Without a very basic social media strategy – ideally, one that extends to an actual schedule – you’re just “spraying and praying”. Not ideal.

Here’s a confession you probably weren’t expecting: There are three of us in my marriage. We’re a triangle. A pyramid. But not in the way you think. In my marriage, there’s me, my husband and… my daily planner.

Social media strategy: Planner as soulmate

I spend more time pouring my attention into that little book than pretty much anything else. More than Netflix, podcasts, whatsapp groups, doom-scrolling, videos of cute animals sneezing and my family, I spend quality time with my planner.

Yes, this is just as much a mania as it is a habit. But it speaks to my need to have a very basic (one-page) social media strategy that ties into a very basic (one-page) social media schedule — without which, nothing gets done.

If social media doesn’t spark joy for you (thanks Marie Kondo!), you’re going to want to expend as little effort as you can to yield positive change. And you’re going to need a plan.

Social media strategy: Plan and schedule

I’ve spoken about the early bits of planning before.

Your social media plan may extend to 10 minutes a day, 20 minutes every other day, or two hours a week — whatever your preference is. It may be weekends or weekdays.

What’s mine? It’s Sunday afternoons. Two hours of thinking, writing, image sourcing, and pre-scheduling posts to go live on their own, so I don’t have to go online much during the week.

I do this largely to avoid aimless spraying and praying. I do this because hope is not a social media strategy. A social media strategy is a social media strategy. And schedules make strategies real.

What’s more, without a weekly, monthly or seasonal plan, linked to milestones, it’s very hard to maintain momentum, grab all the low-hanging fruit and know where your efforts sit, relative to your objectives.

The bottom line

Find your ideal slots for social media work and book them in, as if they’re appointments. Commit to them. Make them sacred. SCHEDULE THEM. That’s the most critical hygiene factor of social media strategy.