1. Social Media Project
Plan and Methodology for the Utilization
of Social Media
InterSoccer Sarl
Place Saint-Martin 11 - 1260 Nyon
Iñigo Marin
Advisor Tammy Rosso
Webster University Geneva

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Table of Contents
I. Context………………………………………………………………4
A. About InterSoccer
B. Social Media Project: client’s brief
C. Justification of the utilization of social media
II. Social Media objectives……...……………….……………..……….6
A. Main objective
B. Quantitative objective
C. Qualitative objective
III. Expected Results………………………………...…………..………8
A. Data to be collected
B. Geographic zones of the analysis
IV. Methodology………………….....………………….……...………
A. Social media analytical tools
B. Survey and Newsletter
C. Media Coverage
V. Promotion and Sponsorship…………………….……….…………20
VI. Retro planning……………………….…………..…………….…...21
VII. Appendix……………………………………………….…….…….22

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I. Context
A. About InterSoccer
InterSoccer is a grassroots organization that focuses on creating English-speaking football
camps and courses for children between the ages of two and fourteen. Founded in 2005 by Steve
Long and Gordon Nunn, the company was originally headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland but
later expanded to include camps throughout the country. Currently, it is based in Nyon, a city that is
also home to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which administrates
association football in Europe and some of Asia. While Mr. Long manages the office, Mr. Nunn
handles all the coaching aspects as permanent head coach. The camps are for both boys and girls of
all skill levels and aim to promote a fun and enjoyable experience outdoors. InterSoccer has
different camps and courses that each focus on a different area of football. Camp sessions are run
throughout the summer and extended holidays such as Easter, while courses are taught throughout
the school year once a week.
The company mainly targets English-speaking expatriates but also focuses on non-native
English speakers that use English as an international language. Swiss citizens that want their
children to regularly practice English are another key demographic.
B. SocialMedia Project:client’s brief
In this particular case no brief from InterSoccer was prepared because this project is being
done as a Senior Overview. Having been an employee of the marketing department of InterSoccer, I
will be concentrating on the lack of proper use of social media and how it can be implemented
effectively to reach a wider audience, all the while increasing the company's popularity and
reputation.

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C. Justificationof the utilization of socialmedia
Social media marketing has become a vital business tool for raising brand awareness,
receiving customer feedback and attracting potential new clients. “Companies need to determine
what is important to their customers and recognize that different customers have different
preferences. Factors such as low price, high quality, broad selection, and personal service figure
into customer preferences and brand building.” (Pg.74 Fundukian) Knowing your audience’s
demographics and preferences helps establish the angle in which to reach your target audience.
Without its proper use businesses are destined to fail in a competitive market. In a survey
conducted by Constant Contact, four hundred and forty eight small businesses were questioned
concerning the effectiveness of certain marketing strategies. Only seventeen percent responded that
they found traditional forms of advertising such a print media, television and radio as most effective
when attempting to reach their target audience. This percentage shows the infrequent use of
traditional forms of advertising, meaning that new ways of reaching audiences must be established.
Of the companies surveyed, forty nine percent found that social media was the most effective means
of reaching their customer base. Surveys such as this show that social media marketing is on the rise
and that businesses that do not utilize it properly can suffer drastically by losing touch with their
customers and discouraging others from investing in their services.
The Social Media Project will allow InterSoccer to fully utilize social media in an organized
fashion helping them reach their target audiences through various online platforms. Once the
project is completed InterSoccer will have a detailed explanation of what needs to be posted, how it
needs to be posted, when it needs to be posted and where it needs to be posted. It will also have a
better understanding of its entire social media, and how to use it to its full capacity.
Though InterSoccer has begun to use various websites such as Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube, they currently lack consistency when posting new content as well as the proper staff to

