MKT490 - Social Media Marketing Final Project

1. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PLAN
ADDRESSING THE COFFEE PRICE CRISIS
BENJAMIN MASCIOLI
MKT490 – SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
West Chester University
MAY 3, 2020

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SECTION I: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I. INTRODUCTION
In 2019, the commodity price for coffee (“C Price”) fell to $.88/lb. Smallholder farmers
and grower co-operatives throughout the coffee producing world of Central America, South
America, East Africa and Southeast Asia estimate a required minimum price of at least $1/lb to
stay in operation. The C Price has been steadily falling since 2016, and though it did hit a trough
in 2019 it has yet to stabilize above that minimum price requirement. The collapse of the coffee
price has directly caused the closure of numerous smallholder lots and has contributed significantly
to the influx of immigrants to the United States from Central America. If this issue is not addressed
soon, scarcity of specialty-grade coffee will become so extreme that the global price will spike,
jeopardizing the future of the crop entirely. This social media marketing plan is designed to educate
members of the coffee community and beyond on this important case of economic justice, and
foster action and advocacy among business owners and others in power to adopt ethical trading
policies across the industry.
II. PLAN OBJECTIVES
• Increase awareness of global coffee price crisis
• Demonstrate personal expertise in specialty coffee knowledge
• Demonstrate mastery of skills
• Engage community in discussions, calls-to-action
• Improve personal brand reputation within community
• Grow page reach and average post engagement
• Seek opportunities to advance personal career
• Create working individual relationships with influential community members
• Establish a brand voice and tone to continue with content past plan end date
III. EXECUTION STRATEGIES
• Generate content that is entertaining to individuals outside of immediate target market
• Leverage video posts to drive up interest
• Utilize hashtags to increase engagement within market
• Involve other relevant pages to target via tags and comments
• Prompt comment discussion through questions posed in certain posts
• Research ideal times to post based on target market’s likely schedule
IV. SOCIAL CHANNELS
The plan will be shared to Instagram. Most members of the coffee community are
clustered on that platform, which will create the maximum on images provides a good
opportunity to create
V. SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
Posts will maintain a friendly, yet professional voice. Correct capitalization, grammar, and
punctuation is to be used on all posts unless if part of a quote or other specific use cases. All posts
will pertain directly to specialty coffee practices. Interactions with comments or comments on
other posts should follow the same rules of grammar and syntax and should always be respectful.

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Special attention should be paid to posts regarding global coffee trade prices and should avoid
becoming so caught up in industry jargon as to discourage interaction from casual followers.
VI. TARGET MARKET – SEE ATTACHED BUYER PERSONA FOR DETAILS
• AGE: 25-34 Years
• LOCATION: Greater Philadelphia Area (Primary), Northeast United States (Secondary)
• OCCUPATION: Coffee (or other specialty food/beverage service) industry professional
• EDUCATION: Some college-Bachelor’s Degree
• INCOME: $25,000-$35,000
• LIFECYCLE STAGE: Single or Partnered (No children), recent graduates
• INTERESTS: Artisanal foods, craft beverages, environmental activism, social justice
• VALUES: Creativity, craftsmanship, ethics, artistry
• BENEFITS: Ethical manufacturing, quality control, innovation, day-to-day job utility
VII. SUMMARY OF RESULTS - ROI
The plan was not executed as originally written as a result of the emerging COVID-19
Crisis, which directed all focus in the target market to issues pertaining to workers’ rights and the
future of the small businesses that employ them. For this reason, it is difficult to precisely gauge
campaign ROI. The following estimates are thus somewhat rough, although there was a clear
increase in engagement through the course of the calendar:
• Likes per post rose from 20 to 31 (55% increase)
• Total follower count increased by 8 (4.6% increase)
• Though the campaign was not intended to generate business for my employer, it generated
a lead with a coffee shop owner in Raleigh, NC who is discussing opening a wholesale
account with the coffee roaster I work for.
VIII. NOTES ON COVID-19 AND CRISIS PLANNING
As indicated in the above section detailing the post-by-post analysis, nearly all the
originally scheduled content for this campaign had to be discarded, rescheduled, or reworked on-
the-fly as the COVID-19 crisis ground the local coffee community to a halt. This resulted in a
complete abandonment some of the goals established in the planning phase, as the situation created
by the virus commanded attention from the entire local coffee community. This cut down the
potential ROI from the plan, as overall engagement fell across most social media pages as industry
leaders (organizers and business owners) took time to figure out what needs to address as the crisis
worsened. I decided that moving forward with the scheduled content would be inconsiderate, and
have a negative effect on the target market, the members of which are very tuned-in to most major
social issues. While I am confident in my belief that altering the campaign during the crisis was
the right choice, I do acknowledge that there were missed opportunities in how it was handled.
The biggest change I would make in future campaigns is to establish a crisis plan early in the
development stage. It is impossible to anticipate every possible external factor that could throw a
marketing plan off-course, but having some guidelines established ahead of time would be helpful
in keeping some semblance of a plan moving without losing sight of broader campaign goals or
allowing engagement to fall too much. A crisis plan would have helped maintain a higher post
rate, as changes to my own personal situation left me struggling to create content or find a new
direction to take the content calendar i

