create a winning social media strategy

Create a Winning Social Media Strategy

Scott BishopRealTimeMarketer.com

(presented at STL Innovation Camp)Feb 27, 2009

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YES…This Social Media Thing

Can Work

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But You Need To Crack The “Code”

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WARNINGTHERE IS NO HOW IN THIS PRESENTATION

NoneZip

NadaI don’t think I mention it once

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The Strategy Presentation Disclaimer

• Every Social Media Strategy is Different• Varies widely on your relationship with your

customers• They all need to address Monitoring• Execution involves tremendous amount of

engagement & value creation• Every Part is equally vital• One piece, builds the next

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My Social Media Mantra…

The WHY must always proceed the HOW

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Why Do I Need ASocial Media Strategy?

• So you know what you’re doing• So you know why you’re doing it• So you know what results you’re getting

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What Makes For a Good Strategy• Tied to business goals• Specific, no fluff• There’s a commitment to it• Revolves around engagement• A time aspect• The execution is flexible• Includes monitoring• You’ve identified what success looks like• IT CREATES VALUE

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Must Answer these Questions

• Where Are Your Fish?• Why is This Valuable to Your Customers?• Does This Create Engagement?• What Do You Want To Accomplish?• Why Will This Reach Your Goal?• How Long Will It Take?• Do You Have Management Buy In? • How Are You Measuring Success?• How Are You Tracking Execution?RealTimeMarketer.com

4 Parts to a Successful Strategy

1. Goals & Objectives2. Planning & Assessment3. Execution & Engagement4. Evaluation & Reassessment

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Step 1: Goals & Objectives

• Everything Starts With goals• Everything goes back to goals

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Step 1: Goals & Objectives

• Goals should tie back to business goals• Goals need to be very specific• Need to answer a “WHY?”• Measurable: That which cannot be measured,

cannot be managed• It’s the only way to know you’re winning or

losing

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Traditional Social Media Goals…

• Increase customer base• Generate leads• Drive sales• Build awareness• Educate customers• Reach new channels of customers• Improve internal communication

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KILL THE FLUFF• Awareness• Sales• Loyalty

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Dig Deep To Specifics

• Define your goals in specific terms• What exactly does “creating awareness” mean• Give exact amounts• If you don’t have specifics you’ll never know if

you’re winning

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Step 2: Research & Assessment

• Set up the plan• This is “The How”• This is the blue print• Tie directly back to goals• Identify leading indicators for success• Assess what networks to use• Let your customers tell you exactly what they

want

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Where Are Your Fish?

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Where’s the Action?

• What’s your current customer relationship?• How do your customers use social media?

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What Content Do They Want

You Don’t Have To Guess• What information are they consuming?• What do customers find valuable?• What’s their preferred method of content

consumption?

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What Are The Trends

• What are your competitors doing?• What is going on in your industry?• What works that you can prototype?

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Assessment

• How can you best reach your goals?• What can you best distribute content?• How do you incorporate personality?

How do you create value?

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Create A List Leading Indicators

• What tasks / actions lead to your goal?• Work backswords…start with the goal– What specific actions lead to a “win”– Figure out how many– Now apply that daily

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Step 3: Execution & Engagement

Connecting the dots… Goals to the Leading Indicators

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You’ve decided your engagement…get to work

• Break down executions as specific as each individual action

• Have a written checklist

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Engagement: Building Trust

• How are you creating value?• How are you inserting personality• The push you are offering is what your

audience wants

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Step 4: Measurement & Assessment

Is it working?

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What to Track

• If Awareness…– Web Traffic– Social Mentions– Followers / Fans / Friends / Subscribers– Your leading indicators

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Assessment: What you track depends on your goals

• Are we on track to meet our goals?• What’s most successful?• What’s least successful?• What do we tweak?

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Daily Activity -Measurement

Be More Efficient

• How Many Posts per Day• What time per day• How are you engaging

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My Info

Scott BishopTwitter.com/thescottbishopFacebook.com/thescottbishop

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