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regularly engage their audience in a systematic fashion. Employees are frequently changed at both
the camps and courses. This disrupts the continuous steam of social media content that new
customers require to capture their attention. InterSoccer staff will post different material, in a
different way, at a different time, creating sense disorganization throughout their network. This lack
of organization highlights the company’s poor use of these tools. The reason social media has
become one of the main methods of reaching target audiences is because of its direct ties to the
customer base and the steady reminder of the services companies have to offer. Without its proper
use target consumers are not being reached and various potential clients are being lost, all the while
creating a negative reputation that suggests a company that is out of touch with the rest of the
modern world.
In another report written by Econsultancy, an online organization that helps give advice on
digital marketing and ecommerce, over four hundred companies and agencies were asked about
their use of social media and the investment required in today’s market. The results showed that
eighty five percent of the companies questioned were using Facebook as part of their marketing
strategy and that another sixty seven percent were expected to increase the amount of expenditure
on social media in upcoming years. As these and other companies continue to invest in bridging the
gap between consumers and business the market becomes more competitive. This demonstrates that
InterSoccer must invest in a more direct approach in regards to managing its multiple social media
platforms in order to succeed as a modern day business. Having a devoted staff that focuses only on
this type of marketing will create a better experience for InterSoccer’s clients and obtain a higher
lever of customer retention. “communicators must balance the continuous delivery of information to
maintain an interested audience and the information overload.” (Pg.182 Ledford) This means that
InterSoccer’s staff must always post at a steady pace in order to keep their audience captivated or
else an overflow of content could lead to them leaving the InterSoccer fan page on social media.
Therefore the content published must be exciting but must also be regulated.

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II. Social Media Objectives
A. Main Objective
InterSoccer’s main goal as published on their website is “to integrate children of all abilities
in a safe environment and achieve an enjoyable learning experience.” (About page 2014) This
promotion of space where students of all football skill levels can feel comfortable in practicing not
only their English but also receive a workout centers on the fact that these camps are fun. Students
are regularly being engaged in learning while being productive physically. That is why another goal
of InterSoccer’s, as discussed in the article “Working Day- Steve Long is CEO of InterSoccer SA”
is to help fight obesity amongst young children. These two goals should be recurring themes
throughout the company’s social media.
Because of InterSoccer’s involvement with expatriates its customer base is extremely varied.
The company must analyze the full range of demographics that use its services through customer
feedback and surveys. This will help target specific audiences that are demonstrated to be most
active in InterSoccer camps and courses. For example, students from the United States may make
up a small percentage of clients, as Americans normally do not require much English practice and
have shown to favor other sports over football. In contrast, students from a country like Spain,
where many nationals are not taught English in schools but could benefit from its use in Switzerland
may be a key demographic to target in future marketing campaigns. This process of regularly
getting feedback and understanding who exactly is using their services will help assess
InterSoccer’s client’s needs more directly, all the while encouraging them to repeat its services and
spread brand awareness to others.
Knowing how to efficiently use social media will allow InterSoccer to maximize it’s return
on investment by showing potential customers different discounts/deals, upcoming events and the
full range of activities they have to offer. The company must use viral marketing in social media to

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attract new customers. “Viral marketing is particularly recognized for its ability to generate online
interactions, discussions, debates and suspense through interesting, curious, controversial, emotive,
entertaining, spellbinding segments posted on Web sites.” (pg. 685 Fundukian) Generating such
interactions between customers on social media will draw attention to InterSoccer as an
organization and will put them in the middle of such discussions. This will increase their brand
building and will reach a higher amount of customers.
B. Quantitative Objective
Quantitative research uses empirical data gathered through different means of investigation
to make connections between the findings and different mathematical models and or theories. It
measures this information in order to break down a certain study and understand it using numerical
values.
This research will be used in the Social Media Project to better understand customers’ social media
usage by focusing on questions such as:
 How many times a day do you check your social media?
 How often do you use social media to look for new services near you?
 How often do you check ratings on social media?
 How many times a year does your child attend a camp or course?
 How many children do you have?
 How many times a year does your family leave Switzerland to go on holiday?
These questions must be created in such a way that they do not imply one answer or another,
this must be done to ensure that the respondent is answering truthfully making the data more
valuable.
C. Qualitative Objective

