The team had such high hopes.
The post was well-written! There was some interesting stuff in there. I thought it was helpful, honestly.
So why was it… kind of a dud?
Listen, none of us are immune to posting a total stinker. Including yours truly, and some of the most talented writers I know. In any case, whenever I trace a flop back to the source, it usually springs from one broken step in the content process:
The “Single Most Persuasive Idea” was undercooked (if it was even put on the fire to begin with).
Without the framework I’ll share in this newsletter, it’s easy to blame our strikeouts on forces beyond our control: The algorithm changed. People are burned out. This place is dead, man!
Or else we wonder if we made a tactical error: Was it the hook? The length of the post? Maybe we needed… a different image?
And, fair; any of that could be the reason why a good post didn’t take off. But it’s almost never why a post only received likes from two team members and somebody’s husband… making the gremlins in you desperate to take it down.
Today’s newsletter will safeguard you against that.
Because, sure — nobody knocks it out of the park every time they’re up to bat. But as a mission-driven org with limited resources, you need to stand up a reliable content operation. You can’t afford to strike out all that often.
So let’s set your team up for some steady base hits.
When your posts say too much — or possibly nothing much at all
Imagine your audience is tired and distracted. (Um, they always are.)
Their brain wants to protect their limited energy. So when a post rolls by that’s trying to juggle 3-5 ideas, they won’t make an effort to extract the point or figure out why they should care. They’ll just keep scrolling.
Those who do read it end up feeling it wasn’t worth their time. So they withhold their likes. And the algorithm goes, “Damn! Maybe I shouldn’t show this to anyone else.”
But it’s not just puzzling Da Vinci Code-style posts that lose people. Ones with empty platitudes or corporate jargon soup are likely to be received just as apathetically. I’m sure you’ve seen this happen.
With few exceptions, posts that perform:
Focus ruthlessly on one single message
Speak clearly to one specific audience
Offer a compelling, non-obvious insight
Your Single Most Persuasive Idea (SMPI) ties all these factors together in one single breath.
It should be defined, sharpened, and approved before any writing begins.
Without it, you get:
An inefficient writing process. Junior creatives obediently try to cram 5 ideas into a post, ultimately saying nothing. Or, your seasoned writers burn time and brain cells grasping in the dark for an SMPI, only to wind up focused on the wrong thing, or muddled without the strategic inputs they need.
A lottery ticket strategy. You’re relying solely on a unicorn writer’s talent and a dash of luck. Got one of those? Lucky you! But you’re far better off having systems, standards, and repeatable processes designed to set up ANY solid writer for success.
Filler posts. Writers can do their best to dress up a vague, obvious idea. But when there’s no real insight in the brief, most of the time it’s (everyone chime in now!) garbage in, garbage out. Adding to the noise may seem innocuous, but it erodes trust instead of building it.
In some cases, posts without a clear SMPI can still skate by on charisma and aesthetics.
But more often, they just get abysmally low reach and engagement. And even if they happen to take off, without a clear goal, they’re unlikely to trigger the growth and conversions you need.
And so another cycle of the familiar story continues... social media is seen as nonstrategic, and the whole operation is deprioritized, unable to become the growth driver it could really be.
But not for long. Not while you have something to say about it.
How to fix the broken step
This is how you stop wasting time developing absolute clunkers.
Every post must begin with a creative brief. Whoever’s acting as “strategist” fills it out and shares it up the chain. Then, their manager or creative director gives feedback to sharpen the SMPI before any actual writing begins.
I know you might not be able to run this process for every single post. Some posts will be too urgent.
But if you put this in place, over time even those hurried posts will become stronger. Your team’s thinking will become sharper. They’ll get in the habit of asking themselves the right questions.
Because when you have a creative brief:
You can actually judge if a post is working. The brief provides objective criteria to evaluate how well any post achieves what it set out to do — before it ever gets published. No more “I’ll know it when I see it” — you’ll actually have the scorecard.
It becomes easier to package your ideas. Even for solo operators, there’s writing you do to figure out what you think, and then there’s writing that packages your thoughts for others. Putting a creative brief between the two steps makes the latter much easier.
You’re defended against derailment. When stakeholders try to tack on extra messages in the edit stage, the social team can ask: Does that bring the post closer to the brief, or does it only muddy the idea? (You can often turn this to your advantage by suggesting to create a separate post instead.)
You catch problems early. When you take the time to develop a brief, you identify weaker ideas that need to be strengthened or gaps in your knowledge that need to be filled by internal SMEs. And, bonus… you actually have time to tap them for that expertise. No last-second scramble.
AI writes better posts. It turns out the robots need clearer direction, too. Humans and AI tools alike write stronger posts when the strategic idea behind it has been clearly articulated... not just vibe-prompted.
In case it wasn’t clear, I should add that a strong SMPI does not guarantee your post will go viral.
But it is a critical prerequisite for it.
Success is relative, and it’s not always about doing numbers. However, if your SMPI hasn’t been sharpened first, your idea probably won’t be well-articulated.
And if people don’t get it, the post will have very little shot at doing anything at all.
Okay, so what actually goes into this creative brief?
The Single Most Persuasive Idea is just one piece — though arguably the most important. The other components help you shape and sharpen the SMPI.
Want to see what this looks like in action? This post got average engagement for me, but earned a respectable 5 reposts and pretty strong reach. It didn’t go viral, but it didn’t totally bomb, either. What it did do, however, is effectively clear up a common misconception. That’s a win.
Here’s what went into the brief:
The 5-Step Minimum Viable Brief
Content Purpose
Clear up a consequential misconception around social media strategy.
Audience
Marketing leaders at impact-driven orgs who have a channel strategy, but still struggle to produce quality social content consistently.
What They Want
To understand why social underperforms despite doing all the “right” things.
What We Want
Position Megan Van Groll and Evoke + Engage as the expert who can diagnose and fix the foundational problem.
Single Most Persuasive Idea
Most “social strategies” are just posting plans and platform tactics, which is why you can be consistent but still see no real traction or business impact.
Leaders: When you review a brief like this, ask yourself questions like:
Does the SMPI connect to something the audience cares about?
Is it non-obvious, without being way over their heads?
Should any aspect of this be more specific? More distilled?
Is it useful, actionable, entertaining, or transformative?
Strategy before execution, always
When your process actually sharpens your ideas before packaging them, even the average post has a better shot at breaking through the noise.
And this might be the best part: you don’t have to start from scratch. You can go back through published posts and remix them with a sharper SMPI. This gives you a fresh library of strong content — without anyone having to think of anything new.
Let me know what happens when you put it into practice.
Until next time,
P.S. Not sure how to put this in place at your org? Hit reply and share your current content challenges. Or, book a free call with me if your team needs more help getting unstuck.
