STEPS TO CREATING A SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PLAN
Whether your marketing department is a single person or a multi-leveled division of your company, acquiring customers and developing a lasting relationship with them is the bottom line. It is becoming more and more evident that social media is a tool to help marketers accomplish this goal.
With the multitude of social media channels available, deciding which to use can be overwhelming. Regardless of which channels you decide to use for your marketing efforts, it is imperative to have a plan in place for your social media campaigns.
Below are some tips for developing a robust social media marketing plan for your brand.
SET GOALS
Before launching your social media marketing plan you should have established objectives and goals for each social channel. Having these in place allows you to adjust your strategy when your campaigns are not meeting expectations.
Without goals in place, you will have a tough time measuring your success and gauging your return on investment. Consider what the goal will look like when completed and use that information to make determinations about how to track it and what actions to take.
A recommended first step is to develop a content calendar for your social media marketing plan that provides daily topics/themes for each channel you are, or will be, using. This keeps you from deviating from the process you’ve laid out and maintains the integrity of your strategy.
ANALYZE CURRENT SOCIAL MEDIA PRESNCE
Before implementing a plan, assess your current online presence and how it’s working for your brand. Finding out who is currently connecting with you via these channels and which channels are performing best for your brand is part of this discovery process.
You can accomplish this by doing a full audit for each step of the process. This data provides valuable feedback about which channels are worth sustaining and which should be eliminated.
FOLLOW THE LEADERS
While you don’t want to copy exactly what industry leaders are doing, you should desire the same level of success. Developing a solid content marketing plan to implement on your social media channels is a good start.
Using social media listening is a great way to distinguish your brand from your competitors and appeal to new consumers. This will help you to better influence your customers through relevant and creative content.
EVALUATE
Like any other business plan, it is important to have checkpoints throughout the calendar year to evaluate the success and allow for adjustments. In some cases you will find that things are not working and you need to scrap that portion of the plan. In other cases you will be wildly successful and want to replicate that part of the plan.
The most important aspect of a social media marketing plan is the steps you take before you begin your campaign. Armed with this information you have a good foundation for beginning your marketing efforts using social media.
Want more insight on social media best practices for your small business? Sign up for our Social Media Bootcamp!
