Strategy Behind your Social Media

Published on June 6, 2017, at 8:28 a.m.
by Meredith Folsom.

I recently read a Buzzfeed article discussing Ivanka Trump’s, President Donald Trump’s daughter, planned strategies behind each and every one of her Instagram posts. The article analyzed the premeditated posts according to timing, content and overall message.

I thought to myself, “This can’t be true.” Does she really have someone telling her when and why she should be posting? Well, Buzzfeed’s Anne Helen Peterson believes so. She even believes that there is a clear and thought-out strategy when posting a picture of Trump’s son at a monster truck show or her daughter singing for the Chinese New Year.

But, the question is, “Who handles her Instagram account?” Or is she just really really good at creating a social media plan that succinctly and quickly reacts to all the global events related to her image, her father’s image and the United States.

And then it got me wondering … how planned is everyone’s social media? Is there a successful PR firm behind every Instagram post? For some people, there should be. For others, we crave a feeling of authenticity that sometimes a PR firm’s staff just can’t understand – since they aren’t that person and there is no way to completely understand one’s true self.

A popular social media scheduling tool, Sproutsocial, even has a blog breaking down a typical “Celebrity Social Media Management Strategy.” Alex York, the blog’s author, uses celebrities’ social media platforms, such as Beyoncé’s Instagram, to highlight the importance of keeping one’s brand on an online platform. An Instagram or Twitter account is just another way for public figures to expand their fan base while promoting themselves as an overall brand.

The idea of expanding one’s brand on social media doesn’t come naturally to many public figures, who ultimately need social media in order to increase fan following. Many individuals, most of them older, don’t have any concept of how a social media account can be a positive or negative impact on their image.

If your social media is used incorrectly, it can significantly hurt your brand and image. This is where a PR firm comes into play. A firm can create a social media strategy that is specific to you while having the knowledge of common and successful social media practices.

However, a PR firm’s social media strategy doesn’t just have to relate to an individual person; many firms also handle social media accounts for companies and large corporations. This is because, at the end of the day, each social media plan has one goal in mind: to protect and promote a positive image.

As different social media platforms evolve and become more popular, it is easier for a company to outsource to a PR firm. Social media marketing agencies are also becoming very popular as the importance of having an online image has grown. These types of agencies can handle all forms of social media and make sure you and your company are represented accurately online.

Emily Wessing, a writer for Post Bulletin, recently wrote a blog article stressing the reasons of why one should partner with a social media agency. An agency can offer you experience, constant post visibility and build your client base.

Overall, social media is a great tool to expand your brand in a more modern way than the standard outlets; however, with that comes great responsibility. It is important to know your goal and audience.

If your goal is to create a positive image, you may not want to be posting a picture of yourself lounging on the beach while your company just had a lay off. A PR firm or social media agency can guide you in the right direction while keeping a sense of authenticity in posts.