Creating a social media marketing plan is fast and easy using the Agile Decision Making Framework. While it was originally designed for strategic planning, the framework is flexible enough to be used for any type of project or plan, including social media marketing! This slide deck walks you through how to create a social media plan using the Agile Decision Making Framework. By answering five strategic questions, you focus on the most important elements, starting with your future outcomes. Then you work backwards around the framework to create your success measures, get a handle on your current situation, and finally identify the actions you need to implement to achieve success. Contact me if you have questions about this framework and how to apply it.

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Applying the Agile Decision Making Framework
to Social Media Planning
Jeri Denniston
Denner Group International

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The Agile Decision
Making Framework
can be applied to any
project…Including
social media and
marketing

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Answer 5 strategic questions.
1. Where do we want to be?
(what do we want from social media?
2. What external factors might impact our efforts?
3. How will we know when we get there?
(how will we measure our efforts?)
4. Where are we now?
(what’s our current experience with social media)
5. How will we get there?
(what actions do we need to implement?)
THE FRAMEWORK HELPS TO
FOCUS YOUR THINKING

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Many social media
plans start with
identifying your ideal
customer and their
specific needs.
While this is
important, it’s not the
place to start.

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That way the
actions you take are
designed to help
you achieve those
outcomes.
Otherwise, you’re
just throwing
spaghetti on the wall
and hoping some of
it sticks.
START WITH YOUR
FUTURE OUTCOMES

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Start with Phase A,
answering the question,
Where do we want to be?
What do you want to
accomplish through social
media marketing?
How do these outcomes
support the organization’s
strategic initiatives?
AGILE DECISION MAKING
FRAMEWORK

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Once you understand those
outcomes, you can begin to
focus on your ideal
customers and their
needs…...
Are they active buyers?
What are their pain points?
What are their challenges?
How does your product or
service solve that pain or
challenge?
FOCUS ON YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER

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You also need to identify which social
media platforms they use the most….
so you focus your efforts
there….
when you’re ready
to take action.
FOCUS ON YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER

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After completing Phase A,
move on to Phase E.
FUTURE EXTERNAL FACTORS
Answer this question:
What might be changing in
the future that could impact
today’s actions and your
future outcomes?
These become your future
Opportunities and / or
Threats that you need to
consider so you’re
prepared to respond
should any of them occur.

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Your business doesn’t
operate in a vacuum.
What happens locally,
and even globally, can
have profound effects
on your customers:
their interests, needs,
and desires for your
products and
services.
WHY SCAN THE EXTERNAL
ENVIRONMENT?

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With social media,
you have to
continually be
tracking these
future trends
because new
platforms emerge
and popular ones
lose favor.
WHY SCAN THE EXTERNAL
ENVIRONMENT?
Don’t get stuck on an island by
yourself after your customers have
moved over to another platform.
You might miss the boat!

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SET SMART GOALS
Once you’ve reviewed
Phases A and E, you can
move on to Phase B.
Answer the question:
How will we know when we
get there?

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Identify the specific targets
you want to reach and track
through social media.
Such as….
• number of click throughs on
your links, or
• a specific increase in
customer engagement on
your Facebook page, or
• a percentage increase in
website traffic
• or new subscribers to your
email list.
SET SMART GOALS

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Phase C comes next,
answering the question,
Where are we today?
The first three phases
were focused on your
future outcomes, ideal
customer needs, future
external trends, and
specific future goals to
attain so you can
measure your efforts.
ANALYZE YOUR CURRENT STATE

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This phase looks at
your current situation.
What are your Strengths and
Weaknesses related to social
media?
You should also fill out the
Opportunities and Threats areas,
which came from the external
scan you did in Phase E.
TIME FOR SWOT

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TIME FOR SWOT
• Do you have a strong team
working in this area?
• Do you need to hire a
consultant to help?
• How well do you know the
various platforms –
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
Google+, Pinterest, etc.?
• How well versed are you with
Google Analytics and Google
Adwords?
Some questions you might
answer include….

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By now, you should begin to see
some major themes evolving.
These become your high level
strategies and actions which you
list under Phase D, answering
the question,
How will we get there?
These are the specific tasks you
need to implement to close the
gap between your current
situation and your future
outcomes.
TIME TO TAKE ACTION

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Some high level strategies
might be…
• Training
• Talent acquisition
• Social media policy
• Customer engagement
TIME TO TAKE ACTION

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• finding online training webinars
• advertising for talent
• researching social media
policies you can adapt to your
organization
• and creating a content
calendar.
TIME TO TAKE ACTION
You will also need to create a budget for these activities.
Under each strategy will be
specific actions you need to
take, such as …

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The Agile Decision Making
Framework makes the process of
creating your social media plan fairly
simple and fast.
You can complete each phase using
short Sprint Workout sessions with
your team and other appropriate
individuals.
This gets the right people engaged at
the outset, gaining buy in to the plan.
AGILE DECISION MAKING
FRAMEWORK

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Write it up and
share it.
Then start to
implement it!
TIME TO TAKE ACTION

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Jeri Denniston, SMP
Strategic Marketing Professional
(858) 357-9600 ext. 5
Jeri[at]dennergroup.com
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