I’ve seen countless businesses and organizations fail to find their footing with social media simply because they don’t understand how social media works, their goals are simplistic, or they treat it like any other marketing outlet. In this presentation, we’ll cover areas of social media where many businesses ‘get stuck,’ including: • Determining the best social media channels for reach a target audience • Establishing goals that generate results • Building a social media audience on these channels • Planning a marketing strategy, including content development • Managing social media efforts with ease Learn both the why and the how of social media and see real results! http://strellasocialmedia.com/social-media-seminars/

1. Creating A Social Media
Plan that Works!
Rachel Strella
Strella Social Media
www.strellasocialmedia.com

2. The #Strella Team
Rachel Strella & Amanda Harrison

3. To Receive a Copy of Today’s
PowerPoint Presentation!
Please give Amanda:
- your business card
OR
- index card with your email

4. Today, we’ll discuss…
Creating A Social Media Plan…
THAT WORKS!
 Recognize Challenges
 Create Goals
 Determine Channels
 Build Your Audience
 Develop a Content Strategy
 Execute & Evaluate the Plan

5. Social Media Challenges

6. Social Media Challenges

7. Common Mistakes
→ Wrong Mindset
→ Lack of Strategy/Goals
→ Lack of Consistency
→ Poor Content

8. Common Mistakes
→ Ignoring the Audience
→ “Silo” Efforts
→ Too Many Media
→ Complacency

9. A Social Media Plan That Works

10. A Plan That Works
Step 1: Determine Goals

11. A Plan That Works: Goals
Sample Goals
Increase website traffic
Establish credibility
Build your audience/following
Increase Search Engine
Optimization (SEO)

12. A Plan That Works: Goals
Sample Goals
Drive foot traffic to a location
Generate awareness of a
product/service
Reach a specific new audience
Increase customer engagement

13. A Plan That Works: Goals
Goal Checklist
Select 2-3 goals for 90-days
Play to your strengths
 Try to choose goals that are
measurable in some way

14. A Plan That Works
Step 2: Determine Channels

15. A Plan That Works: Channels
“Big 3” Channels: Facebook
Audience is consumer-based
Largest age segment is 21-24
Great for sharing
Integrates well with a lot of
other sites and applications
Oversaturated channel

16. A Plan That Works: Channels
“Big 3” Channels: LinkedIn
Audience is business-based
Largest age segment is 35-44
Two powerful gems: groups and
advanced search
Relationships a MUST

17. A Plan That Works: Channels
“Big 3” Channels: Twitter
140-character limit
Largest age segment is 30-49
Channel is wide-open
Strong customer-service outlet
Language can be confusing
(hashtags, re-tweets, etc)

18. A Plan That Works: Channels
Supplemental Channels: YouTube
Top search site along with
Google/great for SEO
Largest age segment is 18-34
Opportunity for an audience to
get to know you
Hard to leverage if camera shy

19. A Plan That Works: Channels
Supplemental Channels: Google+
Interface similar to Facebook
Largest age segment is 25-34
Higher usage among men
(69%) than women (31%)
Great for SEO
Audience: engineers, web
developers, students, marketers

20. A Plan That Works: Channels
Supplemental Channels:
Pinterest
Photo sharing site; pinboards
Largest age segment is 25-54
Higher usage among women
(80%) than men (20%)
Attraction: fashion, food, décor,
fitness, animals, kids, travel

21. A Plan That Works: Channels
Supplemental Channels:
Instagram
Photo sharing application
Largest age segment is 18-34
Appeals to African Americans,
Latino’s & Urban Americans
Most useful for ‘telling a story’
with images

22. A Plan That Works: Channels
Supporting Channels: Blogs
 Online source of information
from a 1st person POV
Great for driving traffic to a
website, gaining credibility,
community building and SEO
Best if you own the content
(self-hosted site vs. free site)

23. A Plan That Works: Channels
Supporting Channels: Enews
 Electronic communication sent
via email to a list of subscribers
Generate TOMA
Great for those who have
email, but not social media
Do not spam contacts; include
an opt-out option

24. A Plan That Works: Channels
Channel Checklist
Determine your target audience
Find where they are on social
media
Select media that match your
goals and target audience

