Audit Your Last 30 Posts Before You Plan Another
A 30-minute review of your past Instagram and Facebook posts: what to keep, what to stop, which facts are out of date. With a scorecard.
Before you plan new posts, spend 30 minutes with your last 30. You are not judging style. You are looking for wrong facts, missing permissions, risky claims and old posts that no longer represent the business, and deciding for each whether to keep, edit or retire it.
This post gives you a scorecard, a stale-facts sweep, a short profile check and a rule for when to edit, archive or delete. If you want to work out how your business sounds, that is a different job, covered in Write captions that sound like your business.
The short answer
Pull the last 30 posts and your profile
On each network, open your feed and write down the post type, date and subject for each one.
Score each post
Use the scorecard below. It takes about 45 seconds per post.
Sweep for stale facts and risky claims
Hours, prices, menu, staff, offers, addresses, claims and credentials.
Check permissions
Customers, children, staff and other people's photos.
Decide: keep, edit or retire
Edit what you can. Archive what is out of date but harmless. Delete only what is wrong, risky or not yours to post.
Write down what you learned
A short list of things to do and stop doing, for the person who plans next.
Pull the last 30 posts and your profile
Thirty is a practical sample, not a magic number. Use 30 posts, or three months if you post less often. Include Reels and carousels. For a business that posts on both networks, review each network separately, because the same photo can carry different captions.
Start with a quick profile check, since customers see it before any post.
Profile check (5 minutes)
- Business name matches your sign and your Google Business Profile.
- Bio says what you do and where, in plain words.
- Contact details work: phone, email, booking link. Click each one.
- Address or service area is current.
- Opening hours are current on Instagram, Facebook and Google.
- Profile photo is the current logo or shopfront.
- Pinned posts are still true (an old pinned price or promotion is a common problem).
- Highlights and featured items are still relevant.
- Facebook Page category, About text and call-to-action button are correct.
- Everyone who has access should still have it. Remove former staff and old agencies.
Score each post
Copy this table into a spreadsheet, one row per post. The scores are for you to decide what to do next, not a measure of quality.
| Column | What to write | Flag if |
|---|---|---|
| Post and date | Link or caption's first line, and the date | n/a |
| Format | Photo, carousel, Reel, text, story reshare | n/a |
| Subject | Product, person, place, offer, notice, other | Same subject more than three times in a row |
| Photo source | Ours, staff, customer, supplier, stock, AI, found online | Anything not ours: check permission |
| Claim check | Does it state a price, hour, offer, health or result claim, a superlative or a quote? | Any claim you cannot prove today |
| Permission | Are there people in the photo? Do we have their yes? | No record of consent |
| Still true? | Compare every fact with today's reality | Anything changed since |
| Decision | Keep, edit, archive or delete | n/a |
| Note | One line on why | n/a |
A "claim you cannot prove today" is the most important flag. Include "best", "#1", "award-winning", "voted", health and safety claims, before-and-after results and any "customers say" line.
Sweep for stale facts and risky claims
Stale facts do real harm: a customer drives to a closed shop, or asks for a price you no longer offer. Go through the 30 posts, the pinned posts, the bio and the highlights, and compare each fact with the current source of truth.
| Fact type | Where it hides | Check against |
|---|---|---|
| Opening hours | Bio, pinned post, holiday post, highlights, Google listing | Your current rota |
| Prices and offers | Menu photos, price lists, promotion graphics, old Reels | Your current price list |
| Menu, services, products | Menu board photos, "new" posts, discontinued items | Today's menu or catalog |
| Staff and credentials | Meet-the-team posts, "our expert", qualifications | Who works there and what they hold today |
| Address, phone, links | Bio, tagged location, "find us" posts | Test every link and number |
| Allergen and diet words | "Gluten-free", "vegan", "nut-free" | What your kitchen can actually promise |
| Dates | "Open every Sunday", "until the end of the month" | The calendar |
Risky claims to look for
- Reposted reviews and quotes. In the US, the FTC treats a review reposted on your social account as a testimonial, and fake or AI-generated testimonials are banned (FTC questions and answers).
