Creating a customized social media handbook is essential for any creative business aiming to streamline its marketing efforts and maintain consistency across platforms. This handbook not only houses best practices but also aligns with your business plan and integrates tools like ChatGPT to develop and execute your social media strategy efficiently. Here’s how to build a comprehensive social media handbook that helps you focus on specifics, stay on track, and leverage your creative projects for maximum marketing impact.

The Importance of a Social Media Handbook

A social media handbook ensures your brand voice and content strategy align with your business goals. It standardizes processes, improves team collaboration, and enhances your online presence, ultimately driving better engagement and results while allowing you to focus on priorities.

Benefits for Creative Businesses

For creative businesses, having a handbook means you’ve already figured out what to do. All that’s left is the actual action, making life easier and allowing you to focus on specifics. It helps ensure you’re not getting off track or losing sight of the necessary marketing elements during a project because everything is planned out.

Information to Gather Before Starting

• Your Businesses Social Media Objectives: Clearly outline what you want to achieve with your social media efforts. This could range from increasing brand awareness to driving traffic to your website or generating leads. Your objectives will shape the rest of your handbook and guide your strategy
• Target Audience: Identify who your audience is (is each channel to attract clients or for recruitment? What are their ages, interests, what will they be looking for?).
• Current Platforms: List the social media platforms you use and what you post there.
• Content Guidelines: Note any existing guidelines for content quality and style.
• Scheduling Tools: Identify tools you use for scheduling posts.
• Engagement Tactics: Describe how you currently engage with your audience.
• Analytics Tools: List tools you use to track performance.
• Tools & Custom Prompts: Identify any tools like Canva and ChatGPT.
• Project Content: List types of content you create for project promotions (e.g., videos, case study elements, before and afters, testimonials).

Questions to Ask ChatGPT

If you have any information gaps or would like to develop your social media strategy, consider using the following prompts to build it out using Chat GPT.

Brand’s Social Media Objectives

1. General Goals: What are the main objectives for my social media efforts?
2. Specific Outcomes: How can I tailor these objectives to align with my business goals?

Target Audience

1. Audience Analysis: Who is my target audience, and what are their key characteristics?
2. Engagement Strategies: What types of content are most effective for engaging this audience?

Current Social Media Presence

1. Platform Usage: Which social media platforms should I focus on based on my current audience and business goals?
2. Content Audit: How can I improve my current social media content strategy?

Content Creation Best Practices

1. Quality Standards: What are the best practices for creating high-quality content?
2. Channel Guidelines: Can you provide specific guidelines for my social media platforms?

Scheduling Tools

1. Tool Recommendations: What are the best tools for scheduling and managing social media posts?
2. Automation Tips: How can I automate my social media scheduling for maximum efficiency?

Engagement Strategies

1. Audience Interaction: What are the best practices for engaging with my audience on social media?
2. Content Ideas: Can you provide ideas for interactive content like polls and Q&A sessions?

Performance Tracking

1. Analytics Tools: Which tools should I use to track my social media performance?
2. KPI Monitoring: What key performance indicators (KPIs) should I focus on?

AI Tools Usage

1. Integration: How can I integrate AI tools like ChatGPT into my social media strategy?
2. Content Generation: Can you help me generate content ideas and draft posts using ChatGPT?

Project Shareables Checklist

1. Checklist Items: What should be included in a project shareables checklist?
2. Content Creation: How can I ensure all necessary content is created during a project?

Sample Handbook Content

Have a quick glance over the following sample handbook to see if there’s anything relevant that you would like to include in your own guide. Each section is an opportunity to ask chat GPT for specific requirements or recommendations or to develop your strategy further.

Best Practices for Content Creation

• Content Quality: Ideal file size, type, and length for content, optimizing for each platform.
• Channel-Specific Guidelines: Guidelines for what time of day to post, content types, hashtags, and visual standards for each social media channel.
• Tips for Specific Channels: Tips for working with particular subjects and inspiration for content categories.
• Content Ideas: Types of content to inform, entertain, and inspire your audience. (e.g., 50 inspiring prompts like “share the story behind one of your favourite projects”).

Tools and Tips for Schedule

• Scheduling Tools: Tools for content creation, social listening, and scheduling posts.

Engagement and Interaction

• Engagement Strategies: Strategies for engaging with your audience include responding promptly to comments and messages, and using interactive content like polls and Q&A sessions.

Tracking Performance

• Analytics Tools: The analytics tools you will use and how to use them.
• KPIs: Specific KPIs and how often you will monitor them.
• Performance Calendar: A calendar to keep track of analytics and adjust your strategy as needed.

Incorporated AI Tools

• Prompts: Custom AI prompts for optimizing content for each social media channel. For example, I have a prompt that I use on Chat GPT to optimize my content for each of my social media channels.

A Checklist for Project Shareables

• Project Checklist: A checklist to ensure all elements needed to promote a project are created during the project and not as an afterthought; includes behind-the-scenes videos, before-and-after comparisons, client testimonials, and comprehensive case studies.

How to Build the Handbook

Once you have gathered all the information you would like to include in your handbook and have provided ChatGPT with what you’ve already established in your social media strategy, it’s time to compile it into your handbook.

Copy and paste this prompt into ChatGPT, adding any details you would like in your handbook that are not outlined here:

Prompt:

I need you to create a comprehensive social media strategy handbook for my creative business based on the information we’ve discussed. Please organize all the provided information into a structured, easy-to-understand document with clear headings, subheadings, and an indexed format. The handbook should include sections on brand goals, target audience, platform guidelines, content creation best practices, scheduling tools, engagement strategies, performance tracking, AI tools integration, and project content checklists. Also, include a two-month content calendar in an easy-to-read spreadsheet format. Ensure the document is practical and actionable, providing a step-by-step guide for executing the social media strategy.

And bask in the glory!!

Final Thoughts

Don’t be afraid to view your first handbook as a work in progress. As you use it, you will find areas needing more information. Conduct research or ask ChatGPT for recommendations on improving your process. Consider creating a living document/handbook on Google Slides and ask your team to contribute continuously. Update it as you develop your processes and strategies.

I hope this helps improve your overall marketing and makes life considerably easier. Let me know if you have any questions and if you try it, what your experience was. I’d love to hear from you.