How to Do a Facebook Audit for Your Agency Clients in 7 Easy Steps (Bonus: Downloadable Templates + Instagram Audit Checklist)

Whether you signed a new Facebook client to improve their ad spend efficiency, content performance, or brand consistency, the first step is to conduct a Facebook audit. 

If this is your first time conducting an audit, many questions may pop into your mind:

• How do I even start auditing a Facebook account?
• What metrics do I need to review in a Facebook audit?
• Should I also audit Instagram with Facebook? 
• What about a Facebook Ad Account audit?

And if you’ve done it before but your process is messy, you’re worried about missing out on crucial metrics. 

Whatever your situation, this post is for you — a step-by-step guide for how to do a Facebook audit (Facebook pages, ad accounts and Instagram).

It answers all your questions about conducting a Facebook audit and includes examples from successful audits and templates to get started. 

Let’s start with what happens when you don’t do a Facebook audit.

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Why should you conduct a Facebook audit?

You can be flexible about auditing an active Facebook account based on your goals, time, and resource availability. These can be:

• Short weekly reviews for performance analysis, such as engagement metrics
• Detailed monthly audits for growth trends—for example, content performance
• Quarterly audits to create reports—for example, the performance of different content formats and audience engagement.
• Yearly audits for YoY growth analysis to perform activities like setting goals, comparing key metrics, and adjusting content strategy. 

However, the first audit you conduct immediately after taking on a new Facebook client is a must-have. If you skip this step, you

• Can’t identify opportunities based on past actions: Auditing your Facebook account shows you areas where you’re underperforming to optimize and achieve better results. For example, only after auditing can you identify that the content gets the most engagement when posted at a set time of day. 

• Can’t identify issues stopping the growth: You won’t be able to diagnose problems without an audit, which will keep hurting the account’s performance.

• Can’t understand the client’s target audience: If you don’t audit audience analytics and content performance and know who to create content for, you can’t grow a page organically. 

• Can’t figure out who is actively working on the page: Without knowing team members and their access levels, you can’t assign tasks properly and keep workflows in check. 

• Can’t set benchmarks to compare: A detailed audit gives you benchmarks to set goals. Once you achieve those goals, you can show a data-driven audit report to your client. 

Take Marketing 360’s 235% increase in ad conversion rate, for example. By auditing sales funnels and Facebook ads performance, they understood their audience, mapped out the audience journey, and created ads for each stage. 

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The result was a 235% increase in conversion rate. 

Lesson for you: Conducting a Facebook audit is necessary; it helps identify opportunities and threats, understand audience and content performance, and set goals to achieve. 

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How to do a Facebook audit for a Facebook Business Page

There’s no one-size-fits-all Facebook audit process. It depends on your client’s goals — sometimes, they’ll tell you the problems and objectives, and sometimes they won’t. Either way, you should start with the basics: 

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1. Request access to the client’s Facebook page

In order to audit and work on a Facebook business page, you need full access. Ask your client to follow these steps to grant you Facebook page access using Business Manager. 

On the BM dashboard, go to Accounts > Pages. Choose the page and click “Assign Partners.”

You’ll be asked to enter the partner’s Business Manager ID or get a shareable link. Let’s choose a shareable link. Now, select permissions (Full access) to give access to and copy the link.

But as busy as your client is, asking them to assign you permission is another added task on their list. Want to simplify the onboarding experience? 

You take control and get this task off their plate — Choose the permissions you want access to and share your Leadsie link. They permit you access to their Facebook business page, and you get access!

Leadsie helps you avoid back and forth between emails and Zoom calls to provide a pleasant onboarding experience to your clients. 

You can sign up for a 14-day free trial here.

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2. Export current page details (Optional)

Once you get access, log in to your client’s Facebook page and export a copy of current page details.

It’s crucial before making any changes so you have it for future reference while showing results to your clients, in case of error recovery or legal dispute. 

From the Facebook page, open Settings & privacy > Privacy.

Click “Facebook Page information” and “View” next to “Download profile information.”

Facebook gives you two options to download files:

• HTML file for keeping a visual record.
• JSON file for importing the data on another platform.

Pick one, choose a date range and settings you’d like to import, and click “Request a download.”

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3. Review the page’s profile and branding

Start with a Facebook profile audit and branding review. Confirm that the page’s profile and cover photos follow the client’s branding guidelines. If not, edit them. 

Next, review whether the CTA is appropriately set up. If not, click the three dots and “Edit action button.”

This one is currently set up to book appointments on Facebook. You can change it into default Facebook buttons such as “Book a call,” “Sign up,” “Send WhatsApp message,” etc.

Review the about, website link, and description section to ensure these represent the client’s brand. Click on “Edit” to update these settings.

Go to Settings > General Settings to review the username.

Finally, run a Google search to see if the Facebook page shows up in search results for the brand name. If so, what’s the position? Start posting actively to improve SERP rankings and make the Facebook algorithm work for you.

