# Social Media Strategy

## Social Media Platform Guide

Use this to determine which platforms best fit your audience and goals.

### LinkedIn
**Best for**: B2B, professional services, thought leadership, recruiting
**Audience**: Decision-makers, professionals, recruiters, employees
**Content Types**: Articles, industry insights, company updates, employee stories, recruiting posts
**Posting Frequency**: 3-5 posts per week from company; employees share company posts
**Engagement Goal**: Comments > Likes. Drive meaningful discussion.

**Platform-Specific Tactics**:
- Post during business hours (8am-5pm local time)
- Use document upload feature for whitepapers/case studies
- Tag relevant companies/people to increase visibility
- Encourage employees to share company posts (5-10x more reach)
- Employee advocacy amplifies reach significantly
- Use LinkedIn analytics to identify best-performing content types

**Content Ideas**:
- Industry trends or predictions
- Case study or customer success story
- Hiring announcements
- Company milestones or news
- Educational content (how-to, tips, frameworks)
- Data/research findings
- Q&A addressing customer questions
- Employee spotlights or behind-the-scenes

### Twitter/X
**Best for**: Real-time updates, news, customer support, thought leadership
**Audience**: Early adopters, tech-savvy professionals, journalists, industry watchers
**Content Types**: Quick updates, news reactions, company announcements, customer support, threads
**Posting Frequency**: 1-3 times per day
**Engagement Goal**: Retweets and replies. Join conversations.

**Platform-Specific Tactics**:
- Use threads (tweets connected in a series) for longer-form content
- React to news/trends relevant to your industry
- Engage with influencers and journalists
- Use polls for audience engagement
- Link to blog posts or landing pages
- Participate in relevant Twitter conversations
- Respond to mentions quickly (within 2 hours ideal)

**Content Ideas**:
- Company announcements or news
- Real-time customer support
- Industry news reactions
- Quick tips or learning moments
- Team updates or celebrations
- Retweets of customers/partners
- Participation in relevant conversations

### Facebook
**Best for**: B2C, community building, customer engagement, customer service
**Audience**: Broader demographic, existing customers, community members
**Content Types**: Customer stories, community updates, events, giveaways, customer service
**Posting Frequency**: 1-2 times per day
**Engagement Goal**: Comments, shares, community participation

**Platform-Specific Tactics**:
- Create Facebook community/group for engaged customers
- Host Facebook Live events or Q&As
- Use video - Facebook prioritizes video content
- Ask questions to encourage comments
- Respond to all comments within 24 hours
- Create event listings for webinars or launches
- Use customer testimonials with photos

**Content Ideas**:
- Customer testimonials with photos
- Behind-the-scenes company culture content
- Event announcements or live event coverage
- Customer tips or how-to content
- Q&A sessions
- Polls asking for feedback
- User-generated content from customers
- Customer appreciation posts

### Instagram
**Best for**: B2C, visual brands, lifestyle, community building, younger audience
**Audience**: 18-40 demographic, visual learners, social community seekers
**Content Types**: High-quality images, short videos, stories, reels
**Posting Frequency**: 3-5 posts per week; Stories 2-3 times per day
**Engagement Goal**: Shares and saves (not just likes)

**Platform-Specific Tactics**:
- High-quality visuals critical (bad photos = no engagement)
- Use Reels (15-30 second videos) for reach - highly prioritized by algorithm
- Stories for behind-the-scenes, time-sensitive content
- Use hashtags strategically (10-15 for business account)
- Engage with influencers and community accounts
- Use captions to tell story, not just product features
- Collaborate with micro-influencers (10K-100K followers)

**Content Ideas**:
- Product photos/styling
- Behind-the-scenes team moments
- Customer stories or testimonials
- Educational reels (quick tips, how-tos)
- Trending audio/trending content with brand twist
- User-generated customer content
- Event coverage
- Before/after transformations

### YouTube
**Best for**: Product demos, educational content, customer testimonials, company culture
**Audience**: People seeking video content, how-to learners, long-form content consumers
**Content Types**: Product demos, tutorials, customer interviews, webinars, company videos
**Posting Frequency**: 1-2 videos per week ideal; minimum weekly
**Engagement Goal**: Watch time and subscriber growth