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Qualitative research is the concept of analyzing unstructured data regarding customer behavior
through the use of tools like focus groups and interviews in order to get answers to questions such
as:
 What kinds of contests would you like see InterSoccer host on its social media?
 Do you ever use InterSoccer’s Flickr page to look for pictures of your son or daughter?
 Have you seen InterSoccer’s discounts on its social media?
 What do you first look at when deciding to register your child for a camp?
 Would having more camps nearer to your location increase the likelihood of registering your
child for a camp with InterSoccer?
 How did you find out about InterSoccer?
Questions such as these will create a better understanding of the customers behavior and needs.
Questions can also be targeted to a particular aspect of the camps in order to obtain more
information on that particular camp or course.
III. Results expected
A. Data to be collected
As a former employee of InterSoccer I can use my own personal experience to determine what
type of information needs to be collected to improve the company’s overall social media marketing
strategies. Such information includes:
 The number of times customers are using social media a day
 What types of social media are being used the most
 What kinds of deals/contests would customers like to see on social media

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 If customers are aware of InterSoccer’s social media and if they have already used it
 If customers are aware of new upcoming camps through social media
 The number of customers that have liked the Facebook page
 If customers follow InterSoccer on twitter and if so why
 What are the target audience demographics
 How customers are coming to learn and find out about InterSoccer
By obtaining answers to questions such as these through different forms of research InterSoccer
will be able to determine what steps must be taken to further develop their business and improve
their social media interaction with its target audience.
B. Geographic zones ofthe analysis
Since InterSoccer is spread throughout Switzerland it attracts customers that speak a variety
of languages. The three languages used in different regions of the country are French, Italian and
German. While English is the standard language spoken by staff and students alike, coaches are also
familiar with French and German as a percentage of those involved do not speak English well
enough to communicate effectively. Having all the coaches be fluent in all three languages is
difficult because it limits the hiring of staff to those with this skill-set, but ensuring there are always
employees that are fluent in the language that is most used in each region, for example French in
Geneva and German in Zurich, will increase customer satisfaction. Parents always want to know
that their child can communicate with whomever he or she needs to, so that they can be better
understood should they need anything specific.
Each region of Switzerland is unique which is why an analysis of each would benefit
InterSoccer greatly. Some areas may have a greater percentage of expatriates while others a greater
number of Swiss nationals. Catering to these differences enables InterSoccer to focus its efforts on
the groups that utilize its services most.

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IV. Methodology
A. Socialmedia analytical tools
The success of social media marketing is similar to that of a website in that it comes down to
the amount of traffic it is receiving. In this particular case it pertains to how many people
InterSoccer is reaching through content posted on its social media network and whether or not
consumers will be convinced to purchase their services. “Social media sites provide a wide range of
visitor demographics, a factor that enables advertisers to carve out their target market segments
before conveying the message to the target audience.” (pg.684 Fundukian) Allowing preparing
messages to direct them specifically to different target market segments. Having a more directed
message will increase the probability of reach your target audience and influencing them to
purchase a service. Online there are numerous websites, which help review these numbers in order
to see if InterSoccer’s reach is doing as-well-as it hopes. Some websites charge for such services
but there are many that are free. InterSoccer, being a small business will benefit from the use of
free websites, as they will not need to pay to get the information they need. If more information
was needed then paying for such services would have to be reviewed by the company to see if the
investment would be worth it. In this situation we are only looking at social media and not overall
traffic of the InterSoccer website. Through the use of analytical tools such as Facebook Insights,
Sproutsocial, Google Analytics and Hootsuite InterSoccer can easily manage its traffic and
popularity of its posts, all the while learning which audiences are being the most responsive. While
most of these tools are provided free of charge, some have features that must be purchased.
Facebook Insights
This is a section of Facebook where InterSoccer can review its pages performance. It helps break
down content on your page while also showing demographics of people who have “liked” your
page, in order to better understand audiences and improve business through the Facebook
experience.

