Building Your Social Media Marketing Plan

LinkedIn Question:

What are the first 3 steps every company needs to take to get involved in Social Media?

My LinkedIn Answer:

While other channels are looking at cutbacks, social media marketing is on a growth path because it's low cost, it's proving to work, and it represents the future of marketing.

Creating a social media marketing plan should depend on your market’s needs and your company’s capabilities and offerings.

In my opinion, your first three steps should be:

1. Clearly identify your target
2. Identify the key issues your target cares about as it relates to your offerings.
   TIP: create a bulleted list with no more than three or four words per item
3. Research which, if any, top bloggers are discussing these issues.
   TIP: User your bulleted list to search.
   The following are good places to start:

• Technorati
• Del.icio.us
• Google Blogsearch
• Ask.com Blogsearch

Inevitably, any substantial subject matter area has a back channel where top bloggers and influencers chat. For example, PR and marketing bloggers tend to connect on Facebook, Twitter, and to some extent, LinkedIn. This back channel can yield powerful connections to highly influential minds who may not have blogs with top statistical ranking.

Marketers looking to find their subject area’s back channel should start with a basic search. Once your initial search yields important blogs, visit them and note which social networks the bloggers use to connect. Join their communities. And learn what your target really cares about.
Don’t just observe, participate. Comment on blogs and social networks in a non-promotional way.

Become part of the community.

Once you take these initial steps, you’re ready to truly define your marketing plan. Begin to note:

1. Top industry issues
2. Top bloggers/thought leaders that write about your issues (you will need these for marketing purposes after your content creation process is done)
3. Preferred content forms (video, white papers, blogs, podcasts)
4. Ideal places to connect with the larger industry (social networks, etc.)
5. Other companies playing in the space: Who’s successful, who isn’t? Why?
6. Behavioral norms.

Write this information down in a formal analysis.

Using the analysis of your social media marketplace, identify the outcomes the organization would like to achieve. These outcomes will determine the measurement benchmarks once the company decides on its preferred communication tools. Possibilities include:

• Influence
• Awareness/changed perception on a particular issue
• Third party credibility through Word of mouth
• Brand awareness
• Return on investment

Identify the company’s value for the marketplace; specifically, the organization’s subject matter expertise as it relates to the top industry issues currently being discussed amongst bloggers and thought leaders.

• Can the company provide enough information to add to the conversation?
• If so, is it enough to consistently be a part of the conversation, or is it limited in nature? Will it only be valuable for a short time?
• Can the organization afford to give away this information or does the information comprise trade secrets?

Based on the company/organization’s value offering and the marketplace’s issues and needs, draft an editorial mission to serve your target.

Now examine the company’s resources:

• Time
• Thought leaders
• Technical capability and savoir faire: Blog, audio, video, social networking
• Financial resources for some of the above, plus graphic design, SEO, web hosting, application development

Select the outreach mechanism(s) that best fits the industry’s preferred content needs, can achieve outcomes the ability to convey the company’s ability to deliver value through its editorial mission, and that the company can afford to invest in.

There are many, many mechanisms. Each has its assets and detriments. And blogging is not a cure all silver bullet solution. Consider these more popular initiatives:

• Launch a blog
• Execute a blogger relations program
• Podcast
• Create video(s)
• Develop social network community
• Create social network application
• Build your own social network
• Build a widget

Determine who will create the content. Group efforts can help distribute load as well as protect the company from an individual departure. Assign a schedule and make the person responsible. Participation in larger networks should be part of your content development plan and resource allocations.

Select general content categories to provide guidance on a weekly basis (if the effort is ongoing). Remain flexible to allow for larger industry and community events.

Determine measurement based on outcomes, social media communication vehicle(s), and dedicated effort the company intends to commit to the effort. Select tools to attain measurement. Tools and measurement can vary greatly. Research what is right for you and your effort. Some are free, some are not.

Jennifer Pricci
New York Based Marketing Talent For Hire!
jennifer.pricci@comcast.net

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