Developing a Social Media Plan

Developing a Social Media Plan  Tirza Hollenhorst Barrett Michael tirzalyn@ifpeople.net bmichael@ifpeople.net 678 608 3408 281 844 1184 www.ifpeople.net www.ifpeople.net

What’s this whole social media thing?

It’s not… traditional marketing

It deﬁnitely isn’t… advertising

Social media deﬁnes the activities that integrate technology, social interaction and the sharing of words, images, video and audio.

In other words… Social media is a conversation that takes place online.

It’s a conversation more people are joining every day.

People like this guy. • By 2010, millenials will outnumber baby boomers • $350 billion in spending power • Spend over 16 hours a week online • 96% have joined a social network • They care about what their friends think and what they like, not traditional marketing and ads UniversalMcCan Comparative Study on Social Media Trends http://tinyurl.com/dlzqnx “Consumer 2.0” by Mr.Youth and RepNation Media http://tinyurl.com/cpja9q

And people like her. • 41% of babyboomers have visited a social networking site • +55 Women fastest growing demographic on Facebook • More stable, dependable income “The Fasted Growing Demographic on Facebook” http://tinyurl.com/bl99qo

Social media is... Consumer-driven Transparent Engaging Inclusive Sincere

It isn’t… Controlled Impersonal Exclusive Formal One-sided

Conversations are easy. Why is social media hard?

! !  ! 

So many channels. So many people So many conversations. So little time.

How do I decide what channels to use, what people to engage, what conversations to join?

Strategy ( a really, really good one)

Like all conversations, the key to social media begins and ends with listening.

Step 1 Listen to yourself

You may not have a social media plan. But you certainly use media.

What channels do you currently use? Email? Websites? Direct Marketing? Newsletters? Outreach programs? Phone?

Ask yourself questions... What tone do these channels convey? Who are my intended targets? Am I reaching my intended targets? Do these channels reﬂect our mission? What overall message does my brand communicate?

Most importantly… What’s missing? Where do these channels fall short? Are there people we should target but aren’t? Online, are we passive participants or active engagers?

Goodwill of DC asked questions… • Discovered their current messaging wasn’t targeting people like her (young women interested in vintage fashion) • Shame, considering Goodwill has great deals on vintage wear • Created a social media plan that targeted these women and gave Goodwill a hipper image • More on Goodwill later

Asking questions reminds you who you are and who you want to be. It also indicates how social media can be used to complement your overall mission.

Step 2 Listen to others

The conversation has already started. Research before joining in.

Start listening to… Key public ﬁgures Mentions of your organization Popular industry/ advocacy sites Newsgroups Blog comments Organizations like yours

Free listening tools…  Paid listening tools…

Let’s get a closer look… http://www.google.com/alerts http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/ http://www.technorati.com/

Ask yourself… What attitudes deﬁne me and my issues? What sites have the most activity related to my organization? What kind of people do the most posting? What other organizations and issues are these people connected to? What kind of negative comments or misconceptions exist?

What will you discover? Better understanding of your brand presence Online communities you should join Targets and inﬂuencers you should engage Values you should promote Attitudes you should change

Step 3 Create personas

Personas are… Descriptions of individuals that represent your target. They’re not real people. Just archetypes that represent real people.

Personas… Help you identify potential character traits, personalities, habits and attitudes of your target. This helps you create a social media plan of ideal scope and size.

Create personas through listening. But this time, not just online.

Interview stakeholders in person... Where do you go online? How much time do you spend there? Do you comment? Do you initiate online conversations? What social networks do you use? Would you feel comfortable if our organization joined you online?

Step 4 Map your assets

Social media tools aren’t really fee. They cost time. Sometimes, lots of time.

How many hours and how many people can I devote to implementing a social media plan?

Take note of… Size and technical experience of staff Volunteer base (long-term vs short term) Time staff members can devote to social media Content already produced that can be used on social media sites

This makes your social media plan… Realistic Managable Achievable Efﬁcient And not the source of tears and anguish

Step 5 Deﬁne your goals

You know your target. You know your resources. Now, what do you want to achieve?

Do you want to… Build better relationships? Raise awareness about your cause? Increase website trafﬁc? Build up your base? Inspire people to action? Increase donations?

Keep track of goals with qualitative data… Influential Friends New names added to email file Comments Voting participants Increased donations Influential blogs linked to you Increased webpage hits Content of keywords

Set benchmarks based on these metrics… We want (n) positive comments per week on Twitter. We want $(n) from our charity mall. We want (n) pagerank by a certain date. We want (n) people to sign our petition.

Step 6 Clarify your message

How would I deﬁne my organization in a single, simple phrase?

We’re the smart fashion choice for hip young women.

That’s your message. Have all your social media content reﬂect it.

This will make your message… Focused and on point Have a cohesive, unifying theme Easily grasped by short attention spans

Step 7 Select channels

Ask yourself… What channel best suits: My goals? My brand story? My resources? My target?

Our staff knows fashion. http://dcgoodwillfashions.blogspot.com/ We sell things you can’t ﬁnd anywhere else. We want to target young women. http://www.fashionofgoodwill.org/

We want to connect with animal lovers Animal lovers love animal pics and stories Share content with Twitter and get target to help ﬁnd animals new homes

Step 8 Join the Conversation

The rules of social media are not deﬁned. But there are a few tips to keep in mind.

1. Stay Transparent • Don’t be evasive • Always offer your full name, your title and your organization • Be the ﬁrst to admit vested interests

2. Keep It Conversational • A blog post isn’t an annual report • Write like you would write to a friend • Ask questions • Solicit opinions 

3. Write What You Know • Stick to issues relating to your organization • Position yourself as an expert in your ﬁeld • Add real knowledge to conversations, not just another opinion

4. Admit Mistakes • “Oops” happens • Be the ﬁrst to admit your wrongs and make them right • Thank those who bring mistakes to your attention

5. Don’t Ignore Negativity • Negative comments are chances to turn critics into supporters • Respond kindly and respectfully • Understand concerns • Answer questions

6. Trust Your Instincts I knew this was a bad idea… • If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t • Don’t just shrug and hit “post” • Get other opinions on posting controversial material

Step 9 Listen & re-invent

Remember these?

Never stop using them to… Find conversations to join Track responses to your social media activity Discover what messaging works, what doesn’t

After you listen, re-evaluate your strategy and focus on what’s working. Consider dropping what isn’t.

Re-Invention Zen… • Susan Reynolds started a blog chronicling her battle with breast cancer • Once, she used frozen peas to lessen swelling after a biopsy and posted a pic on her blog and Twitter • Community saw it as a light, human touch to tragedy • Attracted to the powerful, unique symbol

Re-Invention Zen… • Enter the Frozen Pea Fund • Sought to promote humor and optimism while ﬁghting cancer • Integrated Twitter, Flickr, Second Life network • Raised > $7k in ﬁrst month • Wouldn’t have happened without listening/ re-inventing

Social media may be here to stay. But the tools are temporary.

Remember Friendster? • First big online social network • Founded in 2002 • Gained 3 million members in ﬁrst few months • Quickly lost out to MySpace, then Facebook • Now only popular in Asia

Who’s Next?  Who’s next? R.I.P. Our Beloved Facebook Twitter 2004 - ? 2006 - ?

Stay ahead of the curve… LISTEN for new places where your targets are congregating to murmurs of new technology and continue to play

Tirza Hollenhorst Barrett Michael tirzalyn@ifpeople.net bmichael@ifpeople.net 678 608 3408 281 844 1184 www.ifpeople.net www.ifpeople.net

Developing a Social Media Plan

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