How to Prioritize Your Social Content
It’s easy to get swept into social media’s latest trends, channels, and hashtags. Even if we understand the power of social media, its velocity can leave us breathless.
But amidst the chaos and tectonic shifts, there’s a way to simplify your social media strategy. In fact, it’s embarrassingly simple.
The Birth of the 2x2
We may never know who “invented” the 2x2, but we know it became popular in the 1970s. The Boston Consulting Group published their “Growth Share Matrix,” which was a framework for prioritizing business ventures.
Executives started to plot their companies on the matrix, assigning each company to one of the four quadrants (high growth & market share; high growth & low market share; low growth & high market share; low growth & low market share). This supplied a powerful visual for making decisions about capital investments.
Since that time, the Growth Share Matrix is baked into most business school curriculums—and its relevance transcends portfolio management.
Primacy’s Social Media Matrix
Borrowing from the best business minds, we’ve adopted the 2x2 for social media strategy.This one helps us (and our clients) prioritize social media content according to business objectives.
The first step is to link social media to KPIs. For example, which content most impacts the top line, bottom line, and pipeline? Which content is necessary, but not particularly profitable? This will help teams align on prioritization.
Next, the 2x2 requires teams to plot current and aspirational allocations. This exercise shows where you’re currently allocating resources vs. where you want to allocate resources. It’s your current and future state vision, all in one view.
What’s more, an established 2x2 equips social teams with a clear strategy and workflow based on your content prioritization. That means any newrequests get put to the test. Which quadrant does this initiative fall in—and based on the quadrant, how important is this initiative? It’s an easy way to foster consensus and strategic alignment.
The Matrix Explained
While the social media matrix can be customized for your business and brand, it’s likely your strategic and proactive quadrants yield the highest ROI.That’s why we recommend focusing energy and resources on the Proactive-Strategic quadrant.
Proactive-Strategic
Proactive content is proactive (vs. reactive) in nature. When it’s strategic, it's driving the brand story and conversations happening in your community. Think: Thought leadership, company culture, and brand-aligned topics.
Proactive-Tactical
While Proactive-Strategic leads the brand story and community conversations, Proactive-Tactical supports it (usually with content of lesser importance and frequency). Think: Job, event, and holiday postings.
Reactive-Strategic
Reactive content is responsive to what's happening in the social ecosystem. When it’s strategic, it’s the intentional sharing or promoting of brand-aligned content. Think: Reposting or commenting on company, peer, or thought leader content.
Reactive-Tactical
Think of this as your emergency content. It’s content required to respond to unplanned and likely unwanted activities in the world and/or in your social channels. Think: Troll responding and crisis communications.
How to Activate the 2x2 for Your Brand
- Define content types for each quadrant: Fill in the types of content you typically or occasionally publish in each quadrant.
- Define current state percentages for each quadrant: What percent of your content currently fits into each quadrant? Invite your team to do this independently to gain unique insights and perspectives.
- Define target percentages for each quadrant: What percent of your content fits into each quadrant aspirationally? What percent would enable you to better align with your brand vision and social vision? Invite your team to do this as well.
- Assess the gap: Were the results surprising to you? What stands out the most? What are your biggest areas of concern? What are the root causes of the gap? Are you close to your target or far from it? Talk about it with your team.
- Roadmap the gap: Plot your course to closing the gap. What are the greatest opportunities? What could accelerate your journey toward your vision? In what order should you execute? What is the timing?