5 Steps for Spring Cleaning your Social Media

It's that time of year again! The days are getting longer, temperatures are warming up, and the first flowers are starting to bloom. This change brings a desire for a fresh start... yes, it's time for some spring cleaning. But we are not talking about dusting shelves or organizing the garage for now. We're talking about something just as important: your social media strategy!

Over the months, it's easy for your social channels to accumulate a bit of digital dust —like crowded inboxes, broken links, and outdated holiday ads. A good spring clean of your socials is the perfect way to keep your brand looking fresh and up-to-date with the latest trends.

Spring cleaning your social media is a fantastic way to keep your brand fresh and in line with current trends. So, let's dive into 5 easy steps to spruce up your social media strategy!

Why do I need to rethink my social media strategy?

Social media is always changing. What worked yesterday might not cut it today. And I'm not just talking about trends, but also the constantly evolving updates, features, and changes on social platforms. Just last year, we saw Twitter become X, faced TikTok bans, witnessed Meta launching Threads, observed many updates on Instagram, and, of course, the ascension of AI.

This constant change means digital marketers and businesses need to stay on their toes. Keeping up with social media shifts is key to tweaking strategies and staying relevant online.

You've gotta keep your marketing strategy fresh. It's something fluid that needs regular tweaks, even if they're minor.

Marketing 101: What worked yesterday, may not work today!

— Gabriela Cardoza (@CardozaGab)

Ideally, you're checking out your results every month to make whatever adjustments are needed.

But you should also pencil in a yearly strategy review, audit, and reset. A good spring clean ensures your brand stays vibrant and on-trend.

5 Steps to refresh your social media

1. Audit Your Presence

Now is the perfect opportunity to dive into your social media analytics, even if the idea doesn't initially excite you. You might be surprised to discover how much these analytics can reveal about your strategy's success.

Before tweaking anything, review your existing content.

Performance Analysis:

Ask yourself:

• What content from my past posts is working well? Which isn’t?
• How engaged is my audience on each channel?
• Is each platform performing well for my intended audience?
• Does my social media strategy align with my marketing goals?

Maybe it's time to say goodbye to those low-engagement posts and hello to more of what works. It’s also a great time to pay special attention to evergreen content—those posts that continue to engage your audience long after they're published. This kind of content is gold for maintaining a lively and relevant presence without constantly creating new material. But, it's also important to review evergreen content from time to time to ensure it remains valuable.

Content and Platform Evaluation:

Break down your content by type and review your metrics to identify what’s performing well and what’s not.

✅ Pro tip: Filter by top-performing posts from the last 90 days. Look for patterns: do your audience prefer videos? Carousels? Tips?

Don’t forget about evaluating your platforms too! Look at key metrics like growth rate, referral traffic, and conversion rate to understand where your efforts are paying off.

This kind of review can help you spot platforms that aren’t meeting expectations and highlight opportunities to shift your focus or strengthen your online presence.

2. Refresh Your Profiles

This is the fun part—updating your profiles.

Start by checking your profile pictures. If you've got new ones (maybe more professional?), replace the old ones. This simple update signals to people that your business is up-to-date and growing. Think about changing your cover photo to something fresh, such as a new product, a seasonal celebration or promotion, or a catchy design. This can help grab people's attention.

Next, take a look at your bio or about section. Ensure it reflects the latest information about what you offer, your successes, or any new deals. Using the right words here can help more people find you online.

Remove any information and posts that are outdated or no longer align with your current activities. This will keep your profile clean and focused.

If you're using a "link in bio" tool, such as Linktree, ensure all links are working. Also, verify that your website link is functioning and all your contact information is accurate. It's crucial for people to be able to contact you easily.

Finally, a critical but often overlooked aspect: security. Regularly updating your passwords is essential to protect your accounts from unauthorized access. Turning on 2-factor authentication is also a smart move.

You can find our complete guide to setting up your profile for success here: guide link.

