“What are we posting this week?”
It sounds like a straightforward marketing question. But it skips an important step.
Why are we posting? Who do we want to reach? What do we want them to understand, feel or do?
At Studio Global, we see businesses put themselves under pressure to maintain a regular social presence without first agreeing what that presence needs to achieve.
The calendar gets filled. The posts go out. Whether they are helping the business becomes harder to explain.
As you plan next year’s marketing, that is a useful place to start.
Give regular activity a clear purpose
Consistency can help people become familiar with your business. But a publishing schedule needs something worthwhile behind it.
A post might answer a question that holds customers back from enquiring. It could demonstrate your expertise, explain an unfamiliar service or show evidence of work you have delivered.
Those are useful jobs.
“Something needs to go out on Thursday” gives the person creating it very little direction.
Businesses often feel they should be posting regularly, but the purpose gets lost. With so much content competing for attention, we need to ask whether we have something useful to share or are simply adding to the noise.
Sharon ParkerManaging Director at Studio GlobalLook for the question your content should answer
Imagine a consultancy posting three times a week. Its feed includes company updates, broad industry observations and reminders about its services.
Meanwhile, prospective clients keep asking the same question: “What actually happens when we work with you?”
That is an illustrative example, but it shows the kind of gap worth looking for.
A clear explanation of the process, supported by a relevant client story, could give the business material for its website, sales conversations, email and social channels.
The next decision is where that content will be most useful and how to help the right people find it.
Starting with a customer question gives the work a purpose before it becomes a set of posts.
Review what the activity is contributing
Different content serves different purposes. A post that builds familiarity may not generate an immediate enquiry. A detailed case study might be valuable to a small number of people close to making a decision.
Judge the work against the job you intended it to do.
If the aim is to explain a service, are prospects arriving better informed? If it is to build interest among a particular audience, are those people engaging or starting conversations?
Look at the available evidence alongside feedback from sales and client-facing colleagues. Raw activity counts only tell part of the story.
Try this before you fill January’s calendar
Take your last ten social posts and ask:
- Who was each post intended for?
- What useful point did it make?
- What did you want the reader to do or understand?
- Was there a relevant next step where one was needed?
- What have you learned from the response?
Then group your planned activity under three headings:
Keep: It has a clear purpose and evidence of value.
Improve: The purpose is worthwhile, but the message, format or next step needs attention.
Stop or pause: You cannot currently explain why it deserves the time.
An unclear answer is a prompt to investigate. It may reveal an activity worth improving, or a commitment you can let go.
Give your best ideas enough attention
Good content needs thought, relevant information and time to develop.
A calendar packed with routine obligations can leave little room for the story customers would find useful or the service explanation your sales team keeps requesting.
Before you add more marketing to next year’s plan, decide what deserves your attention. Then build a schedule that gives that work a fair chance.
Where should your marketing focus next?
Our Brand Pulse Review offers an outside-in look at your positioning, messaging, website and digital presence, helping identify where clearer communication could make a meaningful difference.
