Preparing an Effective Social Media Brief
You need to be able to prepare an effective social media brief if you wish to outsource your Social Media – or even to brief others within your organisation.
Most marketers are confident in their ability to prepare a brief for a poster or a billboard or a television commercial. But there’s a whole lot more required if you’re going to achieve success with a Social Media brief.
So how do you prepare an effective social media brief?
The need for a comprehensive answer to that question has led us to create an online training course on how to prepare a social media brief that works.
Here’s what the course covers:
Social Media Brief Module One: Setting Social Objectives
What exactly do you and your organisation want to achieve through social media? We review possible answers to that question — taking into account not merely the obvious communications objectives that organisations typically set, but also those distinctly social attributes that most marketers overlook.
We show you how to review your own brand’s story and personality and how that will colour your social media efforts. We encourage you to re-examine your existing customers and prospects and determine what they might hope to hear from you through social media (and how frequently). And we take a look at social media objectives set by other organisations, for inspiration and guidance (and, in a few cases, as cautionary tales of what not to do in social media).
As a result of this module, you’ll be able to provide those who will be operating your social media programme with clear, agreed social objectives that (a) reflect your organisation, its heritage and the interests of its customers; and (b) take advantages of the rich possibilities inherent in social media.
Social Media Brief Module Two: Agreeing Social Strategies & Tactics
Once your objectives are in place, it’s time to consider possible strategies to communicate through social media. Strategy in this context means figuring out what you want to be different after you’re done implementing your social media marketing — and that evaluation process should NOT be left to those carrying out the programme (because they’re seldom in a position to determine the relative priorities for an organisation).
Is the appropriate primary strategy based around reputation management, customer service or just getting people talking about your products? Or are you looking for specific leads or even sales (and how should you do that in social media without offending everyone)?
Once the strategic possibilities have been winnowed down to a chosen few, then it’s time to look at tactics to turn those strategies into reality. Most of the tactical decisions can be carried out at an operational level — but it’s still very much worth your while understanding the sorts of tactics that are relevant in the social space. That information may shape your views on decisions such as who is the most appropriate team to implement your social media programme as well as identifying the people within your organisation who should be points of contact for the programme (it won’t be just you).
Decisions on tactics will lead in turn to decisions on which social tools should be used: X (Twitter), TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, the list goes on.
We also explore the demographics of each social channel, so that you know which are the most appropriate to reach your target audience.
From Module Two, you’ll develop a solid base with which to have constructive discussions (and even perhaps robust debates) with your social media implementation team.
Social Media Brief Module Three: Planning your Programme
What should you talk about in social media? One thing you shouldn’t be is merely reactive, responding to situations and comments as they happen.
Perhaps the most neglected part of the whole social media process is planning an effective, proactive social media communications schedule. Not only do you have to provide killer content that’s relevant and engages your constituents — you also need to plan out what you’re going to say in advance, tied in to topical events, matters of the moment and your own communications programme. That’s not something that can simply be left to that nephew of the CEO who’s running your Facebook page in his spare time.
In this module, we step you through the processes you’ll need to consider when developing an effective INTEGRATED social media schedule that’s linked into your other promotional efforts. We’ll also encourage you to talk to your implementation team about Content Optimisation — identifying your customers’ hottest topics and using the most popular keywords in their posts.
Social Media Brief Module Four: Effective Facebook Posts
Facebook is New Zealand’s most popular social network by far, so it gets a module all to itself.
The biggest challenge for any business using Facebook pages these days? Creating Facebook posts that get noticed and get shared.
So this module tackles that problem head on, identifies the secrets of effective Facebook posts and shows you exactly what you need to do to stand out on Facebook.
We also discuss twenty different creative approaches that really work on Facebook (and show you how to determine which might be most relevant to your own organisation), so that you can brief your people accordingly.
Social Media Brief Module Five: Images
Images continue to be a vital part of the Social Web. In Module Five, find out what you need to know about Instagram, Pinterest and other leading players, including:
- How leading brands are winning with the image-based networks
- how you can make the most of rich pins on Pinterest
- how to use Instagram to its full potential
- smart content strategies across the image-based networks
At the end of this module, you’ll know the visual content assets you need to use to take maximum advantage of image-based social media.
Social Media Brief Module Six: Video
Video is now widespread across all social media. While there’s still some debate about what qualifies as a video view (3 secs vs. 7 secs vs 10 secs vs. 30 secs?), the overall trajectory of social media video consumption is undeniable.
Beyond the likes of YouTube and Facebook and their traditional landscape video options, these days you need to consider square videos on Facebook & Instagram and, especially, vertical videos on TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and more.
In this Module, we discuss exactly what you now need to know about video and social media, so that you can brief others accordingly.
Social Media Brief Module Seven: Implementation
Finally, we turn to the processes required to make all this happen. We provide you with an appropriate framework for briefing your social media supplier, allocating internal and external resources and responsibilities and agreeing how the effort will be measured.
We also suggest a timetable for reviewing and adjusting your campaign, and how to evaluate the campaign effectively — do “likes”, “+1s” and “retweets” matter, how do you measure social engagement and what does it all mean?
