| name | 05-social-media-strategy |
| description | Generates the master social media strategy document — the primary deliverable for strategy-only client engagements. Applies the POEM model and RACE framework as structural backbones. Invoke when a client has completed onboarding (01-client-brief, 02-platform-audit, 03-audience-personas, 04-brand-voice-intake) and needs a comprehensive, board-ready social media strategy document. |
Social Media Strategy Generator
Produce the master social media strategy document. This is the primary deliverable for a strategy engagement. Every section must be populated with client-specific content — no generic filler. Apply British English throughout. Default to Uganda/East Africa context unless the client specifies otherwise.
Apply the POEM model (Paid/Owned/Earned) to classify channels. Apply the RACE framework (Reach/Act/Convert/Engage) to structure the KPI section. Reference Bodnar and Cohen (2012), Chaffey (2024), and Kotler et al. (2023) where indicated.
Before recommending channels or content, apply a direct-response filter drawn from Kennedy and Wiebe:
- market: who exactly is the strategy for?
- message: what pain, desire, or differentiated promise should the audience hear repeatedly?
- media: which channels fit that audience and message?
- offer: what is the next step being promoted at each stage?
Do not build platform plans before those four are explicit.
ARM Content Testing Lens
Before approving any content plan or campaign, apply the ARM framework to verify balanced coverage:
(Hahn, 2003)
| Letter | Objective | Test Question |
|---|
| A — Attract | Bring in new audiences and prospects | Does this content reach people who do not yet know us? |
| R — Retain | Keep existing followers engaged and loyal | Does this content reward people who already follow us? |
| M — Motivate | Drive existing audiences to act, buy, or refer | Does this content give existing customers a reason to do something now? |
A healthy content plan addresses all three. A plan heavy on M (promotional) without A or R will shrink its audience over time. A plan heavy on A without M will grow an audience that never converts.
Use when
- Generates the master social media strategy document — the primary deliverable for strategy-only client engagements. Applies the POEM model and RACE framework as structural backbones. Invoke when a client has completed onboarding (01-client-brief, 02-platform-audit, 03-audience-personas, 04-brand-voice-intake) and needs a comprehensive, board-ready social media strategy document.
- Use this skill when it is the closest match to the requested deliverable or workflow.
Do not use when
- Do not use this skill for graphic design, video production, software development, or legal advice beyond the repository's stated scope.
- Do not use it when another skill in this repository is clearly more specific to the requested deliverable.
Workflow
- Collect the required inputs or source material before drafting, unless this skill explicitly generates the intake itself.
- Follow the section order and decision rules in this
SKILL.md; do not skip mandatory steps or required fields.
- Review the draft against the quality criteria, then deliver the final output in markdown unless the skill specifies another format.
Anti-Patterns
- Do not invent client facts, performance data, budgets, or approvals that were not provided or clearly inferred from evidence.
- Do not skip required inputs, mandatory sections, or quality checks just to make the output shorter.
- Do not drift into out-of-scope work such as code implementation, design production, or unsupported legal conclusions.
Outputs
- A structured onboarding, strategy, or planning document in markdown, ready to hand off to the next skill in the workflow.
References
- Use the inline instructions in this skill now. If a
references/ directory is added later, treat its files as the deeper source material and keep this SKILL.md execution-focused.
Required Input
Ask for all of the following before generating the strategy document:
- Client business name — trading name as it appears on social media
- Industry and sub-sector — e.g. "retail — women's fashion", "NGO — maternal health"
- Country/city — defaults to Kampala, Uganda if not specified
- Primary business goal — one sentence: what success looks like for this client in 12 months
- Budget band for paid social — none / low (under UGX 500K/month) / medium (UGX 500K–2M/month) / high (above UGX 2M/month)
- Outputs from 01-client-brief — paste or summarise key findings
- Outputs from 02-platform-audit — paste or summarise current platform performance data
- Outputs from 03-audience-personas — paste or summarise the 2–3 primary personas
- Outputs from 04-brand-voice-intake — paste brand voice summary if available
- Website ownership — does the client already own a website? If yes, provide the URL. This determines whether a Website and Blog Strategy section is generated.
If any onboarding documents are unavailable, note this explicitly and generate the relevant section with stated assumptions.