- Praise from staff or family without a clear disclosure. The same FTC rule has a disclosure requirement for insiders.
- Health, safety or results claims. Retire them or have them checked against your regulator's rules.
- Stock or AI images of products you do not make. They can mislead. See our AI captions and disclosure guide.
- Giveaways or review rewards. Incentives that depend on a positive review are barred under the FTC rule. Check any past promotion that asked for reviews.
Check permissions on people and customer photos
For every post with a recognizable person, ask: do we have a yes that we can find? Photos of staff should have their agreement. Photos of customers should have theirs. Photos of children need a parent or guardian. A photo taken in a public place is not the same as permission to feature someone in an advertisement.
- No record of consent: ask the person now. If they say no, or you cannot reach them, retire the post.
- Customer photos you reposted from their account: check you asked, and credit them as they requested.
- Other businesses' photos: photos from suppliers or other brands need their permission. Photos you found online are not yours to use.
- Staff who have left: ask whether they still agree to be featured, and remove the post if they do not.
Going forward, keep a one-line consent note next to each post in your scorecard: name, date, how they agreed. Our guide Can you repost customer reviews and photos has wording you can copy.
When to edit, archive or delete
| Situation | Do this |
|---|---|
| A caption has a wrong fact, and the photo is fine | Edit the caption. Both networks let you edit a published caption. Check on the app, as options differ by post type. |
| A post is out of date but harmless (last year's Christmas hours) | Archive it on Instagram, so you keep it and customers do not see it. On Facebook, hide or leave it if it is clearly dated. |
| A post makes a claim you cannot prove | Edit the claim out. If the post is built on the claim, delete it. |
| A photo of a person with no consent | Delete it if you cannot get consent quickly. |
| An old price or offer that is still live somewhere | Edit it today. Pinned posts first. |
| A weak post that is true and consented | Leave it. Deleting past posts removes history for no gain. |
Keep a copy before you delete: a screenshot and the caption in your scorecard. That helps if a customer says they saw it, or you need to show what you posted and when.
What to hand to your voice guide and your planner
The audit is not a voice exercise, but it leaves you with useful notes. Write them in a short list for whoever plans the next month:
- Facts that were wrong or kept going stale, and where the current ones live.
- Claims to never make again.
- Photo sources that are fine and ones that are not.
- Subjects you over-posted, and ones you never posted.
- Permissions you now have, and the ones you still need.
If you use a tool that reads your past posts to build a playbook, the audit is the natural step before it. KeepsPosted, for example, learns from your past Instagram and Facebook posts, and the playbook is editable, so cleaning the feed and writing down what to avoid gives it better material. Whatever you use, a person should still check the facts.
Common questions
How often should I audit my social media?
Once a quarter is a reasonable rhythm for a small business, and always before handing the account to someone new. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes for 30 posts.
Should I delete old posts?
Only posts that are wrong, risky or not yours to post. Out-of-date but harmless posts can be archived on Instagram. Deleting true, consented posts removes history for no gain.
What is the most important thing to check?
Facts customers act on: hours, prices, address, offers. Then claims you cannot prove, then permission for people in photos.
Sources
- FTC: Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, questions and answers (checked 10 Nov 2026)
- FTC: Disclosures 101 for social media influencers (checked 10 Nov 2026)
Written by the KeepsPosted editorial team with AI assistance for drafting and a person reviewing every claim. The scorecard and the 30-post sample are our own suggestions, not a measured standard. This is general information, not legal advice.
Keep reading
Write Captions That Sound Like Your Business
Build a one-page voice guide from your own past posts, then use it to write (or check) every caption. Includes a fill-in template and before/after rewrites.
A Local Business Social Media Calendar With Real Dates
Plan 12 months of Instagram and Facebook posts around dates that exist: verified observances, local seasons and your own events. With a blank four-week grid.
Can You Repost Customer Reviews and Photos? The Rules
When a customer review or photo on your feed becomes a testimonial, what consent you need, and what the FTC and UK rules say. With wording you can copy.