Grace Andrews

The essential toolkit whether a solo social media manager or leading a team will require a social listening tool (something to analyse industry sentiment, monitor trends and analyse competitors) a social scheduling tool (consistency is key, it won’t happen without one of these because life happens) and a tool that allows for analysis of analytics and strategy review (without this you cannot grow). Everything else, in my opinion, is a nice to have.

Be inspired by others, but create for you and with your audience in mind. Just because something has worked for another creator, doesn’t mean it will work for you and might not even work again for them due to ever changing platform and trend landscape. Stay true and focussed to your goals, and then start experimenting. The only growth secret formula is one that involves a lot of experimentation.

I’d recommend using your personal channels as an experimental playground to explore trends, platform updates and best practices. Not only will it allow you to stay ahead of the ever changing landscape but also for you to demonstrate to potential clients or employers your learnings and knowledge in a visible way. I believe all the best social media producers do this in one way or another.

More often that not the problem with the campaign isn’t the creative, the results or any individual person. It’s the lack of shared clarity on what you’re measuring. For example, a campaign going viral when the goal is to nurture your community, is a failed campaign, despite perceived success. It’s critical to set goals, and make everyone aware of that vision and how you will measure success. How you get there? That’s open to creative thinking and interpretation. Campaigns break down when you’re too quick to skip over the goal setting stage! Don’t neglect this. And certainly don’t neglect plotting in the time to evaluate the success of the campaign against these original goals.

In my experience, social media has allowed me a platform to develop as a thought leader in the industry. How? By sharing relevant industry updates, insights and trends. It’s forced me to reflect & analyse my thoughts, critically evaluate my writing and engage in industry relevant conversations and debates on specific topics. The impact? Reaching relevant industry professionals & being invited to events to speak on certain topics that I’ve shared online - both further developing my skills as an industry leader.

Community has been the marketing buzzword of 2023. So what’s next? Utilising your nurtured community in your content strategy. - incorporating UGC into ecom imagery (see Zara / ASOS) - lean into advocacy. Segment and tap into your goldmine of fan and incentivise them sell for you. - tiered loyalty schemes to turn community members into loyal brand ambassadors. The value exchange with your community goes beyond discount codes & educational posts. The age old saying that ‘people buy from people’ rings true louder than ever when everyone is fighting for digital real estate. So lean into your people.