The Onboarding Process

Why the Onboarding Process is Essential for Social Media Success
At SFM Marketing, we know that the foundations of a successful social media strategy start long before the first post goes live or the first ad is launched.
That’s why our comprehensive onboarding process plays a vital role in ensuring the success of your campaigns from day one.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through what’s involved, what we need from you, and why getting this part right sets the stage for long-term results.
What Is the Onboarding Process?
Our onboarding process is a structured yet flexible system designed to gather all the essential information we need to understand your business, your audience, and your goals. It’s the key to delivering strategic, high-performing social media management and paid advertising campaigns that align with your brand voice and deliver a measurable return on investment.
What’s Involved?
Here’s what you can expect when you come on board with SFM Marketing:
- Discovery Call/Meeting
We begin with discovery, to get to know you and your business. We’ll explore your brand values, tone of voice, audience personas, product or service offering, and your short- and long-term goals. This is where we start laying the strategic groundwork. - Account Access & Assets
We’ll request access to any existing social media accounts, ad platforms (such as Meta Business Manager or Google Ads), and your website (for tracking purposes). We’ll also gather branding assets such as logos, brand guidelines, imagery, and previous campaign data if available. - Competitor & Market Research
Our team carries out research to identify trends in your industry, analyse your competitors, and uncover gaps and opportunities in the market. This research feeds directly into your campaign strategy and content creation. - Strategy Development
Using everything we’ve learned, we create a bespoke social media and/or ad campaign strategy tailored to your goals. This includes suggested platforms, content themes, ad targeting methods, posting frequency, and success metrics. - Content Planning & Initial Approvals
We’ll develop an initial content calendar and sample ads for your review. You’ll have the opportunity to provide feedback so that we can fine-tune before going live.
What We Need From You
To ensure a smooth onboarding process, here’s what we ask for:
Access to your existing social and ad accounts (with admin permissions)
Brand assets: logo, fonts, colour palette, image library
Any existing data or reports on previous campaigns
An understanding of your target audience and ideal customer
Your input on brand tone, do’s and don’ts, and approval preferences
The more detailed and timely your input, the quicker we can get your campaigns up and running effectively.
Why It Matters
Skipping or rushing through onboarding can lead to generic content, misaligned messaging, and poor campaign results. By taking the time to understand your business and build the strategy collaboratively, we can:
Craft tailored campaigns that speak to your audience
Avoid costly missteps and wasted ad spend
Improve targeting accuracy for better ROI
Deliver content that reflects your brand identity
Create long-term growth through data-driven optimisation
Ready to Get Started?
At SFM Marketing, we believe collaboration is key—and our onboarding process is just the beginning of a results-driven partnership. If you’re ready to grow your business through expert social media management and high-performing ad campaigns, we’re here to help.
Contact SFM Marketing today to start your onboarding journey.