How to Perform a Social Media Audit

Auditing accounts requires considerable research. Spreadsheets are ideal for holding the data you collect. You can create your own or use the suggested Social Media Audit template on PAVILION.

Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 8170.01 requires that all accounts be registered. You must register DoD-owned or operated social media accounts with the DoD Unified Registration System and the U.S. Digital Registry. Registering accounts constitutes the official status for DoD social media accounts on authorized platforms.

Use the Registered Accounts tab of the Social Media Audit template to document the Platform and Handle for all of your unit's registered accounts. You must compile a complete list of all past and present accounts. First, list all the accounts that you and your team use regularly, then list old, inactive or abandoned profiles. 

In the example below, Facebook was entered as the Platform and dinfospavilion1 as the sample Facebook Handle, which is also a link to that account page.

Track new platforms that are emerging and gaining popularity where you don't have an account. Analyze the pros and cons of creating an account and record them on the Platforms Without Accounts tab of the Social Media Audit template. Create an account if you decide to add the platform to your social media strategy, or to reserve your handle for the future. If you choose to create profiles for future use, you must state that it is an official account but not actively managed and advise how to contact the account manager. Additionally, if you do create an account, it must be registered with the DoD. You can reference Section 4 of DoDI 5400.17, "Official Use of Social Media for Public Affairs Purposes," for guidance on registering accounts. 

The following is an example of tracking the pros and cons of using the platforms TikTok and Threads. A pro for using TikTok could be, "Young stable user base with a large number of users," while a con is, "Prohibited use on devices owned by federal government."

Do a general internet search and a search on all social media sites for your unit's name to find accounts you may not know about. If you find an account you don't recognize, you may need to do some digging to see if it is an official account. You can add it to your list of known registered accounts if it is.

If an unauthorized person runs the account, record that as well. List all unauthorized accounts and the steps taken to have them shut down on the Unauthorized Accounts tab of the Social Media Audit template. Getting the accounts shut down may take some time. 

In the example provided below, an unauthorized Facebook account was discovered. The Platform, link to the account and the account's Handle have been recorded. The Steps for Removal are recorded as report account to Facebook. It is clear from the Current Status entry that those steps have not started yet.

The account owner should be a person or group responsible for maintaining and posting on the platform. There may also be additional authorized users for the account. Use the Registered Accounts tab in the Social Media Audit template to identify the account owner, other users, and their roles for each registered account.

A social media account manager should control and be responsible for each account. According to section 3.24 of DoDI 8170.01, "Online Information Management and Electronic Messaging," they must use their mission-related contact information to establish a social media account. They will also be in charge of necessary approvals on the account and will guide its strategic direction. They’ll decide who should have access to the account and what level of access each person should have. Sometimes, responsibility for accounts changes hands. Instead of giving many people access to the passwords, centralize them. Centralizing passwords ensures you don't have to change them whenever someone moves to a new role.

List each password owner and tool used to control the password on the Registered Accounts tab of the Social Media Audit template. It is also a best practice to obtain leadership approval for the account via an official memorandum. Do not use the audit to store the actual passwords.

In the below sample, the owner of the account's password is entered as the person in the PAVILION Government Technical Lead & Content Analyst role. It also shows that a physical copy of the password is stored in their locked top desk drawer.

Use the Registered Accounts tab to ensure that all account details comply with your unit standards and the service branding guidelines per Section 5 of DoDI 5400.17. 

Use the appropriate columns to record and evaluate:

• Profile images
• Cover photos
• Bio text (must include a statement that the account is an official account) 
• Handles
• Links

These account details should all be complete, consistent and current with the unit's brand, image and messaging standards. Complete all bio text and ensure it has the current unit message. You must also check that the same handle is used consistently across social media platforms. The exception might be if you have multiple to serve different purposes. Ensure all links work correctly and point to the correct pages for your unit.

In the example shown below, hyperlinked image file names were entered in the Profile Image and Cover Photo fields. Dinfos-profile.jpeg is the name of the file used for the Profile Image and dinfos-cover.jpeg is the file used for the Cover Photo. "This is the official page for the Defense Information School," was recorded in the Bio Text field, and the hyperlink,  https://www.dinfos.dma.mil/, was entered in the Official Sites field. All of this was taken directly from the account. There was nothing to report for different handles being used on other social media accounts, so the Other Handles field was left blank.

