Creating a winning social media strategy for your brand in 2025 doesn’t have to be stressful or complicated – in fact, it can actually be fun (we promise!). With social media constantly evolving, having a clear plan is the key to staying ahead of the game. In this guide, we’ll walk you through 8 super simple steps to build a strategy that works for your goals.
Plus, stick around until the end for our top predictions on the hottest trends and tactics that’ll help you crush it on social media strategy in 2025. Whether you’re a business owner, marketer, or just getting started, this guide has everything you need to grow your audience, boost engagement, and stand out online. Let’s do this!
What is a social media strategy?
In simple terms, a social media strategy is a summary of what your business plans to do and achieve across its social media platforms. It shapes everything about your content from your tone of voice, the types of content you will post and on what platforms. A social media strategy doesn’t need to be complex, but it does require some time & research to build and shape.
Why is having a social media strategy so important?
We get it, the world of social media and digital marketing can feel like a whirlwind of new fads, tools & trends. But one thing always remains certain - if you’re serious about making an impact on your social channels, having a well-thought-through strategy is non-negotiable if you want to make an impact and reach the right people. It provides a framework for you and/or your team about how to post and where, and allows you to evaluate your content and improve on it for the future. Not sure where to start with carving out the perfect social media strategy for your business in 2024? It’s not as complex as you might think! Let’s dive into how to build yours in just 8 steps.
Building your own social media strategy
Follow these 8 steps to create a winning strategy for your brand:
STEP 1 – Set Goals
With any strategy, you must first set clear goals that reflect your current business objectives. Make sure these goals are attainable but also give you a push to want to achieve them! Your goals should also outline how you will measure them so you can assess your progress.
Examples of social media goals could be:
- Build an engaged community (KPIs – track likes, comments, shares, DM conversations etc)
- Increase brand awareness & visibility (KPI’s - reach & account growth)
- Drive traffic to your website (KPI’s website clicks via socials)
Don’t skip this step! Without setting goals & objectives, your strategy will lack direction and you will have no way to measure your ROI (return on investment).
STEP 2 - Research
Next, it’s time to do some research into your target market and competitors.
Target Market
Think about exactly who your product or service is for. Be super specific here and think about who your current customers are or who your ideal client is. You could even build a client or customer avatar and jot down details about them e.g., gender, location, likes, dislikes, pain points, and even hobbies and home/family life. Diving deep into your target market’s character will help you to understand more about their buying habits and how your product or service can make their life easier!
Competitors
Time to do a little spying on the competition. Think about who your direct competitors are and research other businesses doing a similar thing to you (indirect competitors). Consider:
- What type of content they are producing on their socials.
- What is resonating with their audience (and what isn’t)?
- What are they doing well and what are they not doing well?
- Can you spot any gaps where you might be able to do something better or different?
STEP 3 – Content Pillars
You may have already heard of the term Content Pillars (or Content Themes). These are essentially categories & topics that all your content should fit into. They should be aligned with your business, industry and target audience and guide you in what subjects you will post about on your social platforms. Aim to have 3-5 content pillars and when you are posting content, make sure what you are posting is aligned with one or more of your pillars. Think about the “why” of your content pillars too i.e., what will your target market get out of this type of content?
For example, content pillars for a wedding photographer could include:
- Pillar 1 - Educational, tips & advice – e.g., how to prep for your wedding day, wedding inspiration, what to ask wedding photographers, how to choose a venue (provides value and positions you as an expert).
- Pillar 2 - Promotional & sales – e.g., info on you, your business, your services, special offers & showcases of your work (builds trust and credibility and shows off your talent!)
- Pillar 3 - Behind the scenes & storytelling – e.g., content about your life, your journey, how you prepare for a wedding, how you edit your pictures, your process on a wedding day, what does a day in the life of a wedding photographer look like (builds a connection and stronger relationships with an audience).
STEP 4 - Plan
You now have an idea of what type of content to post, so it’s time to build a plan! This is where you use the information you have already gained in steps 1-3 and plan out;
- Where to post – is your target market on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok or elsewhere?
- How often you will post - consider your capacity and schedule (be realistic and don’t set yourself up to fail)
- Tone of voice – what kind of language will you use (formal, friendly, informal, professional)?
- Branding – have you a defined vision for your brand (logo, brand colors/fonts, aesthetic)?