‍Pro tip: Verify the Facebook page to get a blue checkmark, access to advanced Meta technologies, developer tools, and strengthen your page security. It’s a paid service. 

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4. Review the Facebook page’s content

Begin with reviewing the recently posted content. See if the images follow branding guidelines. Is the post copy well formatted? What types of posts are published? How many content formats are used? What’s the publishing frequency? 

See at what time the posts are getting the most engagement. If you don’t have enough data, test different times or use Sprout Social’s best times to post on Facebook: Mondays to Thursdays between 1 and 4 pm. 

Archive Facebook content that you find irrelevant and does not add to the business’s goal. 

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5. Review customer experience settings

If your client’s goal is to drive business from a Facebook page, reviewing the customer experience settings is a good idea.

First, check if auto-responses are enabled. Go to Meta Business Suite > Inbox and set up “Automations.”

Try a Facebook-made automation or build one from scratch. You can answer FAQs, add automated links to schedule calls or book a ticket with customer support.

‍Pro tip: Get a messenger URL for your page to encourage more conversations. 

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6. Review content and audience engagement

Are images post performing better or videos? How’s the engagement? How’s the target audience reacting to posts? What are the audience demographics? 

Go to Meta Business Suite > Insights > Overview to understand the page’s engagement. 

Also, review each post’s performance to see what content type gets the most engagement. Head over to the Content on the Insights tab.

To review audience demographics, click Audience. Scroll down to view the audience countries.

Once you have enough data, you can conduct a Facebook strategy audit. Check the current content calendar and adjust it based on your learning. 

For example, add more textual content if you found that text-based informative posts perform best. If interactive content drives the most engagement, include more polls, questions, and surveys in your calendar. 

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7. Review general settings

Quickly look at the basic Facebook page’s settings to ensure everything’s in place. 

Pay close attention to the “Privacy” tab settings, as often, these settings can be too restrictive and hinder the page’s growth.

For example, leaving view settings to “only me” instead of “Public.” Review Privacy settings to ensure they are set up for growth. 

Here’s a downloadable template to audit a Facebook page.

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How to audit a Facebook Ads Manager account

If you’re also to work on your client’s Facebook ads account, follow these steps to audit it.

First, you need to request access to their Facebook ads account:

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1. Request access to your client’s Facebook ads manager account

Ask your client to go to Accounts > Ad accounts, select ad account, then “Assign Partners” from their BM Dashboard.

Now, they send you a shareable link or use your BM ID. Only after they grant you access can you start working on the account. 

Or you can skip the entire step by using one Leadsie link to request access to both the Facebook page and Ad account assets at once.

Simply select the permissions you want and send your Leadsie link to your client.  

Once you get access, you’ll be able to view the dashboard. 

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2. Review payment method settings

First, see if the payment method is set up correctly. If not, you’ll get it as the first notification in the Overview section. Ask your client to add a separate payment method, as you won’t have access to make these changes. 

They can also do it by clicking “Bills & Payments” > “Payment methods.” 

Confirm if the ad account is connected to a Facebook page. If not, ask your client to add their Facebook page in Business Manager. 

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3. Review dataset (pixel) settings

To run Facebook ads effectively targeting your client’s website visitors, make sure the pixel is installed on their website correctly. Head over to the Events Manager.

Go to Data Sources to see if the events are counted correctly. 

If not, add a new data source using Conversion API to collect target audience data from multiple sources, including websites, third-party sites, etc. 

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4. Review ad performance metrics

If the client has been running some ads on their own, review the current analytics. Pay close attention to essential metrics like CPC, CTR, Results (number of actions taken), impressions, engagement rate, link clicks, etc., and export a report for future reference. 

If the client hasn’t run any ads and you’re responsible for it, then you can start creating custom reports, including ad performance metrics: 

• CTR (click-through rate)
• Results (number of actions taken)
• Cost per action
• Reach
• Quality ranking
• Clicks
• Amount spent

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5. Review Facebook ad campaigns

If your client has been running ads, review their ad creatives. See what type of visuals they created? Are they eye catching? Analyze ad quality, copy, call-to-action, hashtags, etc.,  and review campaign performance metrics for each ad campaign. 

If not, you can start creating ad campaigns on your own using the company branding, style guide, and A/B testing to compare variations of ad creatives. 

Then, review how the campaigns are organized at campaigns, ad sets, and ads level. How are they named? Audience? Engagement? Outcomes? Or goals?

Of course, you won't find ad creatives if it's a brand-new account. In that case, you can start naming the campaigns you create according to how you find it easier to organize. 

 Finally, review the landing pages these ad campaigns send traffic to. Are these easy to navigate? Well-designed with proper CTAs?

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6. Review audience targeting

To run targeted ads, check if your client has created custom and lookalike audiences. Review how each audience segment is performing. Look for critical factors like:

• Audience size
• Relevance
• Engagement
• Source quality
• Segmentation
• Performance metrics
• Lookalike potential

If your client hasn’t set up custom audiences, you do it for them. Follow the steps from our guide on creating custom and lookalike audiences.  

