Nov 1, 20246 min read

"Storytelling with Strategy: How to Plan Your Organization's Social Media"

Updated: Nov 2, 2024

At INNOVATION Insights…We transform our clients' career journeys through the art of storytelling via our consulting, coaching, and career management services.

Dr. Eulanda Sanders, Founder, INNOVATION Insights

Hello, innovators and change-makers! As a digital pioneer, I have been helping small businesses, academic programs, and individual brands shape their voices online since 2009. My journey has taught me that social media is more than just a marketing tool; it's a platform for storytelling, connection, and authenticity.

From the outset, I recognized the immense potential of these platforms to unite people, foster community, and share stories that resonated with audiences in genuine, significant ways. Today, social media is a cornerstone for modern organizations, and devising a robust, purpose-driven social media plan has become a prerequisite for success. The impact of a well-crafted social media plan on your organization's success can be profound, and I am thrilled to share some insights I've gathered, aiding you in crafting a strategy that authentically represents your brand and resonates with your audience.

Over the years, I have learned that an effective social media plan is more than just a schedule of posts. It is a blueprint for sharing your story, connecting with your community, and ultimately supporting your organization's goals. Whether managing a corporate brand, an academic program, or a community group, planning your social media presence thoughtfully and purposefully is vital.

This post will provide three key considerations you can immediately apply to craft a social media plan for your organization. (Stay tuned for a future post focusing on social media planning for individuals!)

1. Define the Purpose of Your Social Media Presence

Every successful social media plan begins with a clear purpose. Ask yourself, “Why is my organization on social media?” Your purpose will drive the type of content you create and how you engage with your audience. At INNOVATION Insights, we use social media to promote our services, share insights, and build a community of like-minded innovators. The beauty of these insights is that they are adaptable and can apply to other areas, departments, or programs, whether you are in academia, the corporate world, or the nonprofit sector. You are all part of this journey.

As you define your purpose, ensure it aligns with your parent organization’s mission, values, and brand guidelines. Incorporate elements and principles of design—such as color schemes, typography, and logo usage—to create a cohesive visual identity that reflects the organization’s brand across all social media channels. A strong alignment between your social media strategy and your organization’s broader objectives is essential. For example, if you manage social media for a college program, your posts should reflect the values and mission of the university. This alignment fosters a cohesive brand presence and builds trust with your audience. Some everyday purposes include:

Promotion – Sharing updates about your organization’s services, events, and achievements.

Community Building – Creating an online space where people feel connected to your brand.

Recruitment – Attract future employees, students, or investors by showcasing your organization's offerings.

In my experience, having a clear purpose is essential, as it helps to focus your content and measure its impact effectively. So, consider what you want to achieve and how your social media presence can best support that goal.

2. Decide on the Frequency of Posting

Once you have a purpose, the next step is to decide how frequently to post. I am a big fan of Gary Vaynerchuk’s approach to social media, which emphasizes the importance of posting often—sometimes multiple times daily. While this might seem like a lot, think of social media as television: each post is a commercial that builds brand recognition, and repetition is crucial for staying at the top of one’s mind.

Social media’s fast pace means that posts can quickly get buried in feeds. Regular, consistent posting helps ensure your message reaches as many people as possible. While each organization’s capacity for posting may vary, here are some general guidelines to consider:

Plan for daily posts – Aim for at least one to three daily posts, focusing on different content types. For example, you might post about an upcoming event in the morning, celebrate a team member’s success in the afternoon, and share a motivational quote in the evening.

Adjust based on engagement – Track which times and types of posts generate the most engagement. Use this information to refine your posting schedule.

It is important to remember that social media should not be a one-size-fits-all approach. Specific platforms may require more frequent posting than others. For example, Twitter (or X) typically benefits from multiple daily updates, while LinkedIn might require fewer, more targeted posts. Find the frequency that aligns with your audience’s preferences and your team’s bandwidth.

3. Innovatively Tell Your Organization’s Story

At the heart of any successful social media plan is storytelling. People connect with stories, not just facts or statistics. One of my most valuable lessons is the importance of innovatively and authentically sharing your organization’s story. Your audience wants to see the real people behind your brand, the diverse perspectives that make your organization unique, and the impact you are making.

For example, when I managed social media for an academic unit with three distinct majors, we made it a point to represent each major equally in our weekly postings. This approach helped each group feel valued and allowed us to showcase the variety of our programs. Consider these strategies for innovative storytelling:

Celebrate Achievements – Shine a spotlight on the successes of various team members or departments.

Introduce New Faces – When someone joins your organization, welcome them warmly through a dedicated post. This adds a personal touch and helps build a sense of community.

Promote Events and Milestones – Social media is an excellent platform for announcing events, project milestones, or awards your organization has received.

Diversify Content Types – Use a mix of photos, videos, graphics, and written posts. Different formats perform better on specific platforms, so it is essential to tailor your content accordingly.

In today’s media landscape, it is also essential to consider which platforms best suit your organization’s story. A LinkedIn presence can benefit professional networking and recruitment, connecting you with industry peers and potential hires. Instagram and TikTok, on the other hand, are ideal for reaching a younger, visually oriented audience through creative and dynamic content. Facebook offers a broad reach across demographics. It is particularly effective for building community and sharing in-depth updates with followers, making it an excellent platform for engaging posts and event promotions. With its visual search capability, Pinterest can be a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website. It is especially effective if your content is visually engaging, such as infographics, tutorials, or portfolio showcases. Crafting platform-specific posts and optimizing for each channel will help you maximize the impact of your storytelling efforts, ensuring that each message resonates with its intended audience.

Creating a social media plan may feel daunting at first. Still, you can build a solid and engaging online presence by grounding your strategy in purpose, committing to regular posting, and telling a compelling story. Whether representing a small business, a department, or a larger institution, your social media plan should reflect your unique mission and values while connecting with your audience meaningfully.

Consider using tools that suit your needs to keep your social media plan organized. For a straightforward approach, create a simple table in Word or Google Docs, or use Excel or Google Sheets to track your posts and ideas. If you need more robust features, project management platforms like Notion, Asana, or Monday.com offer additional options for organizing content, setting deadlines, and collaborating with your team in detail. These tools can help streamline your planning and make managing your social media strategy easier. Below is an example of the INNOVATION Insights social media plan from March 2024, which has evolved monthly.