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10 STEPS to a

Small Business Social Media PlanBy Lindsay Thomson | Lynda.com

2 | 10 Steps to an SMB Social Media Plan | Lynda.com

IntroductionFor any small or medium-size business (SMB), resources are a challenge—especially

when it comes to marketing.

A key and cost-effective way to reach prospective customers or clients is through social media. Before social media exploded, online marketing was a fairly one-sided endeavour.

Businesses pushed out ideas. Consumers passively received them. But the landscape has shifted.

The Internet of today is extremely interactive. Social media enabled a new style of communication and there are now billions of conversations happening online about news articles, brands,

even photos of pets. It all feels relatively natural to the participant. Social networking is a big part of how the web operates.


Managing social media is a full-time job. Done well, it can deliver incredible return on investment (ROI). In a recent study by Social Media Examiner, 90% of all marketers indicated social media increased exposure for their businesses. Boosting traffic was the second major benefit, with 77% reporting positive results. When using social media as few as six hours per week, 66% of marketers saw lead generation benefits. Amongst respondents who had used social media for at least one year, 64% found it useful for building a loyal fan base.

This guide describes 10 key steps to help your marketing team get started on an engaging social media plan—one that strengthens your organisation’s online presence, drives engagement and delivers growth.

USING SOCIAL MEDIA, A MAJORITY OF MARKