The Practice team has been thinking in depth this week about strategy. When it comes to providing new clients with their digital marketing goals, it’s important to have an initial structure in place. That’s where we offer a helping hand.

After a company has fully agreed on the strategy in place and it fits with the aims of their campaign, that’s when we can start getting creative by exploring new ideas for social content, posts, and other online channels. And if they prefer to take their social media marketing in house, we can suggest new areas for them to take on board. So why must a company set out a strategy? Like with most things, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, and this is particularly true of digital marketing if you wish to avoid the dreaded “Random Acts of Marketing” (RAMs). RAMs end up meaning that a company never truly becomes a brand, because if inconsistencies are thrown into the mix, this leads to a weakening of long-term goals. For example, an infrequently updated Facebook page or a one-off email campaign are acts that have occurred for lack of planning, communication, and integration- not good for measuring sales and traffic trends. In order to turn a company from one that merely sells, to a socially engaging brand, it’s therefore important to set out some key objectives.

With this in mind, which brands have a solid foundation in place? Who are the most social brands we can learn from when it comes to digital strategy? Innocent, winners of 2012’s Social Brands 100 are exemplary, because they have one of the strongest and most unique brand voices in place across their marketing outlets. From packaging that was once revolutionary in the way it “spoke” directly to the consumer, extending to the digital space, there is the sense that Innocent’s goal is using communication to drive sales and brand awareness. Oreo, for example, are another brand who use personality to drive the heart of their campaign, featuring the iconic cookie in different guises across their social channels, with the aim of entertaining fans.

While both Innocent’s and Oreo’s methodology are rooted in tone and communication, other brands draw upon themes as the core of their strategy. Whole Foods, for instance, predominantly features recipes on its Facebook page and Twitter feed, clearly understanding its fans’ primary interests, while Nike invokes the same approach with a different theme- emphasizing sporting greats and athletes. Both have selected a key premise that allows fans to “buy into” their aspirations, and they’ve stuck with it. Whether a brand chooses to align itself with a message, theme, register, or even two of these, it’s clear that those who are successful understand that they cannot afford to waver from a solid strategy if they are to maintain a strong social position.

Which brands do you feel have strong aims in place, or make the best use of their online space? And which brands do you think often struggle with consistency? We’d love to hear your opinions, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and leave your thoughts on our Facebook page. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram too, for our latest snaps and blog pics!