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SECTION II: SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
I. SOCIAL MEDIA COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
NAME SUMMARY LINK FOLLOWE
RS
PROMO POSTS AVG.
ENGAGEME
NT
Benjamin
Mascioli
(Me)
Own page Here 181 0% 247 L: 21.8
C: .83
Boycott
Coffee Co.
Labor-
advocacy
focused
coffee co.
Here 961 60% 124 L: 54.16
C: 4
Isabel Soto Photographer
and coffee
blogger,
community
opinion
leader
Here 2,667 10% 458 L: 302.6
C: 5.66
Brandywine
Coffee
Roasters
Coffee
company
Here 32.7k 80% 3544 L: 171.16
C: 1.16
II. SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
• Comprehensive understanding of topic
• Unique focus on global industry issues
• Ability to generate plenty of content
throughout regular workday
• Strong grasp of voice and tone
• Few pre-existing followers
• Don’t have a history of regular
frequent posts
• Limited skill with graphic design,
photo/video editing
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
• Utilizing Instagram to engage
followers in an important economic
issue
• Establishing myself as a notable
member of the local specialty coffee
industry
• Leveraging post engagement into ROI
in the form of business and potential
career opportunities.
• Extremely strong competition for
attention from established community
influencers
• Topic potentially disinteresting to
audience outside of target

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III. SOCIAL MARKETING PLAN BUYER PERSONA
James
Male, 25 to 34 years
EDUCATION
Some college
PROFESSION
Coffee Roaster, Barista
ANNUAL INCOME
$35,000
INTERESTS
Coffee Industry,
Artisanal Foods,
Environmental Activism,
Labor Rights
HOBBIES
Art, Music, Hiking, Bike
Riding
PERSONALITY
SUMMARY
He is an innovator and a
risk taker. He is very
community oriented and
looks for craftsmanship
in all things he consumes.
While he enjoys
interacting with brands
on social media, he is
critical of any brands that
don’t appear genuine in
their tone (overly casual
corporations).
BENEFITS SOUGHT
Was the product
made/sourced ethically?
Is it the best possible
quality?
Is the manufacturer an
expert in their product type?
Does the product show
creativity and innovation?
SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE
Check updates from
competitor coffee
companies.
Share UGC (coffee photos,
reviews, etc.)
Watch videos from industry
influencers (James
Hoffmann, Erika Vonie)
Read blog updates from
experts and organization
(Scott Rao, SCA)
Follow favorite musicians
Keep up with news and
politics
SOCIAL MEDIA USER
TYPE
Devotee: Shares pictures of
morning brews, tagging
other roasters, posts
occasional stories
throughout the day
Maven: Regularly
comments on other product
posts with questions,
reviews.
Ambivalent Networker:
Enjoys using social media,
but somewhat skeptical of
being too much online.
Likely to log off at end of
day.
CHANNELS USED
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
SOCIAL
TECHNOGRAPGIC
CATEGORY
Social Savvy
High Discover
Mid Explore
Mid Buy
Low Use
High Ask
High Engage
PREFERRED CONTENT
Photos
Artistic image posts
Infographics
Story videos
Informational videos
Review videos

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IV. CONTENT CALENDAR (PLANNED)
DATE TIME TITLE COPY IMAGE
MON
3/9/20
12:00PM Latte Art #1
- Swan
At last I am getting the hang of
pouring swans. Sorta. #latteart
#barista #coffee #latte
Latte art - Swan
TUE
3/10/20
12:00PM Slo-Mo
Espresso
Shots
Dialing in. #espresso #coffee
#barista
Video - slo-mo
espresso machine
WED
3/11/20
12:00PM Roast Day Before/After. #coffee
#coffeeroaster #greencoffee
#mediumroast
Green Coffee
(before)/Roasted
(after)
THU
3/12/20
12:00PM Burlap
Sacks/Barrel
Barrel-aging green coffee! #coffee
#coffeeroaster #barista #barrelaged
Barrel/Sacks
FRI
3/13/20
12:00PM Slo-mo
roaster vid
Cool roast curves. @frasiercult
#coffee #coffeeroaster #roastcurves
Slo-mo roaster
video (shoot
Friday 3/6)
MON
3/16/20
12:00PM Mondays It is, unfortunately, Monday.
#coffee #barista #Monday
Video - coffee
pour
TUE
3/17/20
12:00PM Fair Trade The need for economic justice in
the coffee industry has never been
more profound. Fair Trade is one
standard helping to fight for the
rights and wages of coffee farmers
around the world. Swipe for more!
#coffee #economics #fairtrade
#fairtradeorganic
Fair trade stickers
WED
3/18/20
12:00PM The Map Origins. #coffee #mural #map
#coffeetrade #economics
Coffee map wall
mural
THU
3/19/20
12:00PM Direct trade While no formal standards for
direct trade exist currently, it is
often the means by which coffee
growers can best advocate for
themselves. #coffee #directtrade
#economics
Direct trade
infographic
FRI
3/20/20
12:00PM Latte art -
Rosetta
Weekend latte. #coffee #latteart
#coffeeroaster #barista #latte
#almondmilk #vegan
Latte art - Rosetta

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V. CONTENT CALENDAR (ACTUAL)
DATE TIME TITLE COPY IMAGE
MON
3/09/20
12:00PM Latte art -
Swan
Finally (almost) getting the hang of
swans. Sort of.
#latteart #coffee #barista
Photo: Latte art
- Swan
FRI
3/13/20
11:00AM Roast Day A little #beforeandafter for ya. Lots of
roasting to do today, all of the #covid
#doomsdaypreppers stocking up on
coffee.#coffee #barista #coffeeroaster
#mediumroast
Photo: Green
coffee
(before)/Roaster
coffee (after)
MON
3/16/20
1:00PM Coffee pour Just gonna post some soothing slo-mo
coffee vids for these trying times.
Stay safe out there. And by "out
there" I mean "inside". #coffee
#barista #slowmotion #coffeeroaster
#dripcoffee
Video: Slo-mo
coffee pour
TUE
3/17/20
11:00AM Roaster beats chill quarantine beats to drink
coffee/self isolate to
@sleepyfishmusic
@chillhopmusic .#coffee
#coffeeroaster #barista #quarantine
Video: Slo-mo
roaster
FRI
3/20/20
9:30AM Chemex One nice thing about being stuck at
home, I guess.#coffee #chemex
#ireallyneedtobuyagrinder #pourover
Photo: Chemex
with coffee
FRI
3/20/20
2:00PM Barista
relief/Worker
Justice
I'm extremely fortunate and grateful
to have a comfortable place to ride
out this period of national crisis, but
for many other baristas (and other
service industry folks who already
live with constant precarity) the next
few weeks are going to be difficult to
get through. So please consider
ordering some bags online from your
favorite local roaster, or check to see
if the cafes in your neighborhood
have set up barista relief funds that
you can contribute to! Some Philly
area shops/orgs are tagged below.
#barista #corona #covid19 #covid
#coffee
#whyarentyoupeoplevotingforbernie
@reanimatorcoffee
@phillybaristajustice
@cafeworkers.united
Photo: At home
with the dog

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SECTION III: CONTENT & POST ANALYSIS
I. Post #1: Latte Art – Swan
View Post Here
ENGAGEMENTS
LIKES COMMENTS
19 0
NOTES
This post was intended as the introduction to the social media calendar. The original goal
of the plan was to share information about the economic crisis happening in the global coffee
industry, but because that topic is fairly academic and off-putting to members of the community
who aren’t already engaged with it, I wanted to begin with a few days of posts to draw in attention
in a casual, entertaining way. Latte art photos are an easy way to generate engagement from
existing members of the local coffee community, as well as create interest from more casual
members outside the target market. The Swan is considered one of the most advanced free-pour
shapes and requires a mastery of the craft to regularly execute. The intended effect of this post was
to thus establish myself as an expert in the specialty coffee field, as well as provide an entertaining
post to generate engagement among potentially interested individuals outside of that audience.

