Social Media Plan

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Social Media, IconsWhen is the last time you clicked on the social media icons on your website? Does your website even have social media links? Are you or your management team skeptical of the importance of social media for your business?

There are more than two billion active social media users worldwide. 1.23 billion users log into their social media sites for an average of 17 minutes each day. Customers turn to social media to express satisfaction and, just as important, dissatisfaction with a brand or company. Many companies don’t even know that they’ve had customer service inquiries that have gone unanswered on their social media pages.

It’s 2015. And it’s time to take a closer look at integrating social media into your marketing plan. Businesses that use social media strategically are more satisfied with the results than ad hoc users. What’s your strategy and where do you start?

Developing a social media plan is very similar to writing a marketing plan. In fact, your social media plan should be integrated with your overall marketing strategy. Some considerations include:

  • Competitive analysis
  • Audit of current social media activity
  • Objectives
  • Target audience and demographics
  • SWOT—strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
  • Branding and profile guidelines
  • Contributors and implementation team
  • Content standards for engagement, including # and @ references
  • Posting process
  • Advertising and boosting posts
  • Reputation monitoring
  • Measurement and matrix analysis protocol
  • Response process for negative and positive comments

Each social media channel has its own purpose. LinkedIn is an exceptional sales and recruiting platform and Twitter is a great way to reach out to the media. Viewers go to YouTube to see demos, learn how to do things and for pure entertainment. Consider what your strategies and messages will be on each social media channel and develop a detailed editorial calendar.

Veritas Marketing is available to help you audit your current social media activity and develop a strategic plan for successful social media engagement.