25. Need More Info on
Specific Channels?
bit.ly/jumpstartkit

26. A Plan That Works
Step 3: Build Your Audience

27. A Plan That Works: Audience
Use Built-In Social Media Tools
 Import email contacts to fan
page
Use Twitter’s “Discover Tab”
Do not import lists into
LinkedIn; make authentic
connections

28. A Plan That Works: Audience
Audience: Build During Use
 Join LinkedIn Groups; make
personal connections
Use hashtags and mentions in
tweets
 Beware of offers that
‘guarantee’ immediate fans or
followers

29. A Plan That Works: Audience
Audience: Marketing Integration
 List social media channels on
direct mail, newspaper ads,
newsletter or business cards
Add social sites to website and
email signature
Using Facebook? Claim unique
URL (facebook.com/username)

30. A Plan That Works: Audience
Think Outside the Box
 Use contests, a call for “re-
tweets” or other methods to
generate interest
Be mindful of what others are
doing to build fans
If you run a contest on
Facebook, use a 3rd party app

31. A Plan That Works: Audience
Audience Checklist
If you’re just starting out, this
should be a primary goal
If you’re already established,
continue to think of ways to build
Revisit audience-building
regularly and brainstorm

32. A Plan That Works
Step 4: Develop a
Content Strategy

33. A Plan That Works: Content
Themes
 Develop engaging content
What value can I provide?
What’s interesting about my
business?
Where are growth opportunities?
How can I educate my audience?

34. A Plan That Works: Content
Theme Examples
 Accountant: Tax tips during the
month of March
Retailers: Christmas - December
Salon: Prom preparation tips in
the spring

35. A Plan That Works: Content
Theme/Idea Calendar
 Match goals with themes
Develop a “theme of the
month” to help create a cohesive
message that resonates with
your audience

36. A Plan That Works: Content
Theme Calendar Example
Credit Union
Short-Term Goals:
#1: Establish credibility
#2: Educate community on
services
#3: Increase customer
engagement

37. A Plan That Works: Content
Content: Theme/Idea Calendar
Example
 Month #1: Why join a credit
union?
 Month #2: Services to match
the needs of the members
 Month #3: Share real-time
news and encourage sharing

38. A Plan That Works: Content
Sample posts
Goal: Establish credibility
Theme: Why join a credit union?

39. A Plan That Works: Content
Sample posts
Goal: Educate community
Theme: Services to match needs

40. A Plan That Works: Content
Sample posts
Goal: Increase customer engagement
Theme: Share real-time news

41. A Plan That Works: Content
Sample posts
Goal: Increase customer engagement
Theme: Encourage feedback

42. A Plan That Works: Content
Content: Guidelines
Shorter and punchier is better
Knowledge is power
Engage the audience
Be authentic
Reveal ‘human side’ of business

43. A Plan That Works: Content
Content Guidelines
Use pictures when relevant
Consider timeliness
Highlight industry events/news
Use sales pitches sparingly
Proofread content

44. A Plan That Works: Content
Content Checklist
Determine themes
Develop theme calendar
Consider how to integrate
Develop an editorial calendar
Write content with zest!

45. A Plan That Works
Step 5: Execute & Evaluate

46. A Plan That Works: Execute
Execute the Plan
Assign responsibilities
Monitor channels
Engage/respond
Put a plan in place for handling
negative feedback

47. A Plan That Works: Evaluate
Evaluate the Plan
What worked?
What didn’t work?
What should you shift?
Are there new channels to
embrace?
What should the next 90 days
look like?

48. A Plan That Works: Execute
Execution & Evaluation Checklist
Assign work – including content
development, branding
monitoring/engagement, and
handling negative feedback
Evaluate plan
Make necessary changes and
determine plan for next 90 days

49. Need More Direction?
strellasocialmedia.com/smb-guide

50. REMEMBER! To receive
PowerPoint…
Please give Amanda:
- your business card
OR
- index card with your email

51. Questions

52. Connections and Resources
Website and Blog:
StrellaSocialMedia.com
Facebook:
Facebook.com/StrellaSocialMedia
Twitter:
Twitter.com/RachelStrella
LinkedIn:
LinkedIn.com/in/RachelStrella