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Sproutsocial
Sproutsocial is a social media management platform that helps businesses organize and effectively
prioritize their social media. It focuses on three main aspects; publishing, engagement and
analytics. This service is not free, but combines all social media into one, which can be beneficial
as it addresses all social media in one platform. It currently has clients such as Yahoo, Dove and
Nokia.
Google Analytics
This is a similar service to Facebook analytics and is free of charge. It reveals how people are
finding your business page, what they are looking for and how to connect with Facebook to track
certain goals.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a website that offers businesses an alternative platform that combines all social media
into one dashboard, making it easier to manage. It is free of charge but has payable services, they
target four aspects when managing social media; engagement, collaboration, analytics and security.
B. Survey and Newsletter
Surveys are one of the best forms of obtaining customer feedback regarding InterSoccer’s
social media usage. They can directly target a particular topic obtain information on customers’
likes, dislikes and over all suggestions. Online there are numerous tools that allow businesses to
create surveys. Many are free but not all. Some of the websites that are designed to help small
businesses through the creation of surveys include.
Survey Monkey
Survey Monkey is a website that allows small businesses to create surveys and send them via email
link to past customers asking them to complete the survey. Currently, InterSoccer uses Survey
Monkey but only to focus on negative feedback from parents. The surveys created discuss

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InterSoccer as a whole and does not concentrate just on social media. By creating a survey online
targeting social media specifically, InterSoccer stands to gain a better insight as to what they should
improve upon.
Google Form
Google form creates surveys which are automatically uploaded to an excel sheet where all the
information is organized and updated for you. This is very convenient and beneficial because a
great deal of time and money can be saved from having someone go through all the data organizing
it one question at a time.
Kwiksurveys
Kwiksurveys is a website which helps businesses create surveys free of charge, while also having
the possibility of a paid expansion pack. Currently it is being used by organizations such as BBC
and Pepsi. This website also generates a report of the information that you have collected making
the information easier to use and understand.
Newsletters have always served an important purpose in business as they inform customers
on the latest news and events while reinforcing a constant connection between the consumer and the
brand. Currently, InterSoccer sends out newsletters once a month. These contain information on
discounts, upcoming events, and the latest news regarding both the camps and courses. Simplicity is
key to an effective newsletter. Keeping issues to the point and limiting content to what’s most
relevant maintains customer attention and keeps the newsletter from becoming cluttered or
overwhelming. Having different articles of interest such as success stories of past InterSoccer
students or tournament results keeps the audience engaged and the company fresh in their minds.
While past customers are usually targeted, newsletters can also connect businesses with other
businesses, serving to expand potential client networks. Increased customer loyalty is also a benefit
of newsletters as they remind current customers who may have lost interest in InterSoccer of new
offerings and reasons for repeating the service. The best way to send out a newsletter is via email.

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Having a database of clients’ emails facilitates sending out a mass newsletter to thousands of
customers at once.
The current newsletter offered by InterSoccer is written in English, but because of the
different languages used throughout Switzerland having the option of choosing a language would be
extremely beneficial. If a customer receives a newsletter and he or she has the ability to select
which language to read it in chances are they would be more likely to read it.
C. Media Coverage
Media coverage is extremely important when it comes to increasing brand awareness and
customer retention. Publicity helps advertise InterSoccer and increases its recognition by showing
its past success or current progress in creating a fun learning environment, teaching children basic
values and how to be physically fit through the sport of football. Since Switzerland is divided into
three regions and each region speaks a different language it is difficult to get media coverage
throughout the country as a whole. For that reason InterSoccer must focus on getting media
coverage in Geneva where it was founded and continue to increase from there. Media coverage is
an inexpensive form of advertising as it generally costs very little. “Just as face-to-face
relationships, the media will require time and commitment to be effective” (pg.183 Ledford)
Within the first media coverage InterSoccer attains it will not increase the business all at one go but
will need to be done properly and patiently to slowly increase coverage.
InterSoccer should include press kits, which can be handed out to certain media outlets such as the
newspaper Tribune de Genève informing them of their development and work with children. These
press kits must include:
 Company facts and frequently asked questions
 Company logos in different formats
 A release sheet of new discounts and courses/camps being offered
 A promotional video