Document Structure
Generate all ten sections in order. Use markdown headings. Do not omit any section.
1. Situation Analysis
Summarise where the client stands today. Cover four areas:
Market context: 2–3 sentences on the industry landscape in the client's geography. Note relevant digital trends in East Africa (e.g. mobile-first audiences, WhatsApp as a primary customer channel, rising TikTok penetration among under-30s).
Key competitors: Identify 2–3 competitors. For each, note which platforms they are active on, approximate posting frequency, and one observable strength or weakness. Draw from 02-platform-audit if available; otherwise ask the client to name competitors.
Current digital presence summary: Summarise the client's existing social media footprint — platforms active, follower counts, average engagement rate, content quality assessment. Draw directly from 02-platform-audit findings. State clearly where the biggest gaps or opportunities lie.
Audience overview: Summarise the 2–3 primary personas from 03-audience-personas. For each persona, note the platform they use most, what motivates them to engage, and what they want from this brand.
2. Strategy Statement
Write one paragraph (4–6 sentences). State clearly:
- What the social media presence will achieve (link to primary business goal)
- For whom (reference primary personas by name)
- Why this approach is the right one for this client at this time
- The overarching positioning the brand will hold in the social media space
Cite Kotler et al. (2023) on the role of digital brand positioning where relevant.
3. Platform Selection Rationale
Identify which platforms to prioritise, which to maintain at low effort, and which to deprioritise or exit. Present as a structured list or table.
For each platform in scope, provide:
- Priority level: Primary / Secondary / Exit
- Rationale: Why this decision was made — link to persona data and business goals
- POEM classification:
- Owned: the brand's organic profile and content
- Earned: UGC, shares, mentions, PR coverage, word of mouth
- Paid: boosted posts, paid campaigns, sponsored placements
- Platform role in the strategy: what this platform is expected to do (e.g. "Facebook — primary community and customer service channel; broad demographic reach")
Apply EA platform defaults: Facebook for broad reach, Instagram for urban 18–35 aspirational content, TikTok for under-30 entertainment, WhatsApp for direct customer communication, LinkedIn for B2B or professional services, YouTube for long-form tutorials or brand storytelling.
3b. Website and Blog Content Strategy (include only if client owns a website)
The website is the only owned channel the brand fully controls — no algorithm, no terms-of-service risk, no platform changes. Social media drives traffic; the website captures it and converts it. If the client owns a website, this section is mandatory.
Website as the content hub: Apply the Hero/Hub/Hygiene content model. The website blog is the Hygiene layer — always-on, searchable, SEO-indexed content that answers the questions the audience is already asking. Social media distributes that content to audiences who are not yet searching.
Blog strategy: Define a blog cadence and topic structure aligned to the content pillars in Section 5. Each blog post should:
- Target one specific search query or audience pain point
- Be 600–1,200 words minimum for indexability
- Include one clear CTA (book a demo, download a resource, start a trial)
- End with a summary or key takeaways block — this becomes the basis for social recycling
Blog-to-social recycling plan: Every blog post generates at minimum four social assets:
- LinkedIn text post — the argument or insight from the blog, written as a standalone post (no "I wrote a blog" phrasing — the post is the content; the link is in comments)
- Instagram carousel — the key points from the blog as a swipeable carousel (5–7 slides); no need to read the blog to get value
- Facebook post — a single punchy question or statistic from the blog with the article link; optimised for shares and link clicks
- X/Twitter thread — the blog's main argument broken into 4–6 tweets with a link to read the full piece at the end
Optional additions where platforms are in scope:
- WhatsApp broadcast: a one-paragraph summary with a link — personal, direct tone
- TikTok/Reels: talking-head video or screencast version of the blog's main idea
Content calendar integration: The blog publishing date anchors a social distribution window. Publish the blog on Monday. LinkedIn post on Tuesday. Instagram carousel on Wednesday. Facebook post on Thursday. X thread on Friday. This stretches one piece of work across five touchpoints in one week.
SEO note: The website blog builds search visibility that social media cannot — indexed pages rank; social posts do not. The blog compounds over time; a post published in Month 1 still drives traffic in Month 6. This makes the blog the highest long-term ROI content investment in the mix.
