In summary, a social media strategy is how your organization will use social media to achieve its communications aims. At a basic level, it’s a simple statement of intent, outlining the goals and measurable objectives for using social media, and the target outcomes you want to achieve, all in context of the overall business plan.

This growth in popularity has been particularly noteworthy of late. In 2016, we saw the role of social media marketing expand beyond lead generation and brand awareness and into customer experience. With this boom in the number of people using social media, it isn't enough to simply post content online to appear active.

Nearly half (46%) of social media users are already using social platforms while thinking about making a purchase. 40% of users are actively deciding what to buy based on what they have seen on social media platforms, including reviews and recommendations. With the depth and intensity of social media marketing continuously growing, having a strategy becomes critical to make sure it is being utilized maximally.

"I think it is critical for any business to have a social media strategy. The key is to have a strategy that is actionable and understands your customers; helps you converse with them, about the things they care about, in the places or on the platforms where they are already 'hanging out'. The best strategies have consumer led insight at their heart and make creating content, conversations and even conversions much easier to generate. And the bravest part of devising a successful social strategy? Consciously deciding where not to be and why." - Seraj Parekh, Brand and Creative Strategist

One of the most attractive qualities of social marketing is the ease with which businesses can implement new campaigns, regardless of the size of the business. When utilized well, social media can be an a simple but powerful tool. Take Volvo's 2015 Super Bowl Interception, for example. With the use of a single hashtag, they generated a huge profit of 70% sales increase of the advertised model within the month following the game.

To maximize the potential of social media to help your business, you can outsource a professional supported by an entire team of people with an eye for design, graphical skills and industrial knowledge and experience that all add maturity and direction to your online presence.

Social media managers have a great understanding on system platforms, can predict upcoming trends and also generate genuine content that the your audience craves to interact with. Systems are monitored, measured, tweaked and tested every week and are continually developed to ensure that you are getting the very best from the efforts of the consultant. This article provides a detailed description of everything a social media manager does.