---
name: social-media-strategy
description: "Creates a comprehensive social media strategy with platform selection, posting cadence, content mix, and growth targets. Use when building or overhauling your social media presence."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# Social Media Strategy

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Build a social media strategy from scratch for a business
- Overhaul an unfocused social media presence with a clear plan
- Select the right platforms and define a content mix
- Set realistic growth targets and a sustainable posting cadence

**DO NOT** use this skill for writing individual posts, creating social calendars (use social-media-calendar skill), or ad campaign strategy. This is for high-level social media planning.

---

## Core Principle

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY IS ABOUT CHOOSING WHERE TO SHOW UP, WHAT TO SAY, AND HOW OFTEN — NOT BEING ON EVERY PLATFORM AND POSTING RANDOMLY.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Business** | "What does your business do?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Target audience** | "Describe your ideal follower/customer." | No default — must be provided |
| **Current presence** | "Which platforms are you on now? How active?" | None — starting fresh |
| **Business goal** | "What should social media achieve? Brand awareness, leads, sales, community?" | Brand awareness + leads |
| **Time budget** | "How many hours per week can you spend on social media?" | 5 hours per week |
| **Content resources** | "Can you create video, or text/image only?" | Text and image only |

**GATE: Confirm brief before building strategy.**

---

## Phase 2: Outline

### Strategy Sections

```
1. Platform Selection — where to focus (and where NOT to)
2. Audience Personas — who you are talking to on each platform
3. Content Pillars — 3-4 recurring content themes
4. Content Mix — ratio of content types (educational, entertaining, promotional)
5. Posting Cadence — frequency per platform
6. Growth Tactics — organic strategies for follower growth
7. Engagement Plan — how to interact beyond posting
8. Metrics & Goals — what to track and target
```

**GATE: Approve outline before full strategy.**

---

## Phase 3: Write

### 1. Platform Selection

```
## Platform Recommendation

| Platform | Recommendation | Reason |
|----------|---------------|--------|
| [Platform 1] | **Primary** | [Why — audience match, content fit, business goal alignment] |
| [Platform 2] | **Secondary** | [Why — supports primary, different format] |
| [Platform 3] | **Skip for now** | [Why — audience mismatch, too time-intensive, low ROI] |
```

Rules:
- Solopreneurs: maximum 2 platforms until one is profitable
- Choose platforms where your audience already spends time
- Match platform to content capability (no video platform if they cannot make video)

### 2. Content Pillars

```
## Content Pillars

**Pillar 1: [Name]** ([X]% of content)
- What: [Description]
- Example: "[Specific post idea]"

**Pillar 2: [Name]** ([X]% of content)
- What: [Description]
- Example: "[Specific post idea]"

**Pillar 3: [Name]** ([X]% of content)
- What: [Description]
- Example: "[Specific post idea]"

**Pillar 4: Promotional** (max 20% of content)
- What: Direct promotion of products/services
- Example: "[Specific post idea]"
```

### 3. Content Mix

```
## Content Mix (80/20 Rule)

**80% Value content:**
- Educational (tips, how-tos, frameworks): [X]%
- Entertaining (relatable, funny, storytelling): [X]%
- Inspirational (wins, motivation, behind-the-scenes): [X]%

**20% Promotional content:**
- Product/service promotion: [X]%
- Testimonials and case studies: [X]%
```

### 4. Posting Cadence

```
## Posting Schedule

| Platform | Frequency | Best Days | Best Times | Content Type |
|----------|-----------|-----------|------------|-------------|
| [Primary] | [X posts/week] | [Days] | [Times] | [Types] |
| [Secondary] | [X posts/week] | [Days] | [Times] | [Types] |
```

Rules:
- Consistency beats frequency. 3 quality posts/week beats 7 mediocre ones.
- Match cadence to time budget. Never recommend more than the user can sustain.

### 5. Growth Tactics

```
## Growth Plan (First 90 Days)

### Month 1: Foundation
- Optimize profiles (bio, links, visual consistency)
- Post consistently at planned cadence
- Engage with 10 accounts in your niche daily (comment, share, add value)

### Month 2: Expansion
- Start collaborative content (tags, shares, joint posts)
- Repurpose top-performing content into different formats
- Test content types and track what resonates

### Month 3: Acceleration
- Double down on top-performing content themes
- Launch a weekly series or recurring content format
- Cross-promote across platforms
```

### 6. Metrics & Goals

```
## Key Metrics

| Metric | Target (90 days) | Why It Matters |
|--------|-----------------|----------------|
| Followers | [Realistic target] | Audience growth |
| Engagement rate | [X]% | Content resonance |
| Link clicks | [X/month] | Traffic to business |
| DMs / inquiries | [X/month] | Lead generation |
| Revenue attributed | $[X] | Business impact |
```

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### 1. Strategy Checklist

```
## Social Media Strategy Checklist

- [ ] Platform selection is justified (not "be everywhere")
- [ ] Content pillars are defined with examples
- [ ] Content mix follows the 80/20 value-to-promo ratio
- [ ] Posting cadence is sustainable within the time budget
- [ ] Growth tactics are specific and actionable
- [ ] Metrics have realistic 90-day targets
- [ ] Strategy can be executed by a solopreneur (not a team of 5)
- [ ] Profile optimization checklist is included
```

### 2. Profile Optimization Checklist

```
## Profile Setup

- [ ] Profile photo: professional headshot or brand logo
- [ ] Bio: who you help + what you help with + CTA
- [ ] Link: direct to landing page, linktree, or website
- [ ] Visual consistency across platforms
```

---

## Example: Strategy for a Freelance Web Designer

```
Primary platform: LinkedIn (B2B clients, decision-makers)
Secondary platform: Instagram (portfolio showcase, visual proof)
Skip: TikTok (audience mismatch), Twitter (low ROI for local services)

Content pillars:
1. Design tips (40%) — quick website improvement ideas
2. Client wins (30%) — before/after showcases, testimonials
3. Behind the scenes (10%) — process, tools, day-in-the-life
4. Promotional (20%) — service offerings, availability, packages

Cadence: LinkedIn 4x/week, Instagram 3x/week
Time: 5 hours/week (2 hours creating, 2 hours engaging, 1 hour scheduling)
```

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **Being on every platform** — solopreneurs cannot sustain 5 platforms. Pick 1-2 and dominate.
- **All promotion, no value** — social feeds that are 100% "buy my thing" get unfollowed. Follow the 80/20 rule.
- **Vanity metrics obsession** — 10,000 followers who never buy is worth less than 500 who do.
- **Inconsistent posting** — 10 posts one week, nothing for three weeks destroys algorithm favor.
- **No engagement plan** — posting without engaging is like talking at a party and never listening.
- **Copying competitors' strategy** — their audience, budget, and goals are different. Build YOUR strategy.

---

## Recovery

- **No time for social media:** Reduce to 1 platform, 3 posts per week, and batch content creation into 1 session.
- **Zero followers:** Focus on engagement first (commenting on others' posts) before worrying about your own content.
- **No content ideas:** Use the content pillar framework and generate 20 post ideas across pillars. That is 5 weeks of content.
- **Feeling overwhelmed:** Start with just 30 days. Post 3x/week on one platform. Evaluate before expanding.
- **No results after 90 days:** Audit content quality, posting consistency, and engagement effort. Usually one of these three is the bottleneck.
