A content audit — a systematic review of existing content across channels — is one of the most common starting points for a comms project. Sometimes it’s exactly the right call. Sometimes it’s a way of appearing to do something useful while avoiding the harder strategic conversations. Here’s how to tell the difference.
When a content audit makes sense
A content audit is valuable when: the organisation has a lot of existing content and doesn’t know what’s performing; you’re preparing for a website redesign or channel consolidation; there are concerns about consistency or quality that need evidence rather than opinion; or the brief is to develop a content strategy and you need a baseline to work from.
When it’s the wrong starting point
A content audit is less useful when: the fundamental strategic questions haven’t been answered yet (who are we talking to, what do we want them to do?); the organisation is about to go through significant change that will make the audit redundant; or when you’re using it as a way to delay getting to the difficult conversations.
If a client asks for a content audit before they’ve done any strategic thinking, it’s worth asking whether they need the audit itself or whether they need help thinking through the strategy first.
How to scope it properly
A content audit can be a two-day piece of work or a two-month one, depending on the volume of content and the level of analysis required. Be explicit about scope upfront — what channels, what time period, what level of analysis, and what format the output will take. Scope creep in content audits is common and makes them expensive.
The content audit planner below helps you scope, structure, and document a content audit efficiently, with a framework for categorising and evaluating content.