Social media is an understandable temptation and resource for businesses. On the surface, it seems so simple – you can create a page, post updates, and sit back and wait for the followers to come running to your page. Except, it’s not always that simple.

The foundation of any good pie is the crust. It envelopes and supports the other components while at the same time providing its own flavors. This is your social media strategy and analytics. Without an overall strategy and on-going analysis, your social media is just gooey filling – yes, it maybe be delicious, but it’s messy and formless. Determining your target (and actual) audience, types of content you post, top performing content, and posting schedule are good ways to build your basic social media “crust”.

The Filling

This is the component that defines and is the most flavorful part of the pie. This is your actual social content – the photos, the videos, the copy, the links, and, your voice. It’s usually the most impactful part of the pie (and of your social media) so make it good.

The Topping

During my pie road trip, there was a friendly debate – is the topping included as part of the filling or is it something on it’s own? Not all pies have a topping so using it as benchmark for judgement may not be fair. Of course, a great pie with a great topping (be it ice cream or whip cream) could certainly be taken up a notch.

For me, the “topping” equivalent in social is paid. Not every business does it, but when added on top of a well thought out strategy and thoughtful content, it can take your social to a whole new level.