STEP 5 – Brainstorm Ideas
Time to start brainstorming content ideas! This is often the part of a social media strategy where people draw a blank. But, if you have followed the previous steps, you should have a good idea about what your business wants to achieve, what your target audience wants to see and what your competitors are doing. This should give you plenty of ideas to get started with! If you struggle to come up with ideas (the dreaded content block!) or manage several clients, our online AI strategy tool generates a month’s worth of ideas, tailored specifically to your brand, every month.
STEP 6 – Content Calendar
The next step is to create your content calendar and fill it with your ideas! You could use a calendar, spreadsheet or online tool to plan out your content week by week or month by month. You can also add key dates, events & hashtag holidays that align with your brand to your content calendar (we have them all listed here for 2024 for you!). Take a peek at our content calendar in rapidely below.
STEP 7 – Start Posting
You’ve planned out how your content and schedule will look, now it’s time to start creating content and start posting! Block time out in your diary each week or month to plan and create your content and remember to engage with your community too. You can even use a tool like rapidely to schedule your posts, reels & stories across your social platforms.
STEP 8 – Analyse & Track
The last part of your strategy is to analyse your insights and record the statistics to track how your content is performing. Dive into your platform's insights and select relevant KPIs to track. From here you will be able to find out information which will tell you what posts are resonating with your audience and more about who your audience is which will allow you to plan content for the future. It also allows you to track your goals and progress. We advise you to track your stats every month to get a good overview and understanding of how your content is performing.
Predictions for Social Media in 2025
While no one can predict the future with certainty, as experts in the field, here are our insights into what we believe will shape social media strategies in 2025. Here's what to keep an eye on:
1. The Decline of Generic Educational Content and the Rise of Storytelling
In 2025, the focus will shift away from generic educational content. Instead, audiences will crave authentic stories. To stay relevant, share your personal experiences, your unique teaching style, and your genuine personality. Storytelling will become a powerful tool for building deeper connections with your audience.
2. Timeless Content Over Trend-Driven Posts
Trends will still play a role, but they won't be the cornerstone of your strategy. Moving forward, focus on creating content that aligns with your brand's voice and resonates with your audience on a deeper level. Timeless content that maintains its relevance over time will be far more impactful than jumping from trend to trend.
3. A Shift Toward Authentic Connections
While 2024 may have been the year of "faceless marketing," 2025 will see a shift toward more personal connections. Audiences will seek to connect with the real people behind a brand, valuing authenticity, personality, and the stories that make you unique. The face of your brand will matter more than ever.
4. Engagement Beyond Likes and Comments
Instead of focusing solely on likes and comments, 2025 will be about fostering deeper, more meaningful conversations. Direct messages (DMs) will become a key area for connection. While automation tools can help manage this, ensuring that the human touch remains intact will be crucial for building genuine relationships.
5. Influencers: The Rise of Smaller, Niche Creators
In 2025, influencer marketing will continue to thrive, but the spotlight will shift to smaller influencers who have a deeper, more authentic connection with their audiences. These micro and nano influencers will offer more targeted and genuine engagement, making them a valuable asset to your marketing strategy.
6. Carousels Will Dominate Instagram
Carousels will rise in popularity, challenging Reels for the title of content king on Instagram. In 2025, carousels will be a powerful format for sharing information in a visually engaging way, providing users with an interactive experience that holds their attention longer than static posts.
7. Short-Form Video Content is Here to Stay
Reels and other short-form video content will remain a significant force on social media in 2025. While creating video content is not an absolute necessity for success, embracing short-form video will certainly enhance your social media presence and help drive engagement. It’s clear that video content isn’t going anywhere.
As we move into 2025, keeping these trends in mind will help shape a forward-thinking, adaptable social media strategy that resonates with your audience and stays ahead of the curve.
What’s next?
There you have it! How to build a social media strategy for your brand in 8 simple steps and predictions for refining your strategy in 2025. But what next? You should, of course, revisit your strategy regularly (we advise every six months) to assess if you have reached your goals, set new objectives and tailor your content accordingly. Your social strategy should, by nature, change and be adapted as your business grows, your audience changes and trends shift.
Feeling inspired to build an effective social media strategy for your brand? Follow this framework and we guarantee you will have no more stressing about what to post and guessing what your audience wants to see! To help make the process even quicker and more streamlined, our strategy tool builds your personal social media strategy in just a few clicks (and comes up with a whole month’s worth of custom content ideas). Try it out now here for free!
