According to the 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 83% of marketers say that social
media is important for their business. And marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube (76%),
Facebook (72%), Twitter (69%), blogs (68%), Google+ (67%) and LinkedIn (66%) in that order. As more
companies integrate social media into their marketing and communications plans, emphasis needs
to be on creating a social media strategy. Without a strategy, there’s a very good chance you’ll lose
sight of your goals, and not make the impact you originally intended.
So how, exactly, do you develop this strategy? It’s not as difficult as you might think, provided you
take a practical approach to determining what’s right for you and your organization, and move forward
with a sound social media framework and targeted communications.
THE PREREQUISITES
Before you develop a strategy, make sure your management teams and C-suite understand why
social media is important, and how it can benefit the organization. It’s critical they understand three
fundamental things:
•
Social media is not about the “hard sell.” The primary reason to take part is to engage and build
relationships with your customers and other stakeholders.
•
Smart organizations don’t jump into social media because “everyone else is doing it.” They do it
because it’s the right fit for their organization, and their communication strategy.
•
Social media is a long-term commitment and requires dedicated resources.
With a social media strategy in place, and a solid understanding of these prerequisites, it can help
prevent any misunderstandings within the organization about the objectives and goals of social
media, and emphasize why social media is relevant to your overall business and branding goals.
A few tips: If you’re having a tough time convincing your teams that social media needs to be
integrated into your marketing plan, you might want to counter any concerns with these responses
to common social media objections. It’s also important for your organization to understand that
testing and experimentation are keys to success, so try, try, and try again. And it’s also vital that
organizations understand their existing corporate culture; social media engagement often comes
more naturally to an organization whose culture embraces proactive, open communication with
internal and external audiences.
DEVELOPING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY IN 7 STEPS
#1: Determine Your Goals and Objectives
Determine who owns social media within your organization. Whether it’s Marketing, PR,
Communications or an integrated approach, social media should inspire a collaborative effort that
breaks down silos. What’s important is to understand your social media goals and objectives and
how they tie into your overall company goals, so be SMART: Keep your goals Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Realistic/Relevant and Timely.
7 Steps to a Successful Social Media Strategy
#2: Research, Research, and Research Some More
Instead of jumping into the social media pool with both feet, splash a bit of water on yourself first;
test the waters, gauge your environment and know what to expect. Do a bit of research.
•
Develop a list of social media sites where you see a fit for your organization, and where you’re
most likely to find and engage with your customers and stakeholders. By virtue of their global
popularity, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and a few industry-specific blogs and forums will most
likely be at the top of your list. Dig a bit deeper into each site on your list. Search for your
company name, brand name(s), your competitors, and your target keywords. See what’s out
there, listen to what’s being said, identify key conversations and influencers, and get to know
your target audience.
#3: Create a Digital Rolodex of Contacts and Content
Subscribe to blogs in your industry and make a list of influencers who are relevant to your business.
This Rolodex comes in very handy when it’s your turn to share your own content and provide your
own input, because you’ve got a network to engage. And remember, when you approach social media
honestly and respectfully, relationships will build naturally. Begin making connections by following
conversations. (Note: Emily Soares Proctor provides some excellent pointers on social media
content strategy in her article, 5 Steps to a Winning Social Media Plan.)
4: Join the Conversation to Develop Relationships
Now it’s time to start making use of all the research you’ve done and take action. Participate in
the conversations by posting comments on blogs and forums, answering questions on Yahoo! and
LinkedIn, joining groups related to your industry and taking part in Twitter chats.
Develop relationships by following and “friending” influencers, advocates and others in your
stakeholder group. Don’t just look for people with thousands of followers; you’ll be surprised by the
value that someone with only a couple of hundred followers provides.
#5: Strengthen Relationships
It’s all-too-easy to hide behind your avatar or profile picture, and it’s important to remember that faceto-
face networking and relationship-building is incredibly powerful. Attend offline events related to your
industry—not only to strengthen your knowledge base, but also to network and forge relationships with
those you have connected with via social media but never met in person. A tweetup is a popular way to
go offline with your online group, and meet face to face with those you’ve been engaging on Twitter.
#6: Measure Results
You have goals and objectives, right? If you’ve set goals and objectives in your social media strategy,
they need to be measurable. Without measurement, it’s nearly impossible to measure. Without
measurement, it’s nearly impossible to gauge how successful (or, gulp, unsuccessful) you’ve been
with your efforts, and how to attribute any return on investment (ROI) to all that you have done.
