The success of your social media efforts depends upon having a well-defined strategy that's measurable and manageable. These are six proven steps to create a social media strategy, ensuring that every tweet you send is guided by a plan and aimed at business goals.

1. Six Steps To Create A Social Media
Marketing Plan At Little Cost
Presented to:
University of Michigan
Center for Entrepreneurship
College of Engineering
Prepared by:
Chad Wiebesick
Director of social media & interactive marketing
Twitter: @Wiebesick
February 15, 2016

2. Pure Michigan Ranks Among Top 10 Travel
Destinations Worldwide for Its Social Media
@Wiebesick

3. Pure Michigan Ranks #1 on Instagram
Pure Michigan is the #1 most
popular travel brand in the world on
Instagram as measured by the
number of photos people have
uploaded hashtagged #
PureMichigan, ranking higher than
Hawaii, Australia, Museum of
Modern Art, Lonely Planet and
Carnival Cruise Lines.
@Wiebesick

4. @Wiebesick

5. @Wiebesick

6. @Wiebesick

7. Step 1: Set your objectives
@Wiebesick

8. Align Your Social Strategy
To Your Business Objectives
Brand Goal: “Pure Michigan is majestic, mythic and magical –
a place with abundant natural beauty and authentic
destinations.”
@Wiebesick

9. Provide Customer Service
@Wiebesick

10. Customer Service Gone Wrong!
@Wiebesick

11. Customer Service Gone Horrific!!!!
@Wiebesick

12. Pure Michigan
Customer Service
@Wiebesick

13. Generate Leads
@Wiebesick

14. Build Brand Awareness
Within 15 minutes of
Super Bowl 2013
grinding to a halt
because the lights went
out, Oreo sent this
tweet.
Generated 15,000
retweets and 8,000 new
Twitter followers.
@Wiebesick

15. Increase Traffic To Your Website
@Wiebesick

16. Step 2: Identify Your Audience
@Wiebesick

17. Here’s Why It’s Important to Know
Your Audience
@Wiebesick

18. What Single Post Caused People To Unlike
the Pure Michigan Facebook Page?
@Wiebesick

19. What Should We Do?
@Wiebesick

20. Let Your Advocates Support You
@Wiebesick

21. Tip: Use Facebook Interest Targeting
Reach precisely the right people by targeting posts to a subset of
the people that like your page based on their interests.@Wiebesick

22. Step 3: Choose The Platform
@Wiebesick

23. Facebook
More than 70% of online American adults use Facebook.
Usage among seniors continues to increase. Women are
also particularly likely to use Facebook compared with men.Source: Pew Research Center, 2015

24. Twitter
Some 23% of online adults currently use Twitter. Skews
slightly more male, college educated, household income of
$50,000, urbanites.

25. Google+
Sixty-seven percent
of Google+ users
are male, and the
average age is 28-
years-old. Users
tend to work in the
engineering,
software and design
industries, and are
more interested in
discussions and
trends than looking
at photos of dogs or
kids.

26. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is actually more popular than Twitter among U.S.
adults. LinkedIn's core demographic are those aged between
30 and 49, i.e. those in the prime of their career-rising years.
Not surprisingly, LinkedIn also has a pronounced skew toward
well-educated users.
Source: Pew Research Center, 2015

27. Pinterest
Women continue to dominate Pinterest – 42% of online
women use the site, compared with 13% of online men.

28. Instagram
Besides young adults, women are particularly likely to be on
Instagram, along with Hispanics and African-Americans

29. Snapchat
Snapchat is the youngest social network of all. More than six
out of 10 Snapchat users are in the 18-to-24 age group.
Source: Pew Research Center, 2015

30. Tip: Don’t Spread Yourself Too Thin
Accounts that appear dormant a
majority of the day are easy to spot.
Rather than only visiting once a day
for 30 minutes, consider spending 10
minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in
the afternoon, and 10 minutes in the
evening.
@Wiebesick

