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Discipline

Social media

The brand's presence and conversation on social platforms, customer care included.

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Social media is the brand's presence and conversation on social platforms, from organic posts and community management to paid social and customer care in public. It is where many people spend time every day, and often where a problem first becomes public. It suits brands that benefit from conversation and can make content for each platform, while keeping a direct line to customers, because the platform owns the feed.

Start with the 101Social media 101: the whole pictureHistory, how it works, where it is used, what it costs, the rules, its limits and when to choose it, with every claim sourced.Read the 101

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What matters when choosing

  • The platforms your audience actually uses in each market, rather than every platform at once.
  • Content made for each platform's format and culture, carrying the same idea.
  • People to answer comments and messages, because comments are customer service.
  • Paid social tested against a holdout group or a brand lift study, not judged on platform clicks alone.
  • A way to move followers into data the brand owns, such as email or the customer record.

Questions to ask vendors and agencies

  1. Who answers comments and messages, how fast, and when is an issue escalated?
  2. How will we test what paid social adds, beyond the platform's own reports?
  3. What happens to our reach and our audience if a platform changes its rules?

Common mistakes

  • Building on rented land with no direct line to customers.
  • Counting followers, likes and views as if they were results.
  • Posting one message unchanged on every platform.

What it is good at

  • Daily reach, with audiences chosen by interest and behaviour.
  • Two-way conversation, customer care and community.
  • Testing and learning within days, with discovery and purchase in one place.

What to watch for

  • The platform decides who actually sees a post, and can change its rules overnight.
  • Public complaints and pile-ons that spread quickly.
  • Content wears out fast, and targeting is restricted for minors and sensitive data.

How it is bought and priced

Organic social has no media cost but needs people to plan, produce, publish, answer and moderate, and tools to schedule, listen and report. Paid social is bought in auctions per thousand impressions, per click or per result; agencies and freelancers usually work on a monthly retainer or a project fee.

Typical disciplines Social media Influencer and creator marketing Search (SEO and paid search) Community and word of mouth Content marketing

Platforms that fit (8)

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