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The Fundamentals of Social Media

September 7, 2022

Social media can be a scary playing field with trends, algorithm changes, platform updates and new features appearing almost daily. How do we keep up? 

In the world of social media marketing, having a set of fundamentals in place and adapting them to each new change is key. It may sound like a whole lot of work, but trust us… having a consistent set of foundations will help you from losing your mind! 


When it comes to keeping your digital marketing afloat, there are five main fundamentals we live by; define your strategy, know your audience, visually represent your brand, have clear brand messaging and integrate your campaigns. 


Strategy

Say it louder for the people in the back! When it comes to your social media marketing, strategy is everything! Developing a strategy for your social media can be time consuming and overwhelming, but it sure pays off. Here’s why we recommend (no, insist!) you have a digital marketing strategy…


Direction – A strategy gives you clear direction for the weeks, months or even years ahead. Strategy can help you work out a targeted approach to achieving your goals. 

Measurement – Being able to analyse your data allows you to measure the progress you’ve made towards your goals. It can also help you identify areas that are struggling, or re-allocate your budget throughout the campaign to areas that would be more beneficial for your business. Using a combination of analytics and conversion results allows you to consistently adjust your approach and make necessary corrections before it’s too late.

Consistency – A strategy can help you keep on track with your organic and paid marketing efforts. Planning and scheduling your campaigns in advance will help you build your online presence, grow your audience and get those sales flowing!


Defining Your Strategy 

Defining your strategy is as simple as following some easy steps… 

  1. State your mission/vision
  2. Set some measurable goals 
  3. Identify your target market and their buyer personas 
  4. Describe your content strategies; the type of content, how much of it, the channels you will distribute it on and whether you will adopt paid advertising
  5. Identify and allocate your budget
  6. Identify your competitors; What are they doing? What aren’t they doing? What’s working? What isn’t? 
  7. Outline the people who will help you achieve different aspects of your plan 
  8. Set a calendar of key events 
  9. Set a plan for the implementation of your marketing


Know Your Audience

One of our most invaluable tips for social media marketing is knowing your audience! After all, how can you market to someone if you don’t know who they are? 

 

When defining your audience, we recommend starting with your current clients. Who are they? What platforms are they using? What are their demographics? What trends are they responding to (if any)? By asking yourself these questions, you will be given a clear idea of the people who are interested in your brand, and most likely to purchase from you. 

 

From this, you can identify your ideal client or customer, developing a specific audience persona for each target market. Then when you are writing your social media content, write with these personas in mind. Ask yourself questions like “how would this person benefit from my service?”, “how can my product solve their problem?” or “how would this person like to be spoken to?”. Asking these questions and actively thinking about your audience’s wants, needs and challenges will result in relevant, high-quality content that converts!

 

The real key to connecting with your audience is knowing them inside-out! Trust us, you will reap the rewards.


Visually Represent Your Brand

Representing your brand means more than just words and a logo. When approaching your branding on social media, you need to be focusing on ensuring that every single one of your images, posts, graphics and stories are telling the world “Hello! This is me!”. Visual storytelling plays a huge part in any social media strategy, so here’s how it’s done…

 

Use Branded Graphics 

Your social media graphics should be showcasing your complete brand kit, including colours, imagery and fonts (as well as your logo). Including these aspects throughout your posts will improve brand recognition, consistency and recall, with customers knowing the content is yours before they even read a word! 

 

Elevate Your Brand With High-Quality Imagery 

That’s right, sometimes an iPhone image taken by a family member just… doesn’t… cut it. There is a time and place for iPhone photography, but the benefits of high quality, professional imagery are second to none! Set yourself up with a collection of professional images of yourself, your team, your products or your services. These images can be used across your social media platforms, website, email marketing and so much more. Not only will they take your marketing to the next level, they will also elevate your professionalism and boost trust in your brand. 

 

Seems daunting? It doesn’t have to be! Choose a photographer, decide on a location, grab the team and get snapping. We find creating a mood board prior to the shoot really helps with your vision and direction on the day. 

 

Incorporate Video Content to Show Your Brand Personality 

Did you know that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to a small 10% when reading it in text? (Forbes). You may have noticed that video content has been on the rise in 2022, with more and more brands opting to incorporate video into their social media strategy. 

 

Engaging, moving visuals, reels and videos are favoured by both viewers and the algorithm alike. So now is the time to start capturing and utilising video content to get your brand noticed! 

Here are some different ways you can incorporate video into your strategy:

  • Meet the team videos
  • Behind the scenes shots (people love to see what goes on beyond the social media images!)
  • Video blogs or product/service updates 
  • Client testimonial videos 
  • Turn your images into a video slideshow (this is one of our favourite algorithm hacks!)
  • Informational videos on your product or service
  • Answer your FAQ’s


Brand Messaging

Your brand messaging is SO important in letting your customers know exactly who you are! And by brand messaging, we’re not just talking about social media captions. Brand messaging is the entire way you communicate your values, your offering, your personality and your voice. 

