THE ULTIMATE

STARTUP
SOCIAL MEDIA
STRATEGY
CHEAT SHEET
The ultimate
worksheet for
creating your
startup social
media strategy

Created by

The importance of starting

your social media
marketing efforts early on

I think that in 2013 I dont need to convince you of the

importance of social media and building your social media
presence. What I do feel obligated to talk to you about is the
importance of building your social presence early on.
Most startups tend to focus more on the tech aspects of their
startup or getting funded at an early stage. Truth is, that
sometimes your marketing eorts will determine your future
much more than your products tech abilities and will help you
get funded more easily.
When I talk about marketing Im not suggesting that you
should start wasting tons of money on ads and PR while youre
still in Beta. When I talk about starting your marketing eorts
early on im talking about building a community around your
product using social outlets.
Building the right social strategy can help you get new users
but even more important, start building a relationship that will
boost your retention rates and help you build a better product.

Share this cheat sheet:

o o o

How to use this cheat sheet:

This cheat sheet isnt meant to teach your what is
Facebook or how to build a Facebook fan page, but to
help you build a coherent strategy for your social eorts
when starting out. Answering these 13 questions will set
you on the right path to build your meaningful community.
Good luck!

Share this cheat sheet:

o o o

The cheat sheet:

1. Who will run your social media? (Name the guy or girl)

________________________________________________
2. Whats your goal and how will you measure it? ( make it defined and clear - E.g:

Goal: Raise awareness. How will I measure it: 25% rise of likes on Facebook and
200 new followers on Twitter per week)
Goal 1: __________________________________
How will I measure it: __________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Goal 2: __________________________________
How will I measure it: __________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Goal 3: __________________________________
How will I measure it: __________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. Whos your target audience? (Write a description of the Buyer personsa youd be

marketing to: age, gender, characteristics etc.)

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Share this cheat sheet:

o o o

4. Where does you target audience hangout online? (Platforms, Forums, blogs etc.)
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
5. Research 1# - What do your costumers want? What do they need from you?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
6. Research 2# - What are your competitors doing? (What platforms are they
using? What kind of content are they posting? How are they engaging their core
audience? )
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Share this cheat sheet:

o o o

7. Whats your USP (Unique Social Proposition)? In other words - why should I
follow YOU on social media and not someone else? Whats your unique value on
social media?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
8. What are your company values? These values will guide your content strategy,
tone of voice and basically guide everything you do on social media
1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
4. ___________________________
5. ___________________________

9. What will be your tone of voice - Are you going to be the cool kid? Are you
trying to mentor your followers? Are you going to talk in I / We / They?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Share this cheat sheet:

o o o

10. What Platform are you going to use? (Facebook, Twitter, Quora etc.)
1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
4. ___________________________
5. ___________________________
11. What will you be doing on each platform and why?
1. _______________________________________________________
2._______________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________
12. What are your content guidelines? Social media is about giving value and
talking about more than just your product. Whats your relevant world of
content? Whats relevant to you and what will also help and engage your
growing community?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Share this cheat sheet:

o o o

13. Examples of posts - There is no better way to understand if your current

strategy might fit you than writing 5 example posts for each platform youll be
operating. Make sure you include copywrite information, links and relevant
photos.
Platform 1: _____________________
1. ___________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________
Platform 2: _____________________
1. ___________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________

Bonus Tip:
At first youll want to focus on building your community, so you dont
want to spread yourself too thin trying to cover 6 dierent social
media platforms at the same time. You wont be able to pay sucient
attention to develop your new-new growing community. Building a
community requires time, attention and a lot of nurturing. I
recommend you start by concentrating on 2 social platforms for 90
days to start. After you feel you have a small but steady running
community, you can start adding a new platform.

Share this cheat sheet:

o o o

Conclusion
Crafting your strategy is just the beginning of your journey with social
media marketing. You still have to make it help you generate leads,
measure your achievements, re-adjust, and scale it.
I hope this cheat sheet was of value to you and helped you focus a bit
more on how to start your startup marketing on social media.
For more on community building for startups, visit my blog (Link)
Good luck!
Roy Povarchik

Share this

o o o