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 Staff biographies
 Photographs of the camp venues
 Contact information and who is InterSoccer
This press kit, as mentioned, can be created first in English and French targeting the Geneva
region, and then with time can be translated into German and Italian targeting big media outlets in
those particular regions. After creating such this press kit it should be given or sent in hard copy
version to a specific media outlet, reporter or blogger, it will allow them to have all the necessary
information to write a report or article on InterSoccer. Having it in hard copy will show reporters
that you care about what you are doing, and that you trust them with such information. A particular
reporter must be spoken with in a similar field or area such as sports or business allowing them to
write a story on your company. The press kit should also be available on InterSoccer’s website
where anyone can download it in the language they choose.
V. Promotion and Sponsorship
Promotion and sponsorship is essential when it comes to any company’s social media
growth, as is the case with InterSoccer. Contests and giveaways, for example, often generate greater
traffic due to the incentives involved. By raffling off an InterSoccer jersey via Facebook or Twitter
customers are attracted to these websites by the prize but often learn of the company in the process.
Due to the way that social media is currently structured, the more people that enter contests such as
these, the more people InterSoccer’s reach. Use Facebook for example, even those that aren’t
directly involved in a raffle learn of friends who are through their timeline or summary of friend
activity.
Surveys are another means of obtaining information that can be promoted through the use of
incentives. Coupons, which can be applied to future purchases, for example, serve to encourage

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customers to provide feedback in exchange for discounted camp rates. By obtaining information
regarding what customers feel is being done well versus what can be improved upon InterSoccer
can stay current with it’s customers needs in mind.
Using sponsors is another means to further InterSoccer’s social media goals. Switzerland
has various organizations that cater to the needs of expatriates exclusively. Partnering up with such
organizations will further expand InterSoccer’s social network reach while being vouched for by a
trusted service such as englishforum.ch This website helps English speakers in Switzerland connect
with others who speak the same language who may need help with things ranging from finding an
apartment to obtaining an English speaking job. This community assists those who could otherwise
not help themselves. InterSoccer could easily be sponsored by englishforum or vice versa to
establish to ensure that any of those who use either service will become familiar with the two.
Sponsorships aren’t necessarily expensive in that simply by promoting forums and other websites
such as englishforum through social media but parties’ benefit tremendously. Customers that have
had pleasant experiences with InterSoccer are then encouraged to recommend the service to others
independently via forums to others.

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VI. Retro planning

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VII. Appendix
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Guide. N.p., 15 May 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
InterSoccer. (2014). About Retrieved April 22, 2014, www.intersoccer.ch/about
English Forum. (2014) Retrieved April 22, 2014, www.englishforum.ch
"U.S. Soccer Foundation: Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in Underserved Communities - Vera
Solutions." Vera Solutions. N.p., 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Curtis, Malcolm. "Swiss Tackle Growing Child Obesity Problem." The Local. N.p., 14 Oct. 2013.
Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
"Constant Contact Small Business Pulse The Health and Wellness of Small Businesses." Interview.
Constant Contact, May 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
<http://img.constantcontact.com/docs/pdf/Small_Business_Pulse_Preliminary_Results.pdf>.
"Social Media Optimization." Gale Encyclopedia of E-Commerce. Ed. Laurie J. Fundukian. 2nd ed.
Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2012. 683-686. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
"Brand Building." Gale Encyclopedia of E-Commerce. Ed. Laurie J. Fundukian. 2nd ed. Vol. 1.
Detroit: Gale, 2012. 73-75.Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Ledford, Christy J. "Changing Channels: A Theory-Based Guide to Selecting Traditional, New, and
Social Media in Strategic Social Marketing."Suffolk University Libraries Proxy Verification Page.
SAGE, 28 Sept. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.