to rethink your content strategy.)
• In Google Analytics, which social media network has the best performance?
• Do you have chatbots integrated into your home page?
• Is 3D or immersive content appropriate?

6. Social Media Channel Review

This is where you should go over each channel, including the following checklist:

• Page/profile optimization
• Cover and profile image use
• Visual assets
• Video optimization (i.e. playlists, featured, etc.)
• Frequency and timing
• Content types/mix
• Comment sentiment and response time
• Live video use
• Engagement
• Branding
• Optimization
• Chatbots and messenger use and strategy
• Augmented reality use
• Virtual reality
• Creator coins
• Web 3/NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea
• Audio experiences such as Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse
• Community platforms such as Discord
• Security and privacy

Integrate your email marketing strategy with social media.

Retargeting campaigns can help you improve your email marketing. Share the content of your email newsletter on social media, and include social media share opportunities in your email marketing content.

Investigate various metaverse channel types, such as:

• Spatial.io
• AltspaceVR
• Horizons Worlds

7. Competitive Social Media Review

Compare the social media channels of your brand to at least two competitors or similar brands.

Make a spreadsheet with the following entries:

• Publishing trends compared to competitors
• Creative
• Frequency
• Content types
• Influencers
• Engagement
• New social networks
• New technologies
• Use of Artificial Intelligence
• Virtual worlds
• Employee/team personal brands are linked to your company's brand and have a positive or negative impact on social media.

8. Content Style, Messaging & Optimization Analysis

This is a chance to see how well your content contributes to social media results. Examine the overall content style and tone.

• Is your content impersonal and robotic, or personal and conversational?
• Is your content based on a strategic content calendar or is it haphazard?
• Are you getting the most out of your hashtags?
• Is your social media team thinking about current events?
• Are you keeping up with the latest features, bells, and whistles that channels are introducing? Make sure you're not relying on what worked last year instead of what's working now.
• As new social media networks emerge, make sure to claim your profiles so you can maintain control over your brand name on each channel.

Consider each social media platform as a separate search engine.

Brands must optimize for each social media channel in the same way that they would optimize for Google using keywords, links, and images.

Optimize your content, images, video, and profiles for each channel as if it were a search engine.

Fach says, "I look to see where social shares lead."

"Is it informative or promotional content?" Offer a solution that will assist the individual – most brands make a promise and then redirect the audience to misleading content. Avoid bait-and-switch social media content."

9. Social Media Distribution & Publishing Assessment

"I've created amazing social media content!" says the brand to himself. The only issue is that it isn't receiving enough exposure, reach, or results."

Check out the content channels and make sure they align with your target audience.

Consider the following distributions:

• Press Releases
• Medium
• LinkedIn
• Guest posts
• Events
• Conferences
• Trade shows
• Webinars
• Lives
• Podcasts
• Audio experiences like Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, and Discord
• Communities like Facebook Groups and Discord Servers

"Make it simple for your team to share social media posts to their personal accounts, especially LinkedIn and Twitter," McEwen advises.

Personal social media channels of your employees are an underutilized distribution channel that can have a significant impact on social ROI.

Social PR Secret: The distribution of content is an important aspect of social media success.

Many businesses publish one piece of content and then move on to the next. The famous advice for social media distribution from Guy Kawasaki is to publish, rinse, and repeat.

10. Visual Asset Audit, Including Video and 3D

The following are all part of today's social media visual trend mix:

• Live video
• Vertical video
• Square images
• Stories
• GIFs
• Memes
• Infographics
• Augmented reality content
• Lenses
• Filters
• Text overlay on images
• Filtered images
• NFTs
• Virtual worlds
• Digital goods and advertising
• Avatars
• PFP (picture for proof) and profile pic
• Livestreams in digital experiences
• 3D content on social and websites using platforms such as Threedium

Make sure each channel's video is optimized. Check out this digital video optimization cheat sheet.

Compare and contrast what is working and trending on social media today with how your company uses visuals.

Are you stuck in the past? Using popular trends from the previous year? Are you following the Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 transition?

Now is the time for a visual refresh to stay current with what your audience expects and enjoys.

Use this checklist to sort through the trends and compare your visuals:

• Types
• Optimization (i.e., alt tags, titles, descriptions, playlists).
• Web/blog visuals
• Social
• Stories
• AR/VR
• Metaverse
• Virtual worlds
• Virtual events such as Fashion Week in the Metaverse
• Emerging tech like holograms, NFTs, virtual beings, avatars, and using artificial intelligence

11. Dig Deep & Set-Up Accurate Tracking

When it comes to social media auditing, you must be honest.

Social media is rife with "fluffy" metrics like likes and comments, also known as vanity metrics. These metrics don't provide us with a lot of useful information.

"If you want to dig a little deeper and correlate actual ROI and money made because of your social media efforts, you need to get nitty-gritty when defining your social media goals and metrics," says Ashley Ward-Segura, Vice President Of Global Operations at TopHatRank.com.

One of the best ways to track a purchase made as a result of a social media post is to do any of the following:

• Use UTM codes in social media posts to create shortened links to product pages.
• Track the source of the referral in Google Analytics or Semrush.
• Create a one-of-a-kind promo code that you only share on social media. (Use a different one for each social media network to track which network generates the most sales.)
• Use QR codes to your advantage.

Perhaps purchases aren't your thing, and those 500 likes are a goldmine for your company. That's perfectly acceptable!

Ward emphasizes the importance of defining a realistic goal, something that can be measured through social media, and giving yourself a realistic timeline to achieve it.

Let us not forget that not everything is quantitative – qualitative data has its own power.

It's referred to as "dark social," and it means that not everything in social media can be tracked. Just because something isn't trackable doesn't mean it isn't happening or having an effect.

12. Third-Eye Chakra

Consider hiring a third-party consultant to review or facilitate a social media audit.

This outside perspective can provide new perspectives and ideas while also identifying problems and roadblocks that your in-house team may miss.

"We frequently conduct social media audits for brands that are already doing a great job," Neher says.

"An outside perspective enables businesses to better benchmark and gain a new set of eyes." Even businesses that are already doing well benefit from expert advice."

According to Neher, a thorough analysis of the data is also essential. An effective social media audit performed by an outside consultant should include the following components:

• A thorough understanding of the organization's goals, objectives, and strategies.
• A deep dive into the analytics to assess current performance.
• Data and competitive analysis to support performance vs. competition.
• Assessment of best practices in the industry by industry experts to identify opportunities
• Implementation of new trends and features to improve results and performance.

Conclusion

Put your brand on the scale and see how it measures up.

Are you overweight on Web 2.0 and muscle-less on Web 3.0?

This could be a problem with social media health.

Brands that refuse to adapt to the rapid innovation shift away from reliance on big techs like Google, Facebook, and Apple will have a lower chance of survival.

Maintaining a healthy social media marketing strategy maximizes audience retention and attention.

The social media community, creators, and utility are all part of the Web 3.0 era.

It's when your audience has a bigger say than you do in your success.

Adapt or perish.