**Platform-Specific Tactics**:
- Optimize video titles and descriptions for keywords
- Create playlists to increase watch time
- Use thumbnails with high contrast and faces
- Add captions/subtitles (people watch muted)
- Encourage subscriptions and notifications
- End videos with clear CTA (subscribe, watch next video, check link)
- Cross-promote on other social channels

**Content Ideas**:
- Product walkthrough/demo videos (3-5 min)
- Customer case study or success story interviews
- Educational series (8-12 episode series)
- Webinar recordings
- Team introductions or company culture
- FAQ videos addressing common questions
- How-to content related to your industry
- Industry trends or predictions

## Social Media Campaign Framework

### Phase 1: Planning
- Define objective (awareness, lead gen, engagement, retention)
- Identify target audience and primary platforms
- Choose 3-5 content themes aligned with campaign goals
- Plan post frequency and timing
- Identify employee advocates who will amplify

### Phase 2: Content Creation
- Create 4-week content calendar
- Develop visual style (templates, color palette, fonts)
- Create copy variations (headlines, CTAs)
- Source or create images/videos
- Write captions with storytelling element

### Phase 3: Execution
- Schedule posts using management tool
- Engage with comments within 2-4 hours of posting
- Respond to mentions and direct messages
- Amplify with paid promotion on high-performing content
- Have employees share company posts

### Phase 4: Optimization
- Monitor engagement metrics daily
- Double down on top-performing content themes
- Test different posting times
- A/B test copy variations
- Pause underperforming content themes

### Phase 5: Analysis
- Calculate engagement rate, reach, impressions
- Track traffic from social to website
- Measure conversion from social traffic
- Document learnings and best practices
- Adjust strategy for next campaign

## Social Media Metrics & Targets

| Metric | What It Means | Good Target |
|--------|---------------|------------|
| Reach | Number of people who saw your content | 1-2% of total followers per post |
| Impressions | Total times your content was displayed | 3-5x your reach |
| Engagement Rate | (Likes + Comments + Shares) / Reach | 1-3% B2B; 3-5% B2C |
| Click-Through Rate | Links clicked / Impressions | 0.5-2% |
| Follower Growth Rate | New followers per month | 5-15% monthly growth |
| Share of Voice | Your posts vs. competitor posts in feed | Varies by industry |
| Website Traffic from Social | Sessions coming from social channels | Should grow monthly |
| Conversion Rate | Desired action / Clicks from social | 2-8% depending on action |

## Social Media Best Practices

**Consistency is Critical**
- Post on regular schedule so audience expects content
- Use same visual style/branding across all platforms
- Maintain consistent tone of voice
- Reply to all comments within 24 hours

**Authenticity Drives Engagement**
- Share real customer stories, not just polished marketing
- Show company culture and behind-the-scenes moments
- Address customer concerns transparently
- Acknowledge mistakes and show how you fixed them

**Community First, Sales Second**
- Ask questions and invite participation
- Amplify user-generated content
- Engage with other brands, influencers, and customers
- Support community conversations
- Don't only post about your product

**Video > Static Images**
- Video gets 5-10x more engagement than images
- Short-form video (Reels, TikTok) especially high engagement
- Include captions (people watch muted)
- Keep videos under 2 minutes for social

**Optimize for Platform**
- Don't just cross-post identical content
- Adapt messaging and format to each platform
- Use platform features (Stories, Reels, Threads)
- Respect platform norms and culture

## Crisis Management on Social Media

If negative feedback or PR issue occurs:

1. **Respond Quickly** (within 2-4 hours)
2. **Acknowledge and Empathize** - "We understand your concern"
3. **Take Responsibility** - Don't make excuses
4. **Provide Solution** - "Here's what we're doing to fix this"
5. **Move Conversation Offline** - Direct message or provide contact info
6. **Follow Up** - Ensure customer is satisfied

Example:
"We're sorry to hear you had this experience. That's not the standard we hold ourselves to. Can you DM us so we can make this right?"

## Social Listening Strategy

Monitor these on a weekly basis:
- Mentions of your brand (positive and negative)
- Mentions of competitors (learn from them)
- Relevant industry keywords
- Your target audience's pain points/interests
- Trending topics in your industry

Use tools like Mention, Brand24, or native platform analytics to set up alerts.