31. Tip: Use the Same Logo Across All
Platforms
Helps build brand and consistency, and people will recognize
you regardless what platform they see you on.
@Wiebesick

32. Tip: Choose a Consistent
Vanity URL
@PureMichigan
@PureMichigan
@PureMichigan
@PureMichigan
VERSUS:
@DiscoverOhio
@Ohiogram
@DiscoverOhio
@DiscoverOhioTravel
@Wiebesick

33. Step 4: Establish Metrics
@Wiebesick

34. Choose metrics that align with
your business objectives and
help you make business
decisions.
•Followers
•Likes
•Comments
•Shares
•Retweets
•Impressions
•Reach
•Engagement
•Post Likes
•Unlikes
•Clicks
•Etc.

35. “It’s quality, not quantity of fans
that’s important.”
@Wiebesick

36. New York State Has The Largest
Number of Facebook Fans
• Yet, only 0.9% of their fans are talking about the page.
• The most popular age group are 13-17 year old teenagers.
• Most of their fans live in New York City.
@Wiebesick

37. State of Florida Has Far Fewer
Fans, But More Engaged
• Average age of fans are 35-54, a demographic more likely
to have budget to travel.
• Most fans live in out-of-state, a more lucrative traveler.
@Wiebesick

38. Another Reason to Not Focus on
Number of Fans
@Wiebesick

39. Make Fans The Hero:
Engagement is Key
@Wiebesick

40. Step 5: Create Content Strategy
Your content creation and content curation plan should
answer the following questions:
•What type of content do you intend to post?
•How often will you post?
•Where will you post it?
@Wiebesick

41. Use an Editorial Calendar
Follow the 80/20 rule to attract and retain an engaged
community: 80% is your content, 20% is from thought leaders
in your industry, like-minded businesses, or relevant content.@Wiebesick

42. Schedule Posts to Save Time
@Wiebesick

43. Step 6: Test, Evaluate and Adjust
Your Social Media Plan
• As new networks emerge, you might want to add them to
your plan.
• As you attain goals, you might need to adjust them.
• Rewrite your strategy to reflect your latest insight.@Wiebesick

44. “Here’s how by reacting quickly to
an obscure tweet, Pure Michigan
generated $17 million in PR buzz.”
@Wiebesick

45. Dec 6, 11:49 am
@Wiebesick

46. TravelWisconsin.com
@Wiebesick

47. Dec 6, 2:45 pm
@Wiebesick

48. Dec 6, 7:17 pm
@Wiebesick

49. What, If Anything, Do We Do?
• 1 tweet
• 11 retweets
• 1 story in Kalamazoo Gazette
@Wiebesick

50. Dec 7, 11:45 am
WhoIsTheRealMittenState.com
@Wiebesick

51. @Wiebesick

52. @Wiebesick

53. @Wiebesick

54. Dec 7, 4:43 pm
Statewide News
@Wiebesick

55. Dec 7, 7:23 pm
Wisconsin Releases Another Mitten
Travel Wisconsin put up a new version of the mitten in the green and
gold of the Green Bay Packers, boasting the football team's unbeaten
record and ribbing their rivals, the 7-5 Detroit Lions.
@Wiebesick

56. “Is Michigan or Wisconsin the Mitten State?”
Google AdWords
@Wiebesick

57. Dec 7, 10:20 pm
National News
@Wiebesick

58. @Wiebesick

59. Dec 13
@Wiebesick

60. The Mitten Drive Prompted
More Conversations
@Wiebesick

61. Dec 14, 2:20 International News
Results:
•Over 300 news stories from state, national and
international radio, newspaper and TV
•396 million media impressions
•$17.7 million in earned media value
@Wiebesick

62. Thank You
• Chad Wiebesick
• wiebesickc@michigan.org
• Twitter: @wiebesick
• Facebook.com/cwiebesick
• Linkedin.com/in/wiebesick
• (517) 335-1083
@Wiebesick