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II. Post #2: Roast Day
View Post Here
ENGAGEMENTS
LIKES COMMENTS
21 1
NOTES
In the original calendar, this post was planned for Wednesday, March 11. It was instead
posted on Friday, March 13, with altered copy from the planned post. Earlier in the week, it became
apparent that COVID-19 was to be a full-blown national crisis, whereas things were normal only
days before. I realized very quickly that the original strategy of generating discussion about
economic justice in coffee-producing nations was no longer viable, as most of the target market
experienced personal crises. Trying to engage the social audience about a far-off issue while many
were in the process of losing their income, or at least having to make a huge adjustment to how
their businesses were run. My own life was thrown into a similar chaos as my own place of work
temporarily closed, limiting my ability to take the photos required of the original content plan. I
shifted focus to creating a peaceful series of posts while brainstorming what calls to action I could
incorporate in future posts.

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III. Post #3 – Coffee Pour Video
View Post Here
ENGAGEMENTS
VIEWS LIKES COMMENTS
87 23 0
NOTES
While there were other video posts scheduled before this one in the original plan, they were
cut as I was unable to capture the videos necessary for the content after my work schedule was
adjusted for COVID-19. So, this ended up being the first video post in the series. This was the first
day that my job re-opened on a takeout only basis after a brief temporary closure, so I made the
decision to begin including some messaging about staying home and social distancing in the copy
of the post. I continued with the adjusted goal of generating soothing content, as many members
of my target audience were still in the midst of doing crisis management within their own lives.

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IV. Post #4 – “chill quarantine beats”
View Post Here
ENGAGEMENTS
VIEWS LIKES COMMENTS
50 13 0
NOTES
This post is another that was altered from the planned campaign, which had included some
more information about roasting originally. The copy was adjusted to reflect the new focus on
being an escape from the stress of the crisis, and the video, which is a slowed down clip of coffee
being blended in roaster, was adjusted to include music. The song, which was released royalty-
free by the label Chillhop Music, was chosen in reference to a popular YouTube channel, the title
of which has also become a meme. This post had the most direct ROI out of the whole calendar.
Shortly after posting, I received a message from a professional contact who is opening a coffee
shop in Raleigh, North Carolina. The conversation resulted in an agreement for him to purchase
some coffee from where I work as a roaster to sell in his shop once it opens. Though the timeline
for that deal is still in flux as a result of the ongoing pandemic, I put him in contact with my job’s
wholesale manager to formalize those details when they are available.

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V. Post #5 – Chemex at Home
View Post Here
ENGAGEMENTS
LIKES COMMENTS
23 0
NOTES
This post had to be created last-minute after I found out several of my work shifts had been
cut due to a decreased labor budget. Brewing coffee at home had become a trend among members
of the target market who were no longer going into their normal places of work, which was exactly
the situation I found myself in. Still wanting to keep in-line with the original persona of someone
who is interested in specialty coffee, I opted to share a photo of a pourover made with a Chemex
brewer, which is a staple in many specialty shops. The copy was chosen to communicate sympathy
with those in the community who were now stuck inside their houses, while also trying to continue
with the positive tone that had been established in prior posts. I also deviated from the originally
planned post times, since the day-to-day schedule I was working around was no longer in effect
for much of my target market.

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VI. Post #6 – Barista Relief Funds/Service Worker Advocacy
View Post Here
ENGAGEMENTS
LIKES COMMENTS
31 4
NOTES
This post, which was posted a few hours after the previous one, was another that was
improvised after a change in schedule made the post planned in the content calendar impossible.
Over the course of the week prior, groups within the target market began sharing relief funds for
employees experiencing a loss of income as a result the COVID-19 crisis. Some of these funds
were set up by coffee companies who could no longer afford to pay their employees (or to
compensate for the lack of income generated by cash tips now that cafes were no longer offering
in-store service to customers), while others were set up by worker advocacy groups for employees
of companies who had neglected to set up any kind of employee aid. Social issues like this are
important to the campaign’s target audience, so I chose to post a call to action for my followers to
support these small businesses, relief funds and advocacy organizations. It received the most

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engagements of any post in the calendar, and for future campaigns I will incorporate more direct
calls to action in posts.