4. Brand Voice Summary
Write 3–4 sentences summarising the brand's voice and tone for social media. Draw from 04-brand-voice-intake if available. Cover:
- Personality traits (e.g. warm, authoritative, playful, professional)
- Language register (formal / conversational / educational)
- What the brand would and would not say
- How tone shifts across platforms (e.g. more formal on LinkedIn; more relaxed on Instagram Stories)
5. Content Pillars
Define 3–5 content pillars. Apply the 10-4-1 rule (Bodnar and Cohen, 2012): for every 15 pieces of content, 10 should share relevant third-party or educational content, 4 should be original brand content, and 1 should be directly promotional.
Also make sure the pillars serve the full response system:
- attraction: bring in the right strangers
- conversion: move qualified people toward enquiry or opt-in
- retention: keep customers and followers engaged after the first action
- referral: give satisfied customers reasons and language to recommend the brand
For each pillar, provide:
Pillar name: [Short, memorable name]
Purpose: One sentence — what this pillar does for the audience and for the brand
Example post types: 3–4 specific examples (e.g. "customer spotlight quote graphic", "behind-the-scenes Reel", "tip carousel")
% of content mix: Percentage allocation across all pillars must total 100%
Platforms it suits best: List the 1–2 platforms where this pillar performs most effectively
Ensure the 10-4-1 rule is honoured in the aggregate percentage allocations — promotional content should not exceed 10–15% of total volume.
6. Posting Frequency and Content Mix by Platform
Present as a table. Include only the platforms designated as Primary or Secondary in Section 3.
| Platform | Posts/week | Content types | Best posting times (EAT, UTC+3) |
|---|
| Facebook | | | |
| Instagram | | | |
| TikTok | | | |
| WhatsApp (broadcast) | | | |
| LinkedIn | | | |
| YouTube | | | |
| X/Twitter | | | |
Populate only rows relevant to this client. For EAT posting times, apply EA-specific guidance: peak times are typically 07:00–09:00 (commute), 12:00–13:00 (lunch), and 19:00–21:00 (evening). Facebook tends to peak earlier in the day; Instagram and TikTok peak in evenings.
7. Community Management Principles
Define 4–6 principles that govern how the brand engages with its audience across all platforms. Each principle has a short title and 2–3 sentences of guidance.
Include principles covering:
- Response time SLAs — e.g. comments within 4 business hours; DMs within 24 hours; complaints within 2 hours
- Tone in responses — how to maintain brand voice in reactive situations
- Escalation protocol — what types of enquiries or complaints get escalated, to whom, and how
- Negative comment policy — when to respond publicly, when to move to DMs, when to delete (only clear violations of community standards)
- UGC and mentions — how to handle and celebrate user-generated content
- Crisis response — brief trigger definition; note that the playbook-crisis-communications skill handles full crisis planning
Add a lead-handling principle: high-intent comments, poll replies, and DMs must feed a follow-up path instead of dying in-platform. Social engagement should create identifiable opportunities, not just vanity metrics.
8. Paid Social Integration
Provide brief guidance on when to boost posts versus when to run structured campaigns. This section is not a campaign plan — it provides strategic guardrails.
Cover:
- Post boosting: criteria for deciding a post is worth boosting (high organic engagement, commercial message, event promotion, time-sensitive offer). Minimum budget recommendation per boost.
- Campaign structure: when to move from ad-hoc boosting to a structured campaign (use 09-campaign-strategy for full campaign planning)
- Budget band guidance: match to the client's stated budget band:
- None: organic-only; note that organic reach on Facebook is limited (typically 2–5% without paid support)
- Low: selective boosting of 2–3 posts/month on Facebook and Instagram
- Medium: monthly always-on boosting plus 1 structured campaign per quarter
- High: always-on paid social plus multiple campaign flights; recommend engaging 09-campaign-strategy
Frame boosting and paid support around system roles, not random visibility.
Each spend decision should support one of these:
- attract new qualified attention
- convert warm traffic already showing intent
- retain customers with follow-up or repeat-purchase content
- reactivate dormant leads or past buyers
9. KPI Framework
Apply the RACE framework (Chaffey, 2024) to organise KPIs across four stages of the customer journey.