4 COMMONLY SOUGHT-AFTER OBjECTIVES INCLUDE:
1
Increased brand presence across social channels. You want to increase the number of followers
on Twitter, number of fans on Facebook, number of comments, number of times your brand is
mentioned in blogs and forums, and so on.
2
Increased positive sentiment about your brand. You want to convert the number of positive mentions
while taking note of negative mentions. Has the ratio of positive to negative comments improved?
With the good comes the bad in social media; better get used to it! (Note: Sentiment analysis,
or evaluating social media conversations based positive, negative, and neutral tone, can be time-
consuming and tricky when done on a grand scale. Solutions like Marketwire MAP and Heartbeat
can help you to listen to the broader conversations that are taking place on social channels.)
7 Steps to a Successful Social Media Strategy
3
Development of relationships for future partnership opportunities. You want to keep track of
those with whom you’ve connected, and identify where there may be opportunities to make those
relationships benefit your organization. For example, if you’ve connected with someone who
may be a great guest on a webinar your company is hosting, include that person into your digital
Rolodex, and follow up with him or her when the time is right.
4
Increased traffic to your website. You want to guide more visitors to your website, and a great
way to do that is with your social media presence. Use Twitter hashtags, Faceook pages, etc. to
lead social media audiences to your website. And remember to keep track of where site visitors
came from; it’s a smart strategy that provides great insight into your efforts. Remember, when it
comes to measuring social media, it takes a multitude of metrics as well as trending reports to
get a sense of what and where to improve. Stay committed and stick to your objectives.
#7: Analyze, Adapt, and Improve
Your social media strategy doesn’t end with measurement; it goes beyond that. You need to analyze
your social media campaigns, adapt any new findings into your current processes, and improve your
efforts. Testing and experimentation can dramatically improve your social media efforts.
As you dive deeper into the bottomless pool that is social media, you’ll quickly understand what
works and what doesn’t. More specifically, you’ll develop favorite tools to use, realize that there are
certain days and times where it doesn’t pay to be active in social media, and come to the conclusion
that you still have lots to learn. So there you have it: a social media strategy in seven steps.
Without a carefully thought-out and executed plan, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by social media and
fall off course. While there is no “one size fits all” approach for organizations to take part in social
media, the best chances for success rely upon a solid foundation of commitment, patience and an
understanding of why social media is an important part of your organization’s communications efforts.
media is important for their business. And marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube (76%),
Facebook (72%), Twitter (69%), blogs (68%), Google+ (67%) and LinkedIn (66%) in that order. As more
companies integrate social media into their marketing and communications plans, emphasis needs
to be on creating a social media strategy. Without a strategy, there’s a very good chance you’ll lose
sight of your goals, and not make the impact you originally intended.
So how, exactly, do you develop this strategy? It’s not as difficult as you might think, provided you
take a practical approach to determining what’s right for you and your organization, and move forward
with a sound social media framework and targeted communications.
THE PREREQUISITES
Before you develop a strategy, make sure your management teams and C-suite understand why
social media is important, and how it can benefit the organization. It’s critical they understand three
fundamental things:
•
Social media is not about the “hard sell.” The primary reason to take part is to engage and build
relationships with your customers and other stakeholders.
•
Smart organizations don’t jump into social media because “everyone else is doing it.” They do it
because it’s the right fit for their organization, and their communication strategy.
•
Social media is a long-term commitment and requires dedicated resources.
With a social media strategy in place, and a solid understanding of these prerequisites, it can help
prevent any misunderstandings within the organization about the objectives and goals of social
media, and emphasize why social media is relevant to your overall business and branding goals.
A few tips: If you’re having a tough time convincing your teams that social media needs to be
integrated into your marketing plan, you might want to counter any concerns with these responses
to common social media objections. It’s also important for your organization to understand that
testing and experimentation are keys to success, so try, try, and try again. And it’s also vital that
organizations understand their existing corporate culture; social media engagement often comes
more naturally to an organization whose culture embraces proactive, open communication with
internal and external audiences.
DEVELOPING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY IN 7 STEPS
#1: Determine Your Goals and Objectives
Determine who owns social media within your organization. Whether it’s Marketing, PR,
Communications or an integrated approach, social media should inspire a collaborative effort that
breaks down silos. What’s important is to understand your social media goals and objectives and
how they tie into your overall company goals, so be SMART: Keep your goals Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Realistic/Relevant and Timely.
7 Steps to a Successful Social Media Strategy
#2: Research, Research, and Research Some More
Instead of jumping into the social media pool with both feet, splash a bit of water on yourself first;
test the waters, gauge your environment and know what to expect. Do a bit of research.
