“If your social strategy relies on advertising in social media, it’s probably better to hang on to your money.” – Taddy Hall, chief operating officer of Meteor Solutions
Social strategy is so much more than thinking about the best ways to advertise about your products. People use social media as a way to personally connect with brands. People want to feel as though the brand cares about them and wants them to be engaged. In order to create this emotional tie, a brand needs a successful social media strategy. Social media strategies have many different components but some essential elements are knowledge of the brand’s goals, knowledge of their audience, brands need to listen and need to be different from anything else on the web.
1- Set goals. Goals set the direction for your social media strategy. Think about what you are trying to accomplish and what your long term and short term goals are for the brand.
2- Consider your audience. Think about what platforms your audience is most likely to be on. Consider if your audience is more interactive on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook etc. If you are on a platform that is inappropriate for your audience, your brand may not get as much engagement as it could have. The brand’s content should also be relevant and interesting to the target audience. If the content is engaging, the audience will feel more connected which could lead to more sales.
3- Listen. Listen to what is being said about your brand by consumers, potential consumers and other brands. Whether it is positive or negative, be aware of what people are saying about you. How other people view you could give insight as to what your brand needs to do to improve its presence online.
4- Be different. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dalls Mavericks said, “If you’re looking for the next big thing, and you’re looking where everyone else is, you’re looking in the wrong place.” In order to stand out from your competition, your brand needs to be different from all the rest. Creativity plays a large role in being different. Think outside of the box and be willing to take a risk. If you want to be noticed in a world where everything comes with its own hashtags and Facebook page, you need to catch people’s eye and make them want to interact with you.
AshleyKPerez 
Many companies use social media to solely advertise; however, as you stated, a social strategy involves so much more and the best way to use it is to personally connect with your audience. I think if brands use the social media strategies you presented: set goals, consider the audience, listen, and be different, they will be successful.