The document provides a social media strategy for the German Embassy in the United States. It includes an analysis of the embassy's current social media presence and recommendations. The strategy sets SMART goals for each platform - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Tumblr - to increase engagement, followers, and website traffic. Content and target audiences are defined for each platform, along with mission statements. Analytics tools are identified to measure the success of goals for each channel.

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By Mirko Vossen
1
Memorandum
Social Media Strategy for the German Embassy in the United States
1. Census
-Platforms, Pros & Cons-
Platform Followers/Likes Content Pros Cons
Facebook 49.263 German history &
anniversaries, German
culture & tradition,
positions on current
issues, statements
from the ambassador
Frequent
posting, regular
campaigns
Bad moderation
(racism, Anti-
Semitism), not a
lot of reaction/
feedbackto user
comments
Twitter 27.200 Politicalcontent,
miscellaneous content
Frequent
posting,
engagement
with diplomatic
community
No engagement
with common
citizens, no clear
content pattern
Instagram 2.700 Soft & fun issues Regular
campaigns
Irregular posting
(weeks without
posts)
Youtube 220 Regular campaigns &
special events
High-quality
videos
supporting social
media strategy
Irregular
posting, videos
without English
translation
Tumblr n.a. mixed content, also
background & longer
posts
Used to bolster
social media
strategy
No interactions
with users
-Overall Pros & Cons-
Pros Cons
different use of different channels except from photo contests no direct
interaction with followersand fans
usage of storify on the website except from intern blog & announcements
from the ambassador no personal posts
regular campaigns (photo contests, word of
the week, German town Thursday)
different levels of participation on photo
contests, campaigns not alwaysshared on
every platform
little usage of links to the website and the
other social media accounts
only a small amount of posts on the work in
the embassy itself/behind the scenes-posts
-Learning from “Competitors”-
As a diplomatic mission, it is possible to learn from best practices fromother embassies. We
chose twochannels of twoother embassies to give examples what wemight improve.
The French embassy involves French companies in their Facebookposts and promotes their
services and products.
 We can open the door forGerman companies to the U.S. via social media. Facilitate their
entry to new markets and strengthen their market position.
The Danish embassy tells personal stories and post behind-the-scene information on Instagram.

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By Mirko Vossen
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 We can build a more personal relationship to social media users by sharing personal
moments with them.
2. Identifying goals
-SMART Goals for the Embassy’s Social Media Usage-
1. Increase website traffic by 30% by redirecting fromsocial media platforms to important
announcements on the website by April 30, 2016.
 Theawarenessofthe embassy’smessaging andmissionwillrise.
2. Increase attendance of events at the embassy in the next twomonths by 35% by promoting
them via social media.
 Therearehundredsof eventsin Washington,D.C.Socialmediais a greatway to increase
visitornumbersandtherebycreate strongerties with interestedpeople.
3. Create one video per month where ambassador Peter Wittig answers questions asked by the
social media audience by August 2016.
 Fansand Followerswillgetengagedandhavepersonallyrelatableexperiences.Theywill
ask questionsthata lotof peoplehave.This meansless workon answeringpersonally.
4. Set up a German Heritage Week on social media, where users share their personal stories, in
February 2016 to increase online and print media mentions by 50%, increase website traffic by
30% (additional to goal one) and engage withat least 500 users on social media.
 Fosteringtransatlanticrelationsis oneof the coreduties of the embassy.AGerman
heritageweekwill raiseawareness amongAmericanswithaGermanbackground.The
embassywillgetadditionalpress coverage.
5. Increase number of young U.S. citizens, who are interested in spending some time in Germany
by 50% via social media.
 Speakingto youngerpeopleisdoneat socialmediaplatforms nowadays. Germanstate
exchangeagenciesarelookingfor interestedAmericans.
-SMART Goals and Mission Statements for Each Platform-
SMART Goals forFacebook
1. Increase comments and shares from fans to ten comments and five shares per post (average)
by April 30, 2016.
2. Increase the number of Facebookfans from America by 30% by April 30, 2016.
3. Increase the website traffic fromFacebookto the embassy’s homepage by 30% by April 30,
2016.
4. Closely moderate the Facebookpage. From January 1, 2016 to April 30, 2016 no inappropriate
comment should be online forlonger than three hours (more if it is posted overnight).
SMART Goals forTwitter
1. Identify 30 influencers of transatlantic relations on Twitter and build a relationship in order
that they repost the embassy’s tweets by January 31, 2016.
2. Increase number of retweets by 30% by April 30, 2016.
3. Increase number of replies to normal twitter users by 40% by April 30, 2016 to build a
stronger community.
SMART Goals forInstagram
1. Set up at least one photo contest per month until May 2016. Have at least 30 participants for
each contest.
2. Post at least two pictures per weekwith behind-the-scene footage by April 30, 2016.
3. Utilize Instagram to post at least twopictures from every event in the embassy by April 30,
2016. Informthe visitors of these events about that.
SMART Goals forYoutube
1. Increase viewson YouTubeChannel by 50% by April 30, 2016.
2. Start twomonthly series on Youtube by August 2016: 1. Ambassador Peter Wittig answers

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By Mirko Vossen
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questions (gathered on Twitter & Facebook) of users about Germany, current political issues
and his work. 2. A staff member from the embassy talks about his work.
SMART Goals forTumblr
1. Engage with users by letting them share a funny or interesting story of what they have
experienced in Germany. Post at least one story per month by August 2016.
2. Promote Germany as a study destination forAmericans by posting an essay based on personal
experience from an American student. Publish at least one essay per month by August 2016.
- Target Audience, Content and Mission Statement for Each Platform -
Platform TargetAudience Content MissionStatement
Facebook Everyoneinterested
in German-American
relations, Americans
with German heritage
& Germans living in
America (regardless
of their age)
German & transatlantic
history &
anniversaries , German
culture and traditions,
officialstatements &
positions
We will use Facebook to inform
users about interesting facts
and stories about Germany’s
culture and history and
German-American relations. We
will also communicate on
pressing issues.
Twitter Influencers,
diplomatic and
political community
Politicalcontent,
officialstatement &
positions
We will use Twitter to engage
with the political and diplomatic
community and promote
German-American cooperation
and exchange.
Instagram Eventvisitors,
(young) Americans
with German heritage
& Germans living in
America
Soft issues: event
coverage, photo
contests, behind-the-
scene posts
We will use Instagram to share
personal stories of the
embassies staff via pictures and
videos, post pictures from
events and for photo contests.
Tumblr People interested in
backgrounds, longer
articles and personal
stories
Essays and articles
about of German
history & culture,
series
We will use Tumblr to provide
relatable in-depth content and
personal stories.
Youtube Depending on the
video, potentially all
of the above
Series with the
ambassador and staff,
important statements
We will use Youtube to share
speeches and statements and
for regular series.
4. Social Media Content Calendar
See extra sheets
5. Analytics and Metrics
-Facebookand Youtube:internal analytics tools; Twitter:Tweetreach;Instagram: Iconosquare,
Tumblr: Tumblr Analyticsby Union Square (99$ per month – important for content creation)
-Most important metrics:
Facebook: page likes; content likes, comments, shares & reach; region (Germany or U.S.-based);
most engaging posts // A/B testing for Germany and the U.S.
Twitter:followers,likes & comments; reach; region; monitoring of hashtags; most engaging
tweets
Instagram:followers;likes;most engaging pictures
Tumblr:traffic sources; reblogs & likes; region; most engaging posts
Youtube:traffic sources; region, views,comments
-usage of these metrics to track success of SMART goals (see above)