Developing a Social Media Strategy

Social media is an important tool that has enhanced communication for corporate and personal brands in today’s digital world and has contributed to the evolution of our industry. Before social media, brands relied solely on traditional media (print, radio, mass media) but with the advent of social media, every brand can build an online presence and gain a voice to promote their products and services.

However, to build a strong brand presence today relies on a good social media strategy. This article will discuss the key things to note in developing a social media strategy that does not only enhance communications but improves stakeholder engagement.

How to develop a social media strategy

• What is the current external context? Just like it is in developing a communications strategy, it is important to carry out a research to understand the brand better. So, to develop a social media strategy for a brand, find out if they already have an existing digital footprint. Are there issues in the media about them and how well known are they?
• What is the business or organization’s strategic objective? At this stage, you uncover what the business overall objectives are and how a social media channel of communication can contribute to achieving the strategic objectives. This is what guides the kind of communication that goes out through the platform.
• Identify your audience and stakeholder group: Depending on he kind of brand involved or industry your brand serves, not all your audience will be on social media. Some other traditional media channels will be more effective for some stakeholder groups. So, segment your audience according to their demographics, location, interests, influence, etc. Read our article on Identifying a Target Audience here.
• Identify your audience and stakeholders interests and issues: What do you know about the audience or stakeholder groups you identified above and what is the nature of the conversations around your brand’s interest online.
• What should your stakeholders KNOW, FEEL and DO: The essence of every communications effort is to influence the audience through messaging. At this stage, it is needful to craft out what you want your audience to know, feel and do. For instance, through your content, they can learn about your brand or a concept in your industry and in some cases, what you want them to do might be to make purchasing decisions (become users of your products) or change a behaviour. All this is outlined when developing a social media strategy.
• How do you want the stakeholders to feel?: In developing a social media strategy, you also outline the desired sentiments you want to convey during and after the engagement.
• What are your desired outcomes?: State what outcomes you desire from your social media presence. It could be to build your brand’s reputation, grow your social media following, have sales conversions, real-time response to issues or a community for your brand. In stating your desired outcomes, you are defining success for your strategy.
• Key performance indicators: What are the metrics you will employ to determine the level of your brand’s success?

It is needful to pay keen attention to a brand’s digital presence as it often represents the ethos and culture of the brand. This is why a social media strategy must be carefully developed to align with the brand’s objectives at a given time. In case you are wondering what the value of strategic communications is, this article is your guide.

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Sola Abulu & Associates is a strategy and communications consulting and training firm committed to enabling businesses, brands and organizations to achieve their objectives through strategic communications, organizational effectiveness and reputation risk management

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