(Handout) Your kids are on Facebook. That bully who beat you up in first grade is now a LinkedIn connection. Great. But...why are you and your business on Facebook? In this presentation we'll dive into the "why" and discuss how to develop an actual social media marketing strategy for your green industry business. We'll discuss how to determine objectives and goals, how to develop a theme, and how to measure your results.

1. How to Create a Social Media Strategy for Your Green Industry Business
Chris Heiler | (616) 953-0774 | www.LandscapeLeadership.com
To view this presentation’s slide deck, visit http://goo.gl/XbMWl
We’re living in a time when we’ve never been more connected to people. Your kids—maybe your
parents—are on Facebook. That schoolyard bully who beat you up in first grade is now an insurance
salesman you’re connected to on LinkedIn.
But why does this even matter? It matters because this connectedness presents numerous opportunities
for businesses who understand how to leverage it to connect with current customers as well as potential
customers.
The biggest challenge for most companies is where to begin. How do you know what is most important
to your business? Should you be on Facebook? On Twitter? Should you have a YouTube channel?
Many companies begin by putting the cart before the horse: Tools before strategy. This is the wrong
approach. Begin with strategy first, then the “tools and tactics” you need to implement will fall into
place.
Strategy before tools.
Creating the social media marketing strategy for your business begins with having a keen understanding
of what you are trying to achieve—your objectives.
Determine your objective
The single best piece of advice I can give you is this: Find your "one thing".
In other words, clearly define your single objective as it relates to social media and marketing your
business.
Do you see social media as a pointless, giant time-suck? If so, it's probably because you don't have a
clear objective in mind.
Have you ever asked yourself, "What the hell am I doing this for?"
As with anything in life, your chance for success with social media is much greater when you have a
clearly defined, concrete objective. Otherwise you're just wandering aimlessly. Here's why:
A concrete objective clarifies your purpose and can unite and empower your employees so
you're all shooting at the same target.
With a clear objective established, you can then craft a well thought out social media strategy
and plan to enable you to reach your objective.

2. An objective and well thought out strategy allows you to focus only on what's important and
ignore what is not.
There are three broad objectives related to social media marketing:
1. Brand awareness, which includes…
a. Introducing your company to consumers who previously did not know you existed
b. Building your reputation and expertise locally and industry-wide
c. Meeting new people and expanding your sphere of influence
2. Customer loyalty, which includes…
a. Decreasing customer churn
b. Generating more referrals
c. Keeping in touch with customers
d. Increasing repeat purchases or up-selling product/services
3. Direct sales, which includes…
a. New customer sales
b. Generate new leads
Keep in mind, we won't all have the same objective--a lot depends on our type of business. For instance,
a landscape designer may have more interest in building his/her reputation while a lawn care company
may be focused on generating leads. A garden center may focus on keeping in touch with current
customers.
I was asked recently, "How do I build more connections on LinkedIn?" and "How do I get more followers
on Twitter?"
My answer to both was the same: Why? Why do you need more connections or followers? What is your
objective?
This is the question you need to start with. Don't put the cart before the horse. An effective social media
strategy and plan can then be developed around your single objective.
Identify your theme
What one thing sets you apart from your competition? What makes you unique? This uniqueness--this
differentiator--is what should shape your social media efforts. Let's call this your "theme".
Along with a realistic, pragmatic, and measurable objective, your theme is the first step in developing an
effective social media marketing strategy for your business.
Your theme will resonate in everything you do online from the unique content you create to the
interesting content you curate and share with your followers and friends. Your customers and prospects
will pick up on your theme over time.

3. Zappos.com- remarkable customer service
Neave Group- we care!
The Gardening Angel- fine gardening
Sometimes it takes an outsider to find your theme. Face it, sometimes you're too immersed in your own
business and it takes someone from the outside to point out the obvious.
Do you want to know what makes you unique? Then ask your customers! Listen to what your customers
say about you and your business, because like it or not, this is how you are perceived.
What are you passionate about? What excites you? What differentiates you from your competition?
What makes you unique? Use the answers to these questions to discover the theme that will shape and
guide your social media efforts.
Outline concrete, measurable goals
As it relates to this discussion, goals are very much different than objectives. Concrete, measurable goals
spring forth from your objective. The key word is measurable.
If your broad objective is to increase direct sales from new customers, then some of your goals may
include:
Increasing the number of unique visitors each month to your website
Increasing the number of newsletter sign-ups, blog subscribers or number of times a coupon on
your website has been downloaded.
Increasing the number of times a special offer is redeemed
Increasing foot traffic (for retailers)
Direct sales starts with generating leads. Of course "leads" means different things to different
businesses. Perhaps a lawn care company focuses efforts on building their newsletter list. A garden
center may focus on increasing foot traffic. A landscape architect may focus on building his/her blog
readership.
My personal social media objective is to increase brand awareness. I use social media to build my
expertise, influence and credibility within the green industry. One of my goals is to increase the number
of media mentions each year. Another goal is to increase my e-newsletter subscriber list.
When you have a goal, you have something to measure. And you can create benchmarks along the way.
Companies frequently ask, “What’s the return on investment of social media?” If you have outlined
three to five concrete, measurable goals specific to your objective then you should be able to quantify
your ROI to a certain extent.

4. Key Point: Not all goals, or metrics, are equally relevant. “Behaviors” are more important than
“accumulations”. I’ll use a garden center as an example. Data that shows 20% more people compared
to the previous month downloaded a coupon from the garden center’s website is much more important
than the number of new Facebook fans or Twitter followers.
Once you understand what your social media objective is and understand clearly what metrics are
important to you, then you can create a step-by-step plan to reach your goals and maximize your
efforts.
To view this presentation’s slide deck, visit http://goo.gl/XbMWl
Chris Heiler
Green Industry social media consultant
(616) 953-0774
www.LandscapeLeadership.com