Here’s Why Think Pieces are Key for Your Social Media

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡.

So you’ve probably have all these lined up in your content schedule:

✅ Event updates
✅ Project launches
✅ International day celebration
✅ Local holiday greetings and festivals
❌ Think pieces…uh-oh

The Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and Rockefeller Foundation, they all share one thing in common… or let’s just say two for the purpose of this post. While they are all foundations working toward social change, there is one similar approach in their social media content.

They talk about ideas.

A think piece or thought leadership article highlights ideas, opinions or reflections. They’re often topical articles discussing current issues in greater depth usually accompanied with some key takeaways.

Think pieces enrich the sector. They spark ideas and conversations with peers. They offer insights that others may not have thought about and most importantly, they allow peers to learn from one another.

Content such as think pieces are not just reserved for the big foundations. Grassroots CSOs for instance are the closest to the ground allowing them to have insights that others don’t have for a well-thought-out think piece.

Focus on what were the challenges and enablers you faced on the ground. How was working from community A different from B? Share takeaways that others can learn and apply, ideas that can be replicated, topics that can connect your project with like-minded strategic partners and potentially funders too.

These are some of the elements for a successful think piece.

And for organisations that write think pieces consistently, the plus point is that they’re also steadily contributing to building the company’s reputation by establishing their voice in the sector.

So take a second to review your content strategy, is thought leadership content plugged anywhere in your social posts for the next six months?

If not, come up with an angle, interview your CEO, the Head of a Focus Area or department or even your peers! Propose a few angles where they can share their insights that would benefit the ecosystem and the organisation. And most importantly, to make it a sustainable effort, set a once-a-month schedule for your think piece.

If you’d like to see a local example, checkout Yayasan MySDG which has been publishing thoughtful think pieces regularly.

Interested in writing a think piece but don’t know where to start? Let’s talk.