OUTCOMES
By the end of this course:
- you should be confident that you can effectively brief a supplier or others in your organisation on your social media requirements
- you should be able ensure that the results you are achieving don’t just “seem” good — they meet a concrete set of objectives consistent with your overall organisational goals
TIMING
The next seven-module programme begins on Tuesday 03 February, 2026.
INVESTMENT
This programme is available for $797+GST. However we offer an Early Bird Booking Discount of $100 — the course is just $697+GST for bookings made and payment received by Tuesday 27 January, 2026.
To enrol and pay by debit or credit card through PayPal, please click here:
If you would prefer to pay by bank deposit, or require an invoice before making payment, please send an email to info@socialmedia.org.nz with details of your request. (The service provider will be shown as Netmarketing Courses in your transaction and on your credit card statement).
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
1. Your booking will be confirmed by email (if you have not received a confirmation within 24 hours, feel free to email info@socialmedia.org.nz).
2. On the first day of the course you will be supplied by email with the first part of your How to Prepare An Effective Social Media Brief programme.
3. Follow-up lessons will be sent out over subsequent weeks (but please note that while we send out Course Notes weekly, you take the course at your own pace, anytime 24/7).
Feedback from previous digital marketing training course and workshop participants:
- It is great that we have managed to get an external perspective on marketing in the digital space – your expertise in this area is greatly appreciated. – Hazel T.
- I really enjoyed the [Digital Marketing Workshop] today and got a lot out of it – Nikki H.
- Thanks for a great [Digital Marketing] session yesterday, really enjoyed it and learnt lots – Izi W
- “this was the best professional development course I have done in many years” – Mark R, senior Agency Exec responsible for social media
- “thought the information within was outstanding” – Ed P, General Manager
- “What I loved was that I started with a fairly rudimentary understanding of social media but have learned a lot – including where to find more information as I need it.” – Fiona W, Marketing Manager
- “I found it relevant, informative, topical, insightful and a bloody good read. It’s never evangelical, too techy, patronising, assumes that you know too much or too little about digital and has a warm sense of humour in the communication throughout which helped faciliate the learning process for me.” — Adrienne B, new media senior executive
- “Thanks for pointing me in the direction of this course! It’s been extremely enlightening” — Shayne P, design agency director
- “Rapt with what I have seen of the course” — Julia R, fashion editor
- “I’m really enjoying the course – learning a lot – and I know the two friends I persuaded to join us are also loving it.” — Lavinia C, designer
- “Am thoroughly enjoying the content!” – Kara B, magazine co-ordinator
- “I was already engaging with social media and have been doing so for about 6 years or so. But, did I know how to use social media in a marketing and business sense? No, I simply did not. This course was a great way to show me how to do that.” — Sheryl K, online marketer
Your instructor for this course is Michael Carney, one of New Zealand’s most experienced digital marketing practitioners and educators. As the founder and director of Netmarketing Courses, Michael has dedicated the last fifteen years to researching, creating, and delivering practical, relevant online training designed specifically for the Aotearoa market. His mission is to empower Kiwi organisations and marketers with the skills they need to thrive in a competitive digital landscape. To date, he has trained over 3,000 students through partnerships with leading industry bodies including the NZ Marketing Association, NZ Retailers Association, Tourism Industry Association NZ, and Hospitality NZ.
Course participants range from absolute beginners just starting to come to grips with digital marketing through to senior marketing professionals looking for Continuing Professional Development and seeking to stay up-to-date with the latest changes in the ever-evolving digital environment. Specific courses are offered for organisations of all sizes, from solopreneurs and small businesses through to local and central government bodies and large corporate businesses.
Michael has practical, hands-on experience with all aspects of digital marketing, from website creation to social media advertising, from strategic guidance and trend analysis to thought leadership. He has been online since 1987 and involved with digital marketing in all its aspects since the mid-1990s. He was an early adopter of Generative AI when ChatGPT launched in late 2022, and now has extensive experience with using AI for research, brainstorming, content creation, design, video creation and editing and what’s become known as “vibe coding”, using AI to develop web applications.
Michael’s expertise is built on a career spanning more than four decades, during which he has developed marketing and advertising strategies for many of New Zealand’s most iconic brands. His extensive client list includes The Warehouse, ANZ Bank, Lion Breweries, Griffins Foods, Sony New Zealand, Honda New Zealand, and Heinz Wattie. This deep, hands-on experience at the highest levels of the industry ensures that every course is grounded in real-world application, not just academic theory. He has held senior strategic roles in major advertising agencies, including National Media Director at HKM Advertising and Strategic Planning Director for The Media Counsel.
Beyond his client work, Michael is a respected thought leader, published author, and industry contributor. He wrote the bestselling book “Trade Me Success Secrets,” which sold out its first printing in just six weeks, and has ghost-written several other business books on topics like digital transformation. For years, he chaired the Network of Digital Marketers for the NZ Marketing Association and he has been a regular magazine columnist for Marketing Magazine and other titles. This unique combination of in-the-trenches experience, proven teaching ability, and strategic insight makes him the ideal guide to help you master digital marketing.