•
Develop a list of social media sites where you see a fit for your organization, and where you’re
most likely to find and engage with your customers and stakeholders. By virtue of their global
popularity, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and a few industry-specific blogs and forums will most
likely be at the top of your list. Dig a bit deeper into each site on your list. Search for your
company name, brand name(s), your competitors, and your target keywords. See what’s out
there, listen to what’s being said, identify key conversations and influencers, and get to know
your target audience.
#3: Create a Digital Rolodex of Contacts and Content
Subscribe to blogs in your industry and make a list of influencers who are relevant to your business.
This Rolodex comes in very handy when it’s your turn to share your own content and provide your
own input, because you’ve got a network to engage. And remember, when you approach social media
honestly and respectfully, relationships will build naturally. Begin making connections by following
conversations. (Note: Emily Soares Proctor provides some excellent pointers on social media
content strategy in her article, 5 Steps to a Winning Social Media Plan.)
4: Join the Conversation to Develop Relationships
Now it’s time to start making use of all the research you’ve done and take action. Participate in
the conversations by posting comments on blogs and forums, answering questions on Yahoo! and
LinkedIn, joining groups related to your industry and taking part in Twitter chats.
Develop relationships by following and “friending” influencers, advocates and others in your
stakeholder group. Don’t just look for people with thousands of followers; you’ll be surprised by the
value that someone with only a couple of hundred followers provides.
#5: Strengthen Relationships
It’s all-too-easy to hide behind your avatar or profile picture, and it’s important to remember that faceto-
face networking and relationship-building is incredibly powerful. Attend offline events related to your
industry—not only to strengthen your knowledge base, but also to network and forge relationships with
those you have connected with via social media but never met in person. A tweetup is a popular way to
go offline with your online group, and meet face to face with those you’ve been engaging on Twitter.
#6: Measure Results
You have goals and objectives, right? If you’ve set goals and objectives in your social media strategy,
they need to be measurable. Without measurement, it’s nearly impossible to measure. Without
measurement, it’s nearly impossible to gauge how successful (or, gulp, unsuccessful) you’ve been
with your efforts, and how to attribute any return on investment (ROI) to all that you have done.
4 COMMONLY SOUGHT-AFTER OBjECTIVES INCLUDE:
1
Increased brand presence across social channels. You want to increase the number of followers
on Twitter, number of fans on Facebook, number of comments, number of times your brand is
mentioned in blogs and forums, and so on.
2
Increased positive sentiment about your brand. You want to convert the number of positive mentions
while taking note of negative mentions. Has the ratio of positive to negative comments improved?
With the good comes the bad in social media; better get used to it! (Note: Sentiment analysis,
or evaluating social media conversations based positive, negative, and neutral tone, can be time-
consuming and tricky when done on a grand scale. Solutions like Marketwire MAP and Heartbeat
can help you to listen to the broader conversations that are taking place on social channels.)
7 Steps to a Successful Social Media Strategy
3
Development of relationships for future partnership opportunities. You want to keep track of
those with whom you’ve connected, and identify where there may be opportunities to make those
relationships benefit your organization. For example, if you’ve connected with someone who
may be a great guest on a webinar your company is hosting, include that person into your digital
Rolodex, and follow up with him or her when the time is right.
4
Increased traffic to your website. You want to guide more visitors to your website, and a great
way to do that is with your social media presence. Use Twitter hashtags, Faceook pages, etc. to
lead social media audiences to your website. And remember to keep track of where site visitors
came from; it’s a smart strategy that provides great insight into your efforts. Remember, when it
comes to measuring social media, it takes a multitude of metrics as well as trending reports to
get a sense of what and where to improve. Stay committed and stick to your objectives.
#7: Analyze, Adapt, and Improve
Your social media strategy doesn’t end with measurement; it goes beyond that. You need to analyze
your social media campaigns, adapt any new findings into your current processes, and improve your
efforts. Testing and experimentation can dramatically improve your social media efforts.
As you dive deeper into the bottomless pool that is social media, you’ll quickly understand what
works and what doesn’t. More specifically, you’ll develop favorite tools to use, realize that there are
certain days and times where it doesn’t pay to be active in social media, and come to the conclusion
that you still have lots to learn. So there you have it: a social media strategy in seven steps.
Without a carefully thought-out and executed plan, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by social media and
fall off course. While there is no “one size fits all” approach for organizations to take part in social
media, the best chances for success rely upon a solid foundation of commitment, patience and an
understanding of why social media is an important part of your organization’s communications efforts.
