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Social Media Strategies for

Entrepreneurs

Eric MillsFounder and President of the National Institute

for Social Media (NISM), USA

A Strategic Failure

Learning Outcomes We Will Discuss the Building Blocks of Creating Social Media Strategy

• Audience Identification • Content Planning • Relationship / Community Management • Platform Selection • Critical Resources • Critical Processes • Partnership Opportunities • Cost Projections • Revenue Goals

Strategy vs. Tactics

• Strategy is a Big Picture look at a problem that focuses upon the entire forest and not individual trees.

• Tactics present a Small Picture perspective where individual trees are in focus but the Big Picture of the forest is not.

• Strategic planning drives a natural action plan (tactics) that stems from identifying your preferred key performance indicators (strategy).

Social vs. Business Objectives

Social media strategy is not independent from organizational strategy. There are core questions to be considered:

• What is your organization’s mission and vision?

• What are your current organizational strategic objectives?

• How can social media best compliment those objectives?

Building Blocks of Social Media Strategy

Audience Identification

Audience Identification

• Who are our customers?

• How do we segment our customers?

• Create a Customer Profile for each Segment

Customer Profile

Learn how your customers think. Learn what their perceptions of your brand have been, and what you want them to be. Understand what they’re looking for and what you can do to answer their needs - leads to new service and product opportunities.

Thoughts

Sights Sounds

Wants Needs

Content Planning

Audience

Content Planning

• Align Content with Business Objectives

• Observe the Competitive Landscape

• Evaluate Internal Resources

• Create a Content Team Structure

Types of Content

• New vs. Curated Content Will the content been created specifically for the campaign? Or has it already been created?

• Brand vs. Common Interest Content Will the Content be Driving People’s Interest in Your Brand? Or Will it Reach a Deeper Level of Interest?

Platform Selection

Audience Content

Selecting the Right Platform

• Depends upon the Type of Content

• Know Your Audience

• Seek Dominant Platforms in the Industry

• Understand the Functionality of the Platform(s)

Example Platforms

• Blogs / Microblogs (ex. Twitter, Tumblr)

• Social Networks (ex. Facebook, Linkedin)

• Photo / Video Sharing (ex. YouTube, Pinterest)

• Social Q & A (Yahoo Answers, Quora)

Community Management

Audience Content

Platform(s)

Building Online Communities

• Define a voice and persona brand representative

• Add value to each engagement

• Respect those whom you’re engaging

• Take accountability for your actions

• Under-promise and Over-deliver

Audience Content

Platform(s)

Critical Processes

Relationships

Processes & Procedures

Documented procedures for your social media activities that capture best practices (including the time to complete tasks). • Should be a “living” document that is easy to change

• Eliminates wasted efforts by recording best practices

• Forms a baseline for future improvements on processes

Action Planning

• Each action plan you develop should answer the following questions:

• What activities or action items will occur?

• Who will carry out these changes?

• When they will take place, and for how long?

• What resources (i.e., money, staff) are needed to carry out these changes?

• Communication (who should know what?)

Audience Content

Platform(s)

Critical Resources

Relationships Processes

Critical Resources • Physical technologies needed to perform essential processes

(ex. Computer, tablet, mobile phone)

• Project management software to distribute time and resources amongst a team (ex. Basecamp, Microsoft Project)

• Multimedia devices used to develop content for social media campaigns (ex. Video camera, sound equipment)

• Social media management tools to reduce time needed to monitor social media platforms (ex. HootSuite, Sprout Social)

• Customer relationship management tools to enhance customer relationships (ex. Nimble, Salesforce)

Audience Content

Platform(s)

Partnership Opportunities

Relationships Processes

Resources

Vendor Questions & Qualifications • What social media services do you provide?

• List and provide links to social media communication

channels for your company (i.e. blog, Twitter account, Facebook group, etc.)

• What is your social media strategy process?

• Provide case studies in the following format: Client Requirements, Challenges, Approach and Value Delivered

• Senior social media staff bios, including links to social media profiles.

Audience Content

Platform(s)

Cost Projections

Relationships Processes

Resources

Partners

Real Costs of Social Media

• A study was performed in September 2012 study by Duct Tape Marketing & cloud based marketing firm Vocus.

• 36% of small to mid-size businesses surveyed spend (on average) $845 (USD) per month to manage their social media messages.

• 32% surveyed spend $1,000 or more per month on social media management.

• 22% Outsource these functions to another firm or consultant

Where are the Costs?

• Human Capital – The time spent creating content, managing processes, and providing customer service.

• Physical Resources – Technologies, Multimedia Tools, Office Supplies, Etc.

• Electronic Resources – Online software for CRM, SMM, and Project Management

• Partnership / Affiliate Costs – Training, Consulting, Affiliate Arrangements

Audience Content

Platform(s)

Revenue Goals

Relationships Processes

Resources

Partners

Costs

Online Revenue Drivers

• Leads – Those who have indicated interest in paying for your products or services, but not yet made the purchase

• Conversions – Total leads who have made the final purchase

• Loyalty / Retention – Total converted leads who return to purchase your product or service again

Social Analytics

• Leads – On landing pages for products or services, or other lead generating content, how many come from social media platform content?

• Conversions – What percent of your total conversions originated on a social platform? How does this compare to traditional conversion rates?

• Loyalty / Retention – What percentage of converted leads who return to purchase your product or service have been a participant in a social platform?

Audience Content

Platform(s)

Social Media Strategic Plan

Relationships Processes

Resources

Partners

Costs Revenues