Uptown Marketing Professionals Quarterly Breakfast
HOW TO CREATE A KILLER
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Megan Van Groll, Digital Journalism
and Content Strategy at Richards Partners
TWEET ALONG
#UptownMarketing
@UptownDallasInc @RichardsGroup @meganvangroll
COMMON ROADBLOCKS
1.  Don’t understand what role
social media can or should play
in our marketing mix
2.  Don’t know what our goals
are or should be
3.  Relying on vanity metrics alone
to measure success
1.  BE HUMAN AND AUTHENTIC
2.  TELL STORIES PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR
3.  MAKE FRIENDS
Social media represents
a vast frontier for building
awareness, education,
advocacy, and affiliation
…and it plays several roles within
the traditional sales funnel
Awareness
Consideration
Usage
PATH-TO-PURCHASE FUNNEL
“I’m generally aware of this
brand/product/service/cause”
“I’m thinking about buying/
joining/donating to this”
“I’ve initiated a purchase/made
a call/signed up/donated”
Sharing engaging, useful
content and stories
Continued engagement,
building familiarity
Direct
response
ads
WHERE SOCIAL COMES IN
“I’m generally aware of this
brand/product/service/cause”
“I’m thinking about buying/
joining/donating to this”
“I’ve initiated a purchase/made
a call/signed up/donated”
Awareness
Education,
affiliation
Sales
RELEVANT SOCIAL METRICS
Engagement
Website traffic
Attributable
conversions
Impressions
Reach
STRATEGY
ROADMAP
OBJECTIVES KPIS
ROLE OF
SOCIAL
STRATEGIES
OBJECTIVES KPIS
ROLE OF
SOCIAL
STRATEGIES
OBJECTIVES KPISSTRATEGIES
What role does
social media
play for
our brand?
OBJECTIVES KPIS
ROLE OF
SOCIAL
STRATEGIES
What do
we want to
happen?
KPIS
ROLE OF
SOCIAL
STRATEGIES
OBJECTIVES KPIS
ROLE OF
SOCIAL
STRATEGIES
How will we
achieve this?
OBJECTIVES KPIS
ROLE OF
SOCIAL
OBJECTIVES KPIS
ROLE OF
SOCIAL
STRATEGIES
What does
success look
like?
OBJECTIVES
ROLE OF
SOCIAL
STRATEGIES
STEP 1:
Determine what you want
social media to accomplish
for your brand
POTENTIAL ROLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Supporting our
marketing
awareness goals
AWARENESS CONSIDERATION
Getting more
people to consider
using our product
or service
CONVERSIONS
Driving sales,
quotes, sign-ups,
usage, etc.
What role does social play for our brand?
POTENTIAL ROLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Supporting bottom-
line sales and
business objectives,
from awareness
to consideration
to usage
BUSINESS
SUPPORT
CUSTOMER
SUPPORT
Doing what’s right
for our customers,
members, or clients
ADVOCATE
ENGAGEMENT
Getting our best
advocates to engage
on our behalf
What role does social play for our brand?
POTENTIAL ROLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Support our
fundraising goals;
influence donation
decisions
FUNDRAISING
SUPPORT
DISASTER
RESPONSE
Be a real-time
resource for
those impacted
by disasters
REPUTATION
MANAGEMENT
Educate people
about the mission
and identity of
our nonprofit
Nonprofit examples
POTENTIAL OBJECTIVES
Create more
understanding of
who we are
and how we
add value
BRAND
EDUCATION
BRAND
AFFILIATION CONVERSIONS
Drive more
people to become
customers
or donors
Help more people
understand who
our brand is for
What do we want to do?
POTENTIAL OBJECTIVES
Help employees
understand
how to engage
on social
EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
BRAND
CONSISTENCY
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
Position our
brand as a
thought leader in
our industry
Portray a
consistent brand
across all
touchpoints
What do we want to do?
POTENTIAL STRATEGIES
Create and share
engaging content that
demonstrates the value
of our products and
services in our
customers’ lives
BRAND
AFFILIATION CONVERSIONS
Use social ads to target
fans, look-alike
audiences, or email
subscribers with direct-
response messages
(Facebook Ads,
Promoted Tweets)
Create and share content
that stands on its own
merits as entertainment,
storytelling, or
useful information
How will we accomplish this?
BRAND
EDUCATION
POTENTIAL STRATEGIES
Create and distribute
plain-language
employee social media
policy that makes
regulations clear;
incentivize reading
and compliance
BRAND
CONSISTENCY
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
Be a resource for
information about our
industry; engage with
other thought leaders;
leaders to publish
editorials, blogs, etc.
Create and adhere to
social visual style guide;
templatize social creative;
provide digital bundles to
agents, field employees,
franchisees, etc.
How will we accomplish this?
EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
POTENTIAL KPIS
Increase in engagement
with brand education
content; increase in site
traffic referred by
brand education
messages
BRAND
AFFILIATION CONVERSIONS
Increase in attributable
conversions (tracked
via conversion pixel on
landing page); increase
in social referrals to
website; increase in
quotes or leads
Increase in engagement
with affiliation content;
increase in positive
sentiment; Net Promoter
Score; increase in self-
reported affiliation via
brand tracking study
How will we measure success?
BRAND
EDUCATION
POTENTIAL KPIS
Increase in percentage
of employees following
guidelines and policies
BRAND
CONSISTENCY
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
Increase in reach and
engagement of thought
leadership content;
increase in percentage
of tweets sent to
other industry
thought leaders
Increase in percentage
of posts that adhere to
brand visual creative
guidelines; increase in
brand recall in brand
tracking study
How will we measure success?
EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
STEP 2:
MAP OUT YOUR STRATEGY
BY CHANNEL
OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL CHANNELS
OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL CHANNELS
Facebook once had high
organic reach, but it has
recently become more of
a paid media channel
OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL CHANNELS
Twitter is the best channel
for real-time content and
one-to-one conversations
OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL CHANNELS
Instagram is best for
sharing visual expressions
of your brand
OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL CHANNELS
LinkedIn is best for professional
networking, thought leadership,
recruiting, and sharing
corporate content
OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL CHANNELS
YouTube is a video-sharing
website that acts as a distribution
platform for content creators
and advertisers
STEP 3:
DETERMINE YOUR
CONTENT PILLARS
POTENTIAL CONTENT PILLARS
INFORMATION
Truly useful,
relevant, and
interesting advice
and tips
EMOTION
Engaging,
collaborative
stories that bring
the brand to life
and inspire
affiliation
PROMOTION
Direct-response
content, ads, and
messages that
drive sales and
conversions
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
Facts, figures, and
opinion/editorial
that position the
brand as a leader
Bring your brand and your strategy to life with your content
FOLLOW THE 80/20 RULE
CONTENT
AD BUDGET
Awareness and engagement Conversion
Conversion
Awareness and
engagement
STEP 4:
ALIGN YOUR REPORTING
TO YOUR NEW KPIS
Awareness Advocacy
REPORTING BEST PRACTICES
Streamline reporting to align with KPIs
Focus on true insights, not vanity metrics
Provide visuals and contextual information for data
Close with clarity, content ideas, and next steps
Summarize all insights
Provide actionable recommendations and content ideas
DIGITAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES
GOOGLE SPREADSHEET: TAB 1
Awareness Advocacy
GOOGLE SPREADSHEET: TAB 2
Awareness Advocacy
GRAB THE GOOGLE DOC
bit.ly/rpsocialstrat
GORGEOUS FREE STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
thestocks.im
FREE QUALITY ICONS
iconfinder.com
QUESTIONS?
@UptownDallasInc @RichardsGroup @meganvangroll

How to Create a Killer Social Media Strategy

  • 1.
    Uptown Marketing ProfessionalsQuarterly Breakfast
  • 2.
    HOW TO CREATEA KILLER SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY Megan Van Groll, Digital Journalism and Content Strategy at Richards Partners
  • 3.
  • 4.
    COMMON ROADBLOCKS 1.  Don’tunderstand what role social media can or should play in our marketing mix 2.  Don’t know what our goals are or should be 3.  Relying on vanity metrics alone to measure success
  • 5.
    1.  BE HUMANAND AUTHENTIC 2.  TELL STORIES PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR 3.  MAKE FRIENDS
  • 6.
    Social media represents avast frontier for building awareness, education, advocacy, and affiliation
  • 7.
    …and it playsseveral roles within the traditional sales funnel
  • 8.
    Awareness Consideration Usage PATH-TO-PURCHASE FUNNEL “I’m generallyaware of this brand/product/service/cause” “I’m thinking about buying/ joining/donating to this” “I’ve initiated a purchase/made a call/signed up/donated”
  • 9.
    Sharing engaging, useful contentand stories Continued engagement, building familiarity Direct response ads WHERE SOCIAL COMES IN “I’m generally aware of this brand/product/service/cause” “I’m thinking about buying/ joining/donating to this” “I’ve initiated a purchase/made a call/signed up/donated”
  • 10.
  • 11.
  • 12.
  • 13.
  • 14.
    OBJECTIVES KPISSTRATEGIES What roledoes social media play for our brand?
  • 15.
  • 16.
    What do we wantto happen? KPIS ROLE OF SOCIAL STRATEGIES
  • 17.
  • 18.
    How will we achievethis? OBJECTIVES KPIS ROLE OF SOCIAL
  • 19.
  • 20.
  • 21.
    STEP 1: Determine whatyou want social media to accomplish for your brand
  • 22.
    POTENTIAL ROLES OFSOCIAL MEDIA Supporting our marketing awareness goals AWARENESS CONSIDERATION Getting more people to consider using our product or service CONVERSIONS Driving sales, quotes, sign-ups, usage, etc. What role does social play for our brand?
  • 23.
