I treat a website like someone’s digital casa and just like your home, there’s clutter that can mess up with your flow.
If you’ve ever lived with someone who’s a hoarder, then you know how much junk can mess with your psyche and productivity. Your website, social media profiles, and inbox are no different.
Websites are often the places where you’ll accumulate the most crap without realizing it. Outdated plugins and extra files quickly add up.
Not only does this mess up your SEO but it also slows down your load time and leave you susceptible to hacks.
As someone who used to rock those shared hosting accounts, I spent more than enough time cleaning databases and starting from scratch. It’s one of the reasons why I swear by WP Engine, and yes I am an affiliate.
An audit is more than the technical work. Sure cleaning up your backend is great and you should totally devote an hour or two each month to keep things tidy.
When you conduct a brand presence audit, emphasize your social media presence and inbox because this is where you spend most of your mental and emotional energy.
An audit is merely an inspection. Super simple. When you inspect, you’re reviewing and analyzing if something is worth staying and if your efforts are efficient with what you aim to accomplish.
This is the long-winded way of saying “is your hustle in flow?”
Social Media
Look at your profiles and review how you’re showing up.
- What are you sharing?
- Is your message cohesive with your overall voice?
- Are you adding to the noise or contributing with valuable insight?
- Are you repeating what’s being said or are you providing a new twist?
- Are you engaging in overcrowded spaces or are you creating within the white space?
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the motions of scheduling posts, batching your visuals, and working without intention. Over time, an audit gives you clarity and a fresh take on what you’re doing.
The editorial calendar you created 6 months ago may not be as relevant now because you’re a different person today.
Don’t be afraid to delete what no longer aligns with your vision.
If you find that your audit assessment shows that you’re going in a different direction that where you initially wanted to go, it’s OK to revise your brand presence. It’s OK to delete what’s no longer consistent with your brand + business.
This is a journey and you’re evolving as you go. Some content will grow with you and some will need to get discarded.
Before you trash anything, ask if what you have can be repurposed or repackaged. This is a great way to recycle what you’ve already got without feeling like you’ve wasted the last 2 years on content that you feel is unusable.
Clean Your Inbox
Once you’re done focusing on your output, let’s audit your input.
What emails do you regularly get and how many of those are jacking up your hustle?
Unsubscribing from newsletters that take up your energy is one of the best things you can do to improve your productivity and keep the imposter syndrome voices at a distance.
You don’t need to keep up with the Jones.
Staying in the know with your industry is overrated. When you get information overload, you risk sounding less like you and more like every one else. Not to mention you start to second guess those ah-maze-ing ideas that you want to explore but don’t because someone else may “already be doing it.”
When you audit your brand presence, remember the NOW factor.
N: does it NURTURE your business development?
O: does it allow for your ORIGINALITY to shine?
W: does it WORK for you?
Keep whatever nurtures your growth, gives you space to be original, and works with your hustle.
Let go of the rest.