3. Look Around

Refining your social media strategy also involves a bit of neighborhood watch—conducting a comparative analysis with your competitors. It's not about copying what they do but learning from their successes.

Start by selecting at least three industry leaders and examining their social media presence. Pay attention to not only the platforms they're active on but also the types of content they're posting.

Observe the engagement levels: Are people interacting with their posts? This observation can help you identify which strategies they're employing and whether there are gaps in your own approach that might be hindering your reach. Perhaps you'll discover something they're not doing that you can start doing. Understanding both their wins and misses can really help you stand out online.

Step 1: Select Your Competitors

• 2-3 direct competitors (similar size and offerings)
• 1-2 aspirational brands (larger, successful brands in your space)
• 1 unexpected competitor (brand targeting similar audience but different product)

Step 2: Identify Gaps and Opportunities

• Content themes they're missing
• Platforms they're underutilizing
• Audience segments they're neglecting
• Questions their followers ask that go unanswered

Step 3: Extract Actionable Insights

‍Create a list of 3-5 specific strategies to test based on your competitor analysis, such as:

• Test user-generated content campaign (successful for Competitor A)
• Create educational carousel posts (high engagement for Competitor B)
• Launch Q&A series addressing industry challenges (missing from all competitors)

4. Consider new tools and strategies

Social media never stands still. With its constantly evolving landscape, there are always fresh trends, tools, and techniques emerging to redefine how we connect and engage.

Just when you think you've got a handle on it, social media surprises you with something new. Take Instagram, for example; it has introduced so many new features in the past months that I've lost count. Whether it's experimenting with short videos, trying out platforms like Threads, or using AI tools (like Inky), there's always something new to explore. So ask yourself:

Once you've completed your audit and revisited your strategy, it’s time to explore tools that can help you execute it more efficiently.

Keeping up doesn’t mean chasing every shiny new trend but it does mean staying flexible, being curious, and experimenting thoughtfully.

The right tools can help streamline your process, so you can focus on strategy without getting bogged down in day-to-day content management. Tools like MeetEdgar, for example, can automate your posting schedule and recycle evergreen content for you, saving you a bunch of time, while new AI tools can help you brainstorm and generate fresh content ideas.

If you're wondering how to keep up, here are some tips: regularly read updates from sites (like Social Media Today) and other tech news sources, follow social media gurus, sign up for newsletters that cover digital marketing, and join online discussions or webinars. These steps can help you stay on top of the game.

A little strategic update now can save you loads of time and confusion later.

5. Set new goals

Now that you have a clear understanding of your current position, competitors' strategies, and the latest social media innovations, it's time to set new objectives. Think about how your business goals have changed over the last year and how social media can help you meet these new targets.

Review Previous Goals

Start by revisiting the goals you set when you first started using social media. Ask yourself: Are you meeting these goals? Are they still suitable for your business? Were they SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)?

It's not about starting from scratch but about tweaking your strategy for improvement. If you've met or surpassed your goals, consider setting higher ones, or reflect on whether your initial goals were too easy. There's always room for improvement!

And when it's time to set specific objectives, set your KPIs and create SMART goals. Instead of general goals like "increase engagement," create platform-specific objectives tied to business outcomes:

Instagram Goals Example:

• Increase story view completion rate from 65% to 75% by June 30
• Generate 10 user-generated content submissions monthly by Q3

LinkedIn Goals Example:

• Increase content share rate from 1.5% to 3% by end of Q2
• Generate 3 qualified leads monthly from LinkedIn posts by August

A special treat: your spring cleaning checklist

To help you implement these tips, I've prepared a downloadable Social Media Spring Cleaning Checklist. This resource outlines actionable steps you can take across different platforms to tidy up your online presence.

You see, cleaning your social media isn't just a chore; it's an opportunity to reinvigorate your online presence, improve your brand image, and foster deeper engagement with your audience. So, it's worth taking the time to really clean up your online presence. Trust me, your digital self will be thankful later.

With the cobwebs cleared from every corner of your social media, it's time to enjoy your refreshed profiles!