Free template

Social media strategy template

Your strategy on one page: eight questions, each with a worked answer from a freelance designer. Fill it in an afternoon, then let it decide what goes on your calendar for the next 90 days.

Download for Excel.xlsx CSV for Notion or Airtable

Using Google Sheets? Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it with Sheets. No sign-up, no email.

Social media strategy

Next 90 days

Goal: Bring 6 project inquiries a month, up from 3, without paid ads.
Audience: Founders of small food and hospitality brands, 1 to 20 people, who are about to rebrand.
Position: I show the whole process and the prices, which most designers keep private.
Pillars: Process, client results, teach, behind the scenes, offer.
Platforms: Instagram to show the work, LinkedIn to reach founders, TikTok to test hooks.
Rhythm: 4 posts a week: 2 Instagram, 1 LinkedIn, 1 TikTok. Batch on Mondays.
Voice: Direct, warm, specific. Never salesy.
Measure: Inquiries, accounts reached, saves per carousel. First Monday of each month.

Inside the file

One page, four worksheets.

The strategy sheet holds the decisions. The other four hold the homework behind them: who your audience is in their own words, accounts they already follow, what each platform is for, and three numbers to check each month.

social-media-strategy-template.xlsx

The whole strategy on one page: eight sections, a question each.

Social media strategy template, Strategy sheet: The whole strategy on one page: eight sections, a question each.
	A	B	C	D
1	Section	Question	Example answer	Your answer
2	Goal	What should social media do for you in the next 90 days?	Bring 6 project inquiries a month, up from 3, without paid ads.
3	Audience	Who exactly do you want to reach?	Founders of small food and hospitality brands, 1 to 20 people, who are about to rebrand.
4	Position	Why would they follow you instead of the accounts they already follow?	I show the whole process and the prices, which most designers keep private.
5	Pillars	Which 3 to 5 themes will every post belong to?	Process, client results, teach, behind the scenes, offer.
6	Platforms	Where will you post, and what is each platform for?	Instagram to show the work, LinkedIn to reach founders, TikTok to test hooks.
7	Rhythm	How often can you post without dropping quality?	4 posts a week: 2 Instagram, 1 LinkedIn, 1 TikTok. Batch on Mondays.
8	Voice	How do you sound? Three words, and one you avoid.	Direct, warm, specific. Never salesy.
9	Measure	Which numbers tell you it works, and when do you check them?	Inquiries, accounts reached, saves per carousel. First Monday of each month.
10
11
12

Example rows from a made-up freelance designer. Overwrite them with yours.Purple values are formulasSwipe the sheet sideways to see every column.

How to use it

Decide once, post every week.

Answer the questions on the Strategy sheet in a sentence or two each. The example column shows the level of detail that is enough.
Describe one or two people you want to reach on the Audience sheet, in the words they would use.
List five accounts your audience already follows on Accounts to study, and note what you can borrow from each.
Set three numbers on the KPIs sheet and check them once a month. Change the strategy every quarter, not every week.

Next: the calendar

Your pillars and posting rhythm carry straight into the content calendar template, which has the same pillar list and a monthly content plan.

The full method

Each section of the template is one step of how to create a social media strategy in 7 steps, with more examples for each decision.

FAQ

Questions about social media strategy.

What should a social media strategy include?

A goal with a number and a date, the people you want to reach, why they would follow you, your content pillars, what each platform is for, how often you can post, how you sound, and the numbers you check to know it works. The template asks one question for each.

How long should a social media strategy be?

For one person or a small business, one page is enough. If an answer needs more than two sentences, it is usually two decisions; pick one. The other sheets (audience, accounts to study, platforms, KPIs) hold the detail.

How often should I update my strategy?

Review the numbers once a month and change the strategy once a quarter. Weekly changes make it impossible to tell what worked. The KPIs sheet is laid out for one quarter: a baseline, a 90-day target and three monthly checks.

Is there a version for Google Docs or Word?

The template is a spreadsheet so the numbers can sit next to the plan, and it opens in Google Sheets, Excel, Numbers and LibreOffice. If you prefer a document, download the CSV of the strategy sheet and paste the questions into a doc.

What is the difference between a social media strategy and a content calendar?

The strategy decides who you post for, why, where and how often, and it changes every few months. The content calendar decides what goes out on which day, and it changes every week. Write the strategy first; the calendar follows from it.

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