    POTENTIAL ROLES OFSOCIAL MEDIA Supporting bottom- line sales and business objectives, from awareness to consideration to usage BUSINESS SUPPORT CUSTOMER SUPPORT Doing what’s right for our customers, members, or clients ADVOCATE ENGAGEMENT Getting our best advocates to engage on our behalf What role does social play for our brand?
  • 24.
    POTENTIAL ROLES OFSOCIAL MEDIA Support our fundraising goals; influence donation decisions FUNDRAISING SUPPORT DISASTER RESPONSE Be a real-time resource for those impacted by disasters REPUTATION MANAGEMENT Educate people about the mission and identity of our nonprofit Nonprofit examples
  • 25.
    POTENTIAL OBJECTIVES Create more understandingof who we are and how we add value BRAND EDUCATION BRAND AFFILIATION CONVERSIONS Drive more people to become customers or donors Help more people understand who our brand is for What do we want to do?
  • 26.
    POTENTIAL OBJECTIVES Help employees understand howto engage on social EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT BRAND CONSISTENCY THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Position our brand as a thought leader in our industry Portray a consistent brand across all touchpoints What do we want to do?
  • 27.
    POTENTIAL STRATEGIES Create andshare engaging content that demonstrates the value of our products and services in our customers’ lives BRAND AFFILIATION CONVERSIONS Use social ads to target fans, look-alike audiences, or email subscribers with direct- response messages (Facebook Ads, Promoted Tweets) Create and share content that stands on its own merits as entertainment, storytelling, or useful information How will we accomplish this? BRAND EDUCATION
  • 28.
    POTENTIAL STRATEGIES Create anddistribute plain-language employee social media policy that makes regulations clear; incentivize reading and compliance BRAND CONSISTENCY THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Be a resource for information about our industry; engage with other thought leaders; leaders to publish editorials, blogs, etc. Create and adhere to social visual style guide; templatize social creative; provide digital bundles to agents, field employees, franchisees, etc. How will we accomplish this? EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
  • 29.
    POTENTIAL KPIS Increase inengagement with brand education content; increase in site traffic referred by brand education messages BRAND AFFILIATION CONVERSIONS Increase in attributable conversions (tracked via conversion pixel on landing page); increase in social referrals to website; increase in quotes or leads Increase in engagement with affiliation content; increase in positive sentiment; Net Promoter Score; increase in self- reported affiliation via brand tracking study How will we measure success? BRAND EDUCATION
  • 30.
    POTENTIAL KPIS Increase inpercentage of employees following guidelines and policies BRAND CONSISTENCY THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Increase in reach and engagement of thought leadership content; increase in percentage of tweets sent to other industry thought leaders Increase in percentage of posts that adhere to brand visual creative guidelines; increase in brand recall in brand tracking study How will we measure success? EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
  • 31.
    STEP 2: MAP OUTYOUR STRATEGY BY CHANNEL
  • 32.
  • 33.
    OVERVIEW OF SOCIALCHANNELS Facebook once had high organic reach, but it has recently become more of a paid media channel
  • 34.
    OVERVIEW OF SOCIALCHANNELS Twitter is the best channel for real-time content and one-to-one conversations
  • 35.
    OVERVIEW OF SOCIALCHANNELS Instagram is best for sharing visual expressions of your brand
  • 36.
    OVERVIEW OF SOCIALCHANNELS LinkedIn is best for professional networking, thought leadership, recruiting, and sharing corporate content
  • 37.
    OVERVIEW OF SOCIALCHANNELS YouTube is a video-sharing website that acts as a distribution platform for content creators and advertisers
  • 38.
  • 39.
    POTENTIAL CONTENT PILLARS INFORMATION Trulyuseful, relevant, and interesting advice and tips EMOTION Engaging, collaborative stories that bring the brand to life and inspire affiliation PROMOTION Direct-response content, ads, and messages that drive sales and conversions THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Facts, figures, and opinion/editorial that position the brand as a leader Bring your brand and your strategy to life with your content
  • 40.
    FOLLOW THE 80/20RULE CONTENT AD BUDGET Awareness and engagement Conversion Conversion Awareness and engagement
  • 41.
    STEP 4: ALIGN YOURREPORTING TO YOUR NEW KPIS
  • 42.
    Awareness Advocacy REPORTING BESTPRACTICES Streamline reporting to align with KPIs Focus on true insights, not vanity metrics Provide visuals and contextual information for data Close with clarity, content ideas, and next steps Summarize all insights Provide actionable recommendations and content ideas
  • 43.
  • 44.
    GOOGLE SPREADSHEET: TAB1 Awareness Advocacy
  • 45.
    GOOGLE SPREADSHEET: TAB2 Awareness Advocacy
  • 46.
    GRAB THE GOOGLEDOC bit.ly/rpsocialstrat
  • 47.
    GORGEOUS FREE STOCKPHOTOGRAPHY thestocks.im
  • 48.
  • 49.