Bailey MeCey

With how massively impactful social media has become, most businesses make it a priority to have a presence on multiple platforms. However, with so many different businesses vying for your attention, how do you know your posts are making a real impact?

A social media audit was conducted on the candy company Squish. The company offers a variety of vegan and gluten-free candies. I became aware of the company after my fiancee purchased a set of sweets after discovering them online.

In The 15-Minute Social Media Audit Everyone Can Do, Former VP of Marketing at Buffer Kevan Lee describes the importance of conducting a social media audit. Not only does a social media audit allow you to see the analytics of posts, but it also “can serve as much-needed opportunities for reflection and growth,” (Lee).

Squish is on most major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Over the past sixth months, Squish has done a lot of marketing over the various holidays to help sell their candy. For example, to go along with Valentine’s Day squish had multiple posts that tied in directly with the holiday.

On the account profile, Squish highlights that they are a “Magical candy shop (with) Classic & Vegan gourmet gummies made with natural ingredients.” They also highlight that they are a Canadien and female-owned company. Their profile cover photos highlight the seasonal candies on sale. However, I find their profile logo to be lacking. For a company that sells sweets, I find the logo to be lacking in its simplicity. If one was to see the logo they would have a difficult time discerning the goals of the company.

From the audit, I found mixed results depending on the platform. Their most popular platform is Instagram, with over 48,000 followers and an average of 120 likes per page. Given that the platform is visual-focused, the professional marketing photos of the products stand out well. The dynamic packaging and fun colors also work well at drawing audiences in.

Facebook was next, with over 24,000 followers to their page but a steep drop of around six likes per post. In addition to posting their products, the page also features a series of live streams showing off the products with the staff.

Another platform with a steep follower to like ratio is Twitter, with over 1.400 followers but only an average of one like per post. While the other platforms will have up to 20 hashtags, their Twitter posts generally have up to two. Twitter is also one of two platforms that engage in more meme-style posts, like this one with a screenshot from the movie Birdbox.

While Squish does have an account on Pinterest, it is smaller compared to the other platforms with only 53 followers. One highlight is that this was the only platform I could find that highlights the blogs from Squish.

Lastly, Squish also has an account on TikTok. Compared to their Instagram, the TikTok posts are more casual and trend-focused. For example, one of their TikTok posts highlights that they are “hopping on the trend” and asking for feedback. Other posts on their feed include recipes with their candy and videos with their staff.

In Social Media Strategy: Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations in the Consumer Revolution, Associate Professor of Marketing Keith Quesenberry writes about what your main goals should be in deciding on a social media platform to invest time into. Quesenberry identifies three main questions, including:

Is our target audience active on this platform?
How do we communicate the big idea on this platform?
What do we want them to do on this platform?

For Squish, their target audience is trendy, fun young people that want candies without artificial ingredients. Given that, their audience is most likely to be on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where users are scrolling and would be dazzled with the bright colors of the sweets. Instagram is also where they communicate this mission the best, with gorgeous photos. From there, the goal would be to transition to the website, make a purchase, and share with their friends.

Overall, Squish would do its best by continuing to expand its social media efforts on Instagram and TikTok. The two platforms are the best audience for their product, and thanks to the visual-first content their product can stand out. For TikTok, if the same style of high-quality production was brought to their videos as they have their photos, it could make a major difference. Also, I would suggest running more content and promotions to drive engagement and expand the brand to new audiences.

View the full social media audit below.

Sources Cited:

Lee, K. (2020, July 24). The 15-minute social media audit everyone can do. Buffer Library. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://buffer.com/library/social-media-audit/

Quesenberry, K. A. (2021). Social Media Strategy: Marketing, advertising, and public relations in the consumer revolution. Rowman & Littlefield.