 

Setting Your Tone 

Your brand messaging shouldn’t be limited to one platform alone, it includes a mixture of verbal and non-verbal messages across your website, social media, EDM’s, videography, you name it! 

 

Start by setting out your mission statement, your values, your tone of voice and language. From here, you will be able to refer back to this in every form of communication your business is involved in, setting the foundation for consistent messaging and a maintained brand personality. 

 

Content Pillars 

The next step? Set your content pillars! A content pillar is a topic or theme that is relevant to your audience. You can have multiple pillars for a range of different topics you regularly cover in your day-to-day content. For example, some of ours would be digital marketing tips, campaigns, educational posts, testimonials and BTS of our business. Content pillars are a great way of organising your content and making sure it fits the core categories your audience are interested in, as well as your core values. 

 

An easy way to think of content pillars is picturing them as the foundations and key messages that hold up your communication. Take a look at your social media platforms and start categorising your posts into different content groups. From here, you can see which categories are most engaged with and in turn, find out some helpful things for your content moving forward!


Integrate Your Campaigns

An integrated marketing campaign is a campaign that adopts a mixture of platforms to showcase your business. These can involve methods such as email marketing, social media and Google Ads (there are so many platforms to us) and they are a MUST when it comes to converting your viewers into customers.

Having a consistent presence and messaging across multiple marketing platforms can work wonders in creating brand awareness for your business. Sounds daunting? It can actually be quite simple! Try to think of ways you can repurpose your social media content and adapt it to suit each marketing channel. 



If you need a helping hand, our team can’t wait to work with you! Your outsourced marketing team, Soqual can help elevate your brand identity and improve your presence online.

March 24, 2025
The world of media can be overwhelming, especially when you're trying to determine the best way to market your business. Enter the PESO model—a framework that categorises media into four distinct types: Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned. Understanding how these work together can help you build a strong marketing strategy that drives brand awareness, engagement, and conversions. Let’s break it down. Owned Media: Your Brand’s Digital Home Owned media includes content and platforms that your brand controls—your website , blog , newsletter , and social media accounts. This is the gold standard of marketing assets—the most valuable data you can ever own. Unlike other media types, owned media gives you complete control over your message, audience insights, and long-term brand growth. It’s the foundation that fuels every other part of your marketing strategy. Key Owned Media Assets: Website content – Your website is often the first place potential customers visit. Blog articles , landing pages, and help articles are all part of your owned media strategy. (Read more about content strategy in our blog on Always-On vs. Campaign Marketing .) Social media accounts – While you don’t control how content is distributed, you do control the message you put out. Newsletters – Email marketing remains one of the best ways to engage with your audience on your terms. Owned media is excellent for nurturing existing audiences but isn’t always the best way to reach new customers. That’s where the other parts of PESO come into play. Learn more about our content marketing services . Paid Media: Expanding Your Reach Paid media is any exposure you pay for—from digital ads to sponsored content. It’s a great way to get in front of new audiences quickly and drive targeted traffic to your owned media. Types of Paid Media: Social media ads – Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn allow you to reach highly specific audiences based on demographics and interests. Search Engine Advertising (SEA) – Google Ads and other pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns help you capture search intent and drive conversions. Paid media works best when used alongside owned and earned media, ensuring that your content reaches the right people at the right time. Need help with paid advertising ? See how we can help . Shared Media: The Power of Social Engagement Shared media encompasses all social media content about your brand that isn’t directly posted by you. This includes customer posts, reshares, user-generated content, and influencer collaborations. Examples of Shared Media: Customer reviews and testimonials Social media shares and mentions Community-driven discussions on platforms like Facebook groups or Reddit Encourage engagement by creating shareable content—videos, infographics, and interactive posts tend to perform well. Discover how we build high-impact social strategies. Earned Media: Your Brand in the Spotlight Earned media is coverage that your brand receives organically, whether through PR efforts, influencer shoutouts, or customer advocacy. Unlike paid media, you don’t have control over earned media, but it’s one of the most powerful forms of credibility. Examples of Earned Media: Press coverage – Being featured in news articles or industry blogs. Influencer endorsements – When influencers talk about your brand without a paid partnership. Word-of-mouth and referrals – Organic recommendations from happy customers. Earned media is hard to control, but you can influence it by creating high-quality, shareable content and building relationships with journalists and influencers. Want to grow your brand’s credibility? Let’s talk . Bringing It All Together: The PESO Strategy Each component of the PESO model is powerful on its own, but the magic happens when they work together. For example: A blog post (like the one you're reading) (owned media) can be promoted through social ads (paid media), shared by your audience (shared media), and picked up by a news outlet (earned media). A paid partnership with an influencer (paid media) can lead to organic shares (shared media) and PR opportunities (earned media). Start with owned and shared media—they’re low-cost and effective. As your strategy matures, incorporate paid and earned media to amplify your reach and results. Looking for a marketing strategy that integrates the PESO model seamlessly? See how we can help or learn more about Soqual .
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