A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

Sila Sahverdi, July 2012

Agenda
1. 2. Overview - Strategy Development Evaluation of Current Social Media Presence 2.1 SWOT-Analysis 2.2 Current Social Media Presence Target Audience 3.1 Mass-Marketing vs. Market Segmentation 3.2 Market Segmentation Objectives Content Social Media Channels Social Media Policy & Guidelines Social Media Plan Integrate Social Media Strategy Measure Social Media Strategy

3.

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

1. Overview Strategy Development

Determine
Evaluate Current Social Media Presence

Target Audience
Strategy Elements

Objectives Analyze, reevaluate and adjust constantly Customize Social Media Channels

Content

Develop Social Media Policy& Guidelines

Social Media Plan

Integrate Social Media Strategy Measure Social Media Strategy

Set strategic foundation for all social media efforts

A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

2.Evaluation of Current Social Media Presence

2.1 SWOT-Analysis
Conduct SWOT-Analysis to evaluate Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

Strengths, e.g.:
- Presence on several social media channels - Reputation and familiarity

Internal Factors

Weaknesses, e.g.:

- Current social media presence is not maintained regularly

- Lack of consistent and relevant content & interaction with audience - No coordinated efforts for existing social media presence , channels are not strategically integrated

- Company website is prepared for social media attention

- No ongoing attempt to monitor competitors, relevant industries and social media developments

Opportunities, e.g.:
- Reach wider audience/penetrate new geographical market

Threats, e.g.:
- Lack of control over publicly exchanged messages
- Keeping up with continuously evolving social media landscape - Translate social media engagement into real business benefits

- engage in interactive environment & create dialogue with audience

- Positioning as expert in field and innovation leader - To be perceived as technologically and socially up to date - Cost-effectiveness of social media

External Factors
A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

2.Evaluation of Current Social Media Presence

2.2 Current Social Media Channels
Evaluate current Social Media Channels e.g. by measuring current members & activity:

Social Media Channels by members & activity

1500
1000
1325

500
61

Members
268 15
97

Activity 1)
10

0 Linkedin
1) Posts, updates per week

Facebook

Twitter

A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

3.Target Audience
3.1 Mass-Marketing vs. Market Segmentation

Definition of Target Audience 2 Approaches

Mass-Marketing -Market segment differences are being ignored - General social media strategy for whole market

Market-Segmentation -division of market into groups of individual submarkets with similar wants and needs

Reach the largest audience possible with generalized content

Deliver highly targeted content that is relevant to most profitable customer segments

A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

3.Target Audience
3.2 Market Segmentation
Variables

Geographic

International? Countryspecific? State/region?

Market Segmentation

Demographic

Industry? Sales? Size? etc.? General believes& attitudes? Corporate culture? etc.

Understand target audience

Psychographic

Behavioral

Social media usage ? Information search & evaluation? Purchase decisions ? etc

Build social media strategy around target audience needs and wants
A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

4.Objectives
Public Exposure Brand Building Reputation Management Promote Services & Events

Grow & Maintain Member Base

Generate Leads

Determine Objectives
Increase website traffic Improve Search Engine Ranking Customer Interaction & Feedback Community Building

Define objectives aligned with target audience Break down objectives into short-term goals and benchmarks
A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

5.Content
Relevant market updates,
trends & issues Link to most recent enewsletter

Introduce new additions to service

portfolio Events: link to website for registration, event photos, videos etc.

News

Promotion of Services and Events

Offer free content that is relevant for target audience: excerpts of industry reports, e-books & whitepapers, webinars etc.

What is relevant to Target Audience? What do we want to communicate?

Free Content Promotion of Partners and Members Services & Events

Interaction & Feedback

Engage with group

members/followers (join conversation, answer questions) Ask Audience for feedback (polls, surveys etc.)

A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

6.Social Media Channels

Blogs & Microblogs
Wordpress Blogger Twitter High current social media channels Time and Effort Required new social media channels Low

Social/Professional Networks
Linkedin Facebook

Mulimedia Content Sharing

Youtube Slideshare Flickr

Social Readers/Bookmarks
Digg Reddit

Enhance and fully leverage existing social media channels by extending reach and engagement

Understand how new social media channels can fit into social media strategy and if they add value to current social media presence

Use social media channels actively to achieve objectives und dispense certain kinds of content, catered to target audience

A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

7.Social Media Policy & Guidelines

Review and adjust company policies & regulatory processes that may need consideration Create Employee Social Media Guidelines: - decide whether to leverage personal employee profiles (ask for employees willful participation in social networks while respecting their rights or not allow employee access to social media sites) - clearly state forms of content that are not allowed for posting (profane language, solicitations of commerce, inappropriate and rude comments etc.) Train & educate employees on use of social media Define how to share social media policy and other updates with team, department or the whole company (e.g. monthly/quarterly reports/presentations)

A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

8.Social Media Plan

Translate social media strategy into tactical plan of action, specify:

Timetables Short-term objectives & actions Campaigns Roles and responsibilities Policies and procedures Budgets etc.

Sample Social Media Plan

Social Media Channel: Time invested: Facebook 2 hour daily

Short-term objectives&actions: - Increase engagement: Content: 1-2 Posts a day Responsiveness: reply to comments within 24 hours -Increase number of Facebook group members : Encourage members to promote group Participate in other groups several times a week to create buzz for own groups Campaigns: Roles & Responsibilities: - Questions &answers live chat(moderated) e.g.: How to successfully enter the US-Market - Social media coordinator: Oversee & manage social media presence -Other employees: Provide input & support for social media content specific to department refer to Social Media Guidelines 0 US$

Policies & Procedures: Budget:

A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

9.Integrate Social Media Strategy

Create Integrated Social Media Presence across all Social Media Channels:
o o publish the same content across all social media channels whenever possible (promote one event simultaneously on ALL Social Media Networks) Interconnection and mutual promotion of social media channels (refer to Linkedin Campaign on Twitter, post Youtube videos on Facebook etc.)

maximize exposure, safe time & effort and be consistent

Integrate Social Media Presence & Website:
o bring user traffic from social media sites to website and vice versa: Integrate social media into website: - Links to social networks placed clearly visible throughout website - allow visitors to share website content e.g. events, news on their social networks or via email lead target audience from social media channels to website: convert social media audience into leads and members

make it easy for visitors to stay connected via social media channels Integrate Social Media Strategy into existing Strategies/Departments, e.g.
o o o Marketing: use social media as a PR & marketing communications outlet Consulting: Use social media feedback (polls, surveys) from target audience to adjust/improve service Communicate service issues communicated through social media channels to team & ensure follow up Provide customer support through social media channels Career Services : post job offers in social media channels

Fully leverage social media capabilities

A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development

10.Measure Social Media Strategy

Measure Social Media Strategy to determine: Effectivity of social media strategy Strength of online presence The return on investment (ROI) of social media (time, effort etc.)

Measure: Status: followers, friends, group members , number of posts etc. Engagement activities e.g. a person commenting on a blog post, liking a Facebook or Linkedin update, sharing a blog post, re-tweeting messages Activism: number of people who are affirmatively taking the action that is suggested, such as sharing a link Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Number of conversions (e.g. prospect to lead, lead to opportunity) Analyze and reevaluate social media strategy based on findings
A Roadmap to Social Media Strategy Development