Publishing on social shouldn’t just be a check on your to-do list, but a tactic to immediately and strategically reach your audience. Each piece of content should be designed for the platform it will live on and be a vital ingredient in your overall strategy. But, knowing when and what to publish can be tricky.

Let’s tackle how to get started on reaching your audience through a holistic social content strategy.

As Jason Miller recommends, think of the "Big Rock." What’s the big idea? What campaign, product or messaging will shape your strategy across mediums? The Big Rock can be as big as a rebrand or the launch of a campaign that is bringing a new product to the market place. It can also be as small as promoting an annual report.

Once you’ve established your Big Rock, knowing how it will be delivered and when should be based on what you know about your audience and your overall goals and objectives. Conduct research on how your target consumes media and interacts with your brand across digital platforms. Based on this information and what end action you want the user to take, consider the best way to chip off and deliver pieces of the rock.

Is it important for your audience to research your brand or product extensively before converting? Maybe in-depth blogs to position your brand as the thought leader is the first piece of the rock you deliver. You can then release this content through a targeted email campaign. Take the next step and retarget the users who opened the emails with video on social media that supports the content of the blogs and links back to the website to bring them further down the funnel.

At the completion of the email and social campaign, take a look at your top performing messaging points and package them together in a “complete guide” that is relevant to your industry and begin deploying.

A holistic strategy cannot be completely effective if each specialty isn’t involved in the planning process from the beginning. For example, social wouldn’t know to target specific TV programming if the media department doesn’t let them know what specialty buys are planned from the beginning. When all departments are working together, you can chip away at the Big Rock creating an avalanche of content that your audience cannot ignore, all while supporting your overall goals.

Whether you realize it or not, every member of your team is a content strategist. Siting down with them to plan your Big Rock campaign will save time and ensure each member is measuring the correct KPIs along the way. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments as needed and never stop listening to your audience. There is always something to be learned from those we are trying to reach.