Everything starts with research.
Competitive Content & Social Strategy Research for a Design Agency
The agency had an inconsistent social media presence and no formalized content strategy. Their existing posts focused almost exclusively on client announcements, with no broader narrative about who they were, what they stood for, or where they fit in the design landscape. They wanted to increase posting frequency (from sporadic to a reliable twice-monthly cadence), reposition their brand around design excellence, and build meaningful engagement with peers and prospective clients — all without a dedicated content team.
The most useful thing about this project wasn't the competitor data itself — it was giving a small, design-focused team permission to do less, but do it with intention. The research showed that consistent quality across a narrow set of content pillars outperformed broad but scattered posting every time. That reframe turned social media from an overwhelming obligation into something the team could own confidently.
What I Did
Competitive Audit Across Four Agencies I selected four agencies of varying sizes (from 5-person studios to 200-person firms) that the client admired and analyzed their website content, social media accounts, and brand voice. For each, I documented their content pillars, follower metrics, posting patterns, and the specific tactics that made their presence effective.
Content Pillar Analysis Across all four competitors, I identified recurring content categories — project showcases, award announcements, company culture moments, partner amplification, and thought leadership — and mapped which combinations each agency relied on. This revealed that even the most successful agencies used as few as three pillars, as long as the visual execution stayed fresh. The key insight: client work was universally the dominant pillar, and the two or three supplementary categories could remain lighter-weight.
Voice & Messaging Breakdown I evaluated how each agency balanced creative, sometimes abstract brand language with clarity about their actual services. One standout finding was that the most effective sites layered visual interactivity with straightforward copy — the design invited exploration, but the messaging never left users confused about what the agency actually did. I recommended the client adopt a similar approach: lead with aesthetic, but reinforce it with plain-spoken descriptions.
Platform-Specific Recommendations I delivered tactical guidance for Instagram and LinkedIn, including how to treat Instagram's saved stories as a curated visual portfolio, how to vary post composition (mixing close-up detail shots with wider contextual images), and why creating social-first content — rather than just repurposing deliverables — produced stronger engagement among the agencies studied.
Engagement & Community-Building Strategy I proposed an initiative to actively engage with peer agencies and industry contacts through tagging, congratulatory posts, and reposting — a tactic I observed working well for several of the competitors. This wasn't about self-promotion; it was about cultivating goodwill and visibility within a design community that rewards generosity.
Key Deliverables
A visual research deck presented to the client's leadership team, organized around goals, competitor profiles, and best practices
A recommended content pillar framework tailored to the agency's size and capacity
A shared content calendar structure and team-wide idea collection workflow
Specific recommendations around awards strategy, including which types require self-submission vs. client nomination
Tools & Platforms
Figma, Airtable