Present as a table:
| RACE Stage | KPI | Platform | Current Baseline | 90-Day Target | How to Measure |
|---|
| Reach | Total impressions | | | | Native analytics |
| Reach | Total reach (unique) | | | | Native analytics |
| Reach | Follower growth rate | | | | Native analytics |
| Act | Engagement rate | | | | Engagements ÷ reach |
| Act | Link clicks | | | | Link-in-bio / UTM |
| Act | Profile visits | | | | Native analytics |
| Convert | Website sessions from social | | | | Google Analytics |
| Convert | Enquiries / DMs / form fills | | | | CRM or manual count |
| Convert | Conversions attributed to social | | | | UTM + CRM |
| Engage | Repeat engagement rate | | | | Native analytics |
| Engage | Community growth (group/broadcast) | | | | Manual count |
| Engage | Sentiment (positive/negative ratio) | | | | Manual review |
Populate Current Baseline from 02-platform-audit data. Set 90-Day Targets as SMART improvements over baseline. Remove rows for KPIs not applicable to this client.
10. 90-Day Milestone Roadmap
Structure into three months. Each month has a theme, 4–6 specific actions, and a clear milestone (what will be true at the end of the month).
Month 1 — Foundations and Quick Wins
Theme: establish the brand's consistent presence, set up systems, and generate early momentum.
- Actions: [list 4–6 specific actions, e.g. "Finalise brand templates and tone guide for content team", "Publish content calendar for Month 1", "Set up WhatsApp Business profile and auto-replies"]
- Milestone: [what success looks like at Day 30]
Month 2 — Growth and Consistency
Theme: build on foundations, grow the audience, test content formats.
- Actions: [list 4–6 specific actions, e.g. "Launch first UGC campaign or community challenge", "Begin boosting top-performing organic posts"]
- Milestone: [what success looks like at Day 60]
Month 3 — Optimisation and Expansion
Theme: use data to improve performance; introduce new formats or channels if readiness exists.
- Actions: [list 4–6 specific actions, e.g. "Review Month 1–2 analytics and adjust content mix", "Produce first monthly performance report using meta-reporting skill"]
- Milestone: [what success looks like at Day 90]
Quality Criteria
- Situation analysis is client-specific — no generic observations that could apply to any brand
- Strategy statement clearly links the social media approach to the client's primary business goal
- Platform selection rationale explicitly applies the POEM model and justifies deprioritisation decisions
- Content pillars honour the 10-4-1 rule (Bodnar and Cohen, 2012) in aggregate percentage allocations
- KPI table is populated with baselines drawn from 02-platform-audit and targets that are SMART
- RACE framework (Chaffey, 2024) is applied correctly across the four KPI stages
- Community management principles include specific SLA timeframes, not vague commitments
- 90-day roadmap contains specific, named actions — not abstract phases or generic tasks
- British English spelling throughout; EAT timezone applied to all scheduling references
- Paid social guidance is calibrated to the client's stated budget band
- If the client owns a website, Section 3b is included with a blog cadence, recycling plan, and content calendar integration instructions
Four Tenets check before strategy (added 2026-05-04 from Levy)
Canonical reference: docs/ux-foundations.md Section 2.
Before producing the master strategy document, verify upstream artifacts contain evidence for all four tenets:
| Tenet | Where to verify | Pass criterion |
|---|
| Business Strategy | 01-client-brief | Value proposition declared; revenue stream identified |
| Value Innovation | 02-platform-audit | Differentiation vs competitors named with specifics |
| Validated User Research | 03-audience-personas (or ai-synthetic-personas) | Personas cite real data sources, not pure hypothesis |
| Killer UX Design | 04-brand-voice-intake + content pillars | Voice and pillars actually distinct from category baseline |
If any tenet is missing, return to the upstream stage before producing strategy. Do not paper over a missing tenet with a stronger headline; the strategy will fail downstream.
Complementarity with existing direct-response filter
The Kennedy/Wiebe direct-response filter (market / message / media / offer) already specified in this skill operates within the Four Tenets framework, not in place of it. Both run; they don't replace each other:
- Four Tenets → does this strategy belong in market at all?
- Market/Message/Media/Offer → if so, what is the operational shape of the next campaign?
Apply Four Tenets first as a gate; apply Kennedy/Wiebe second as a structure.