‍Remember: If you’ve made some changes to audiences, give it some time to reflect as results. Facebook keeps on collecting audience data from different data sources. The more time you give, the better accuracy you’ll get.

Here’s a downloadable template to audit a Facebook Ad Account.

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How to audit an Instagram Business Account

If Instagram is also on your to-do list, here’s a step-by-step process to audit an Instagram Business Account. As usual, start with requesting access to your client’s Instagram assets.  

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1. Request access to your client’s Instagram Business Account

Ask your client to follow this query on their BM dashboard. Accounts > Instagram accounts > Select account > Assign partners. 

 They’ll need your Business Manager ID. Then grant permissions and click “Next.” Once done, you’ll receive an email notification.

Or you can skip the unnecessary steps of sharing your Business Manager ID and use Leadsie to request Instagram access.

Request permissions and share your Leadsie link with your client. Once they grant access, move on to the next step: auditing the Instagram account. 

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2. Review their Instagram Business Profile

The first impression a customer/follower will have is on the profile, so make sure it conveys the brand’s value correctly. Start with reviewing your client’s public Instagram profile. Look for the following things: 

• Profile picture displays the brand’s business logo. 
• Bio conveys the brand’s USP.
• The bio includes a link as CTA. 
• The business’s branding colors are used. 

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‍Pro tip: Ask your client what their goal is with Instagram. Are they building an engagement channel, or do they want to drive customers to their website? Once you understand the goals, devising an Instagram strategy will be easier. 

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3. Review content performance

Next, review the recent posts to make sure they’re consistent with publishing and branding. Are visuals following brand colors? What type of content format is used frequently? Are posts informational, transactional, or both? How are captions formatted? Are they well-written? Do captions include CTAs? Hashtags?

Then, analyze the publishing frequency. What’s the engagement level for posts? Are you getting only likes or also comments? Is the page actively engaging with followers? Are DMs easily accessible? 

See when the posts get the most engagement. If you can’t identify the pattern, use Sprout Social’s best times to post on Instagram: Weekdays between 9 am and noon.  

Finally, archive or remove irrelevant content that doesn’t add to business goals or themes. You’ll find that most posts need to be changed, as the client might not have posted with a strategy in mind. If so, use these metrics to guide you into creating a more customized Instagram content strategy. 

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4. Review content and audience analytics

See what type of content drives the most engagement: Reels, carousels, videos, stories, or images. And what types of engagement are impressions, likes, comments, or DMs?

On Meta Business Suite, go to Insights, then Content. Now, set Placement as Instagram Feed and use other filters to customize the results.

Switch from Content to Audience in the Insights tab to understand Instagram audience demographics.

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5. Review your client’s Instagram content strategy

Finally, look at your client’s Instagram content strategy for the next few months. By now, you’ll have enough data to make minor adjustments. For example, by reviewing the data, if you learned informative carousels attract more comments, but reels attract more impressions, use both frequently to grow an engaged audience. 

Successful Instagram audits bring outstanding results. Take Triumph’s case. The company started with two followers to increase brand awareness, and with compelling content, they were able to drive exponential follower growth.

 Here’s a downloadable template to audit an Instagram Business Account.

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Bonus step: Present your findings in an audit report

Once you’ve finished auditing the accounts and identified threats and opportunities, showing the results to the client is a good idea to give them an understanding of the current position. 

Compile the data into insights and strategies to create an actionable audit report.

You can use charts, colors, and fonts to break down complex numbers. Clearly articulate the expected results section to make them look forward to achieving them. 

Here’s a downloadable marketing audit template you can use. 

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Smooth access is the foundation of an exceptional audit

First-time marketing account audits build the foundation of results-driven growth, and you know how crucial they are to set benchmarks.  

You also know how overwhelming it gets to exchange multiple emails and calls to get access to these accounts — especially when you’re trying to win the client by providing them with a seamless onboarding experience. 

Good news! You don't have to worry about it anymore because Leadsie is designed to remove the feeling of being overwhelmed. 

Simply share your Leadsie link requesting access to all the required assets at once with your clients and make it easier for them to grant you permissions. 

You can get a 14-day free trial here.

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FAQs on How to do a Facebook audit

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1. Should you also audit the Instagram account while auditing a Facebook page?

This depends on whether or not your client outsourced Instagram with the Facebook page and ad assets. When you’re on the onboarding call with them, ask specifically if they’d like their Instagram account to be audited as well. 

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2. Can you request access to a Facebook page, ad account, and Instagram Business Account together?

Yes, you can request access to a Facebook page, ad account, and Instagram Business Account by giving your Business Manager ID to your client and asking them to share the required assets.

Or you could use Leadsie to take control — request required assets and share your Leadsie link. Easy peasy!

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3. What’s the best way to identify top and weak performing areas for each audit?

After auditing and collecting data, comparing it to the industry benchmarks is the first step to identifying top and weak-performing areas. Top performing should be equal (or close) to the industry benchmarks. However, as each account differs, a better way is to collect your account data for months and then set criteria.