1. What problem should social media solve for you?
“Increased reach” is an incomplete task. Do you want to promote a new offering, win suitable initial consultations, explain your expertise, or reach applicants? These tasks require different content and follow-up channels.
Formulate a primary goal for the next phase of work. For example: “Before an initial consultation, prospective clients should understand which projects our offering is suitable for.” This could be about acquiring new customers. However, the video alone doesn't complete the task: website, accessibility, offering, and sales are all part of it.
Also note which tasks are not currently a priority. A small team can't provide the same level of attention to every target group on every channel. This prioritization is part of the strategy, not an admission of a lack of creativity.
2. What does your current online presence demonstrate?
A social media audit should deliver more than just a list of attractive and less attractive posts. Look at a coherent selection of your previous content and track the journey from initial contact.
- Appearance: Can someone without prior knowledge understand what you offer and for whom?
- Content: Which customer questions do you actually answer? Which ones remain unanswered?
- Response: Who responds professionally, who follows up, which contacts are a good fit for your offer?
- Connection: Where does the profile or ad link lead? What happens after an inquiry?
- Feasibility: Which formats do you regularly receive and approve?
Separate observations from assumptions. “Many views, few inquiries” doesn’t prove that the videos are bad. Perhaps a next step is missing, perhaps you’re reaching the wrong people, perhaps the attribution is incomplete. The audit is designed to highlight these issues.
3. Who do you want to reach – and in what situation?
Age, industry, and company size can be helpful. However, for developing content, what’s crucial is understanding the specific decision a person has to make. A marketing manager looking for a production team has different questions than someone editing a video reel for the first time.
Collect real questions from consulting, sales, and customer service. Note what people compare, what they fear, and what they need to justify internally. A useful description might be: “Marketing managers with an ongoing need for content but no in-house production capacity.” This is more action-oriented than “all companies with growth potential.”
Also, document who has a say in the decision-making process. A subject matter expert might be convinced by a video, while purchasing or management still needs information about the effort involved and collaboration. Your content doesn't have to appeal to everyone at once, but it's important to understand these differences.
4. What message should stick?
In one sentence, describe the problem you help solve and what makes your work transparent. Use concrete services, processes, or approved examples. "We are innovative" provides little guidance to a production team. "We plan the various video placements before filming" is something you can demonstrate.
This creates thematic areas. For a technical service provider, these could include typical selection errors, insights into implementation, and answers to questions about collaboration. Three clearly defined thematic areas are often easier to manage as a starting point than a long list of unconnected ideas. This is a planning recommendation, not a platform rule.
The connection to Social Selling arises where content enables professional exchange and relevant contacts are made. Not every post needs to require a request. However, it should have a clearly identifiable purpose.
5. Which channel will be responsible for which task?
Choose channels based on reachable people, usage situations, and available materials. The question is not only "Where are our customers?" but also: "How can we meaningfully address their questions there?" A professional exchange, a product search, and an entertaining feed are different situations.
The LinkedIn Planning Guide LinkedIn Planning Guide Link content to goals and relevant KPIs. However, this doesn't automatically lead to a recommendation for LinkedIn: The appropriate channel mix depends on your specific offering.
Differentiate between organic publishing, personal communication, and paid distribution. Decide where you want to leverage existing contacts and where you want to purchase additional reach. A single video can serve multiple purposes if the framing, message, and variations are considered early on.
6. What does a usable strategic outcome look like?
The following constructed example shows a concise result for a maintenance service provider. It does not describe a real customer campaign and does not include a success forecast.
| Decision | Example of the strategy briefing |
|---|---|
| Business objective | Win relevant conversations about regular maintenance. |
| Target group | Operations managers who reduce downtime and compare service partners. |
| Central Question | How can I tell if my current maintenance process has gaps? |
| Content-related Task | Explain a verifiable error and demonstrate your own process. |
| Production | A conversation with a specialist and relevant detailed footage at the site. |
| Distribution | Technical article with video; paid distribution only with your own testing and budget plan. |
| Next step | A page outlining requirements and providing a specific contact option. |
| Evaluation | Technically relevant follow-up questions, qualified inquiries, and their further development. |
Such a briefing does not replace a shooting schedule. However, it makes it justifiable which scenes, statements, and variations are needed in the production process. "We need a video" becomes a task that multiple participants can work on.
7. Who will implement it – and how will you continue learning?
Define responsibilities for topics, expert review, production, publication, and responses. Agree on who will gather feedback and who will give final approval. A realistic publication schedule will also result from these responsibilities.
Plan the evaluation before launch. Which contacts are considered qualified? Where will they be recorded? What feedback from conversations will reach the content team? Clicks and views help with some questions, but they don't replace an assessment of business relevance.
An editorial calendar is the next step. If it's still unclear who you want to reach or what message you can convey, a full calendar will only mask this gap. If the direction is different, you might primarily need production or training for your team.
When is consulting useful?
Consulting is suitable when decisions regarding target audience, positioning, channels, or collaboration are still open. A workshop can help prepare these decisions together. Coaching is more appropriate when the direction is clear and people are expected to master certain tasks independently.
Test your existing strategy with a simple question: Can a new colleague deduce from it which video is needed next and why? If not, add the missing decision before you gather further topics.
In our Consulting , we connect these decisions with production and distribution. You can develop the direction with us and then implement it with your team – or take the next steps together with us. Let’s think BIG.