Why a social media symphony can be sweet music for your business

Digital Media, Engagement, Facebook, Social Media, Strategy

Glenn Langridge 6 Feb 2019
2 mins

We’ve all marvelled at the harmonious sounds of a symphony in full flight. It’s a joy to behold and an exercise in true teamwork.

If you took each of the highly talented musicians from the orchestra into a room and asked them to play something, I’m betting the end result would still sound pretty good.

But if you then placed them back together and got them to each play their favourite individual songs, what you’d have wouldn’t be a symphony… it would be a cacophony. The results would be disastrous.

It’s worth thinking about social media the same way.

In the same way that a carefully, literally orchestrated, group of musicians sound best when playing the same music, so your social channels will be most harmonious when they are all aligned with the same strategy, conducted by a knowledgeable leader.

If you’re wanting to make some sweet music with your socials, here are some aspects of strategy that you should start thinking about:

Outcomes
What is it exactly that you are trying to do? You can’t do everything, just like you can’t learn every song. Who are you playing for and what do they like to listen to?

Work this out and you can deliver the perfect show.

Success
What does it look like? Do you want a standing ovation or a positive review? Are you looking to sell a product or improve market sentiment?

Knowing what you want to achieve and knowing what that looks (and sounds) like is the backbone of a strategy.

Value

Value is something you should always be adding. This is hardly a new concept but I still don’t think it’s fully understood in many businesses or acted on properly.

Note: adding value isn’t about “what YOU think will add value to your business offerings.” It has to be about what your audience (your clients and customers) think adds value.

Diversity

The digital world is driven by trends and shiny things. Not every shiny thing will be worth adopting but the more of them you review and consider, the better chance you have of success.

By the time you’ve written your social media strategy, it will likely be time to revise it. In fact, you should always be revising it, in the knowledge that what works today might not work in the future.

Don’t just be where the market indicates you need to be, go where your audience values you. If they are all using Tumblr but don’t engage on your Facebook page, then it’s time to reconsider where you are playing.

There are a million new social media users each year and they are forcing the landscape to change quicker than ever before. You need to be changing with it.

Five key takeaways for B2B and B2C:

  1. Social media strategy needs a common purpose
  2. Always add value
  3. Do what works for you, not what should work for you
  4. Strategy is the art of sacrifice
  5. Always consider your audience

Also in this series:

Glenn Langridge is an expert in digital campaigning and marketing across multiple platforms, including social media. Contact Glenn.

Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com.


Glenn Langridge More from author

Glenn is Cannings Purple’s Director of Digital, bringing together a wealth of digital-agency and leadership experience to deliver unique digital solutions for his clients, and empower his expert team to success.

Glenn has a proven track record of building award-winning digital campaigns, bridging the gap between marketing strategy and technical digital delivery for leading organisations across Australia, Singapore, London and the U.S.

His areas of expertise include digital strategy, website strategy, paid advertising and creative campaign planning, while always maintaining a results-driven focus across both strategy and execution for his clients.

Glenn is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, an accredited Agile project management coach and holds a double degree in Commerce and Arts from The University of Western Australia. Glenn applies this knowledge and experience to build sustainable and well-informed strategies beyond technical considerations, while educating and innovating his clients along the way.

Glenn’s organised, considered and creative approach to digital project management has seen the successful delivery of more than 60 website projects, alongside the management of momentous campaigns for Notre Dame, Baker Tilly International, INX Software and Royal Flying.

More Digital