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File 02 · Social

Social media strategy and management that earns attention and pays its way

Most brands do not have a posting problem. They have a purpose problem. Every platform gets the same message, nobody can say what a good month looks like, and the team is busy rather than effective. We build social strategies that give each platform a clear job, connect it to the wider marketing plan and report on what actually moves the business. If you want the work done for you, we also manage your channels day to day on a monthly retainer.

  • Format Sprint, retainer or fractional
  • GEO and AEO Built in
  • Lead Bernadette Kelly
Gold line drawing of a phone showing a grid of posts and rising engagement bars, with a heart and chat bubble
The brief

Why social media marketing matters

Social is often the most visible part of a brand and the least planned. Content gets made because the calendar needs filling, paid budgets get boosted without a test plan, and influencer spend sits in a separate silo. The result is plenty of activity and very little learning.

A good social media strategy starts with the business goal, works out which audiences matter, and then decides what each platform is for. LinkedIn might be about trust and senior reach. TikTok and Instagram might be about discovery. X and Discord might be about real-time conversation and community. Once the roles are clear, the content, the cadence and the measurement follow.

What is in the file

What the social media marketing file includes

  1. Audit and benchmark

    A clear view of where your channels stand today, how competitors are performing and where the gaps and quick wins are.

  2. Platform roles

    A defined job for every channel, so you stop copying the same post everywhere and start using each platform for what it does best.

  3. Content pillars and formats

    Repeatable themes, series and formats your team can produce consistently without losing quality or voice.

  4. Creator and influencer plan

    Where creators fit, how to brief them, how to pay them and how to judge whether the partnership worked.

  5. Paid social framework

    Testing structure, audiences and budget rules so paid and organic support each other rather than compete.

  6. Community management playbook

    Tone, response times, escalation routes and moderation rules, especially important in regulated sectors.

  7. Measurement and reporting

    A small set of KPIs that link social to traffic, sign-ups, revenue or retention, with a monthly report leadership will actually read.

  8. Social media management (optional)

    Day-to-day running of your channels on a monthly retainer: content creation, scheduling and publishing, community management, paid social and monthly reporting.

Coverage

The social channels we cover

We plan across all the main platforms and give each one a clear job. Most brands need four or five, not all of them.

  • Instagram

    Visual discovery through Reels, Stories and creator collaborations.

  • TikTok

    Short-form discovery, trends, in-app search and TikTok Shop.

  • YouTube

    Long-form video, Shorts and evergreen search traffic.

  • Facebook

    Groups, local reach and paid social at scale.

  • LinkedIn

    B2B trust, thought leadership and senior decision-makers.

  • X

    Real-time news, sport, crypto and live conversation.

  • Threads

    Text-led conversation connected to Instagram audiences.

  • Pinterest

    Planning, inspiration and high-intent visual search.

  • Snapchat

    Younger audiences, Stories and AR formats.

  • Reddit

    Community research, honest feedback and niche discussion.

  • Discord

    Owned community servers for gaming, esports and crypto.

  • Twitch

    Live streaming and creator partnerships in gaming.

  • Kick

    Live streaming with fast-growing gaming creator audiences.

  • Telegram

    Broadcast channels and groups, especially in crypto.

  • WhatsApp

    Channels and direct messaging for retention and service.

The method

How the assignment runs

  1. Stage 1

    Debrief

    We agree the commercial goal, the audience and the constraints, including compliance and brand rules.

  2. Stage 2

    Investigation

    We audit your channels, competitors and audience behaviour, and review what has and has not worked.

  3. Stage 3

    The plan

    You get the strategy, platform roles, content pillars, calendar framework and KPIs in one working document.

  4. Stage 4

    Handover or managed

    We train your team or agency to run it, or manage your channels day to day on a monthly retainer.

Unified strategy

How it connects to your wider marketing

Channel role

A distinct job in one plan

Social is where a brand gets discovered and judged in public, so it has to work with everything else. It feeds your community, gives your content a distribution engine, supplies proof for digital PR and generates the first-party audiences that CRM and paid media rely on. We plan it as one part of a unified strategy, not a standalone feed.

AI search

GEO and AEO built in

AI assistants increasingly draw on public conversation, reviews and creator content when they describe a brand. A consistent social presence, with clear brand naming and helpful answers to common questions, gives those systems better material to work from and strengthens how you appear in AI-generated answers.

Further reading

Sources and guidance we work from

Related articles

Questions

Social media marketing FAQs

Which social media channels do you cover?

We cover all the main platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Pinterest, Snapchat, Reddit, Discord, Twitch, Kick, Telegram and WhatsApp. Most brands do not need all of them. We recommend the four or five that best match your audience and goals, and give each one a clear job.

What does a social media strategy consultant do?

A social media strategy consultant decides what your social channels are for, who they should reach and how success will be measured. That covers platform choice, content pillars, creator partnerships, paid social structure, community rules and reporting. The aim is a plan your team or agency can run with confidence.

How long does a social media strategy take?

Most strategies take three to six weeks, depending on the number of channels, markets and stakeholders involved. A focused single-market review can be quicker. If you want ongoing leadership after that, we can stay on as a fractional lead.

Do you offer social media management, or just strategy?

Both. Some clients want a strategy their own team can run. Others want us to manage their channels day to day on a monthly retainer, covering content creation, scheduling and publishing, community management, paid social and monthly reporting, all with senior oversight. We can also start with strategy and move to management once the plan is agreed.

Can you work with regulated brands such as iGaming or crypto?

Yes. We have worked with regulated operators for many years and understand advertising codes, age-gating, responsible gambling messaging and platform policies. Compliance is built into the plan from the start rather than added at the end.

How do you measure social media success?

We agree a small set of KPIs linked to business outcomes, such as qualified traffic, sign-ups, first deposits, revenue or retention, alongside a few health metrics like reach and engagement quality. Vanity numbers are reported in context, not as the headline.

Next step

Brief us.

Tell us about your social media marketing goals and what is getting in the way. We will reply within two working days.