Essential Components of a Social Media Strategy

Take the Hootsuite Social Marketing course and develop foundational social marketing skills to grow followers, engagement, and business results.

Video Transcript | Intro

A Social Media Strategy contains many key components, which together ensure all facets of your company’s social media presence have been considered, thereby setting your organization up for digital success.

Setting the Foundation

The first, foundational components of a social media strategy are: a Social Media Audit, Social Media Goals and Objectives, and the Budget, Tactics, and Tools required to achieve them. In this foundational stage, you’ll consider not only successes and opportunities on social media, but also create the strategic plan for supporting organizational goals, whether that involves social ads, a business blog, or the creation of an influencer strategy.

Key Social Guides

You’ll also need to incorporate a Content Strategy for the types and amount of posts you’ll share, a clearly defined Brand Persona and Voice, as well as a Calendar of Key Dates for your organization, such as upcoming campaigns, holidays, and reporting periods. These components provide a structure that will enable you to maintain a consistent and engaging social media presence.

Governance

Your Social Media Strategy should also prepare you for staff departures and arrivals, or a social media crisis. These components include your social team’s Roles and Responsibilities, a Social Media Governance plan, as well as a Crisis Management Plan detailing the proper steps to take should a situation arise.

ROI

Finally, your Social Media Strategy should define a Measurement and Reporting plan for determining social ROI. By outlining the ways in which you’ll measure success, your company will be able to view the full impact of your social media strategy, and  iterate based on these results, allowing continual improvement in the months and years to come.

Looking for more? Checkout our blog and learn how to create a social media strategy in 8 easy steps!