Before analyzing the performance of each account, you must identify and record its objective. You can enter this information in the Account Audits tab of the Social Media Audit template. The objective should be one line representing what you want from using the platform. If accounts do not have an objective, now is the time to create one. You must know what you're trying to achieve before you can evaluate whether or not you're hitting your goals, and an objective will help solidify that. While identifying the objective for each account, it is also a good time to compose or refresh your Unique Value Proposition for each account.

As you evaluate each account and how they all work together to support your unit, you need to understand each platform's audience. Demographics are a vital part of that.

• Who are you targeting?
• What are their consumption habits?
• What platform do they prefer?
• Has this audience changed or grown?

You can use the Audience Demographics column on the Account Audits tab of the Social Media Audit template to track this data.

Once you know what you're trying to achieve, you will better understand what metrics to track to evaluate the account's effectiveness. DoD social media managers must assess the value of establishing an official presence on social media and, once established, always provide timely and accurate information to the public and the news media. Use the Account Audits tab of the Social Media Audit template to record any Pinned Posts for the account and ensure they are still relevant. 

Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to note which metrics you will use to evaluate performance. There are multiple KPI columns in the Account Audits tab of the Social Media Audit template where you can track your KPIs. You can add or remove columns as needed to match your desired number of KPIs.

Some good metrics to watch are:

• Likes
• Reach
• Engagement
• Video
• People

In the below example, the KPI #1 column was changed to Engagement Rate, and an entry of 4% was added. The KPI #2 column was changed to Number of Followers, and an entry of 12,452 was added. The KPI #3 column has been left blank. An additional KPI may be entered there or that column may be deleted. The number of KPIs and what they are is up to the individual conducting the audit.

Your best posts are the ones that generate the most positive engagement. Identify the top three for each account and add them (along with links) to the Top Three Posts column of the Account Audits tab on the Social Media Audit template.

Once you have a list of the best posts, look for patterns:

• Do the top posts contain photos or videos?
• Does the platform used change the amount of engagement?

Add any patterns you recognize to the Notes column of the Account Audits tab on the Social Media Audit template. Use this information to help craft more engaging posts in the future.

You should have enough knowledge and insight into your unit's social media accounts to decide where to focus your efforts. Give careful consideration when deciding to create official social media accounts. You should only create external online presences (EOPs) on social media platforms if the proposed EOP meets a specific communications objective not fulfilled by an existing EOP or other PA activities. Commands at all levels will consolidate and deactivate EOPs that detract or disrupt users searching for official DoD information.

Look at each account's performance and audience, and look for ways to incorporate those accounts with your unit's command messaging. If there isn't a connection, or if the account is not performing well, consider focusing more on the ones that are and less on the ones that aren't. You can reevaluate later to see if more changes are needed. The most crucial factor is to make sound decisions based on the research you uncover during your audit. Focus most of your time and resources on the accounts strengthening the unit's message.

Use the Optimization column on the Account Audits tab of the Social Media Audit template to identify your successful accounts and which accounts need improvement.

Examine the account details and content for your registered accounts for any violations of policies (e.g., DoDD 5122.05, DoDI 5400.17, your organization's policies or other policies). Record these violations in the Policy Violations column on the Account Audits tab of the Social Media Audit template. Take the appropriate steps to rectify these violations and notate accordingly.

In the Outstanding Actions column of the Account Audits tab, document all corrective actions needed to remedy issues found on the Registered Accounts or Account Audits tabs of the template. 

You may discover that some accounts or platforms outperform others. You may need to adjust your strategy, invest more time in the successful accounts or deactivate the poor-performing account. If you deactivate an account, reference DoDI 5400.17 paragraph 7e to ensure you meet all records management specifications and requirements. It is a best practice to create a memorandum that details the reason for closing the account to manage records properly. Archive content on any deactivated official accounts per DoDI 5015.02.

A social media audit is more than just a one-and-done process. Audit all accounts regularly to ensure they are up to date, reflect the unit's messaging, and perform as expected. Measure identified KPIs from your initial audit offline. This is the opportunity to enhance the audit based on lessons learned and metrics observed.

Creating a social media performance report that houses and displays this information is a best practice that will allow you to provide a meaningful report to inform leadership and influence future decision-making.

You can decide how often you will perform an audit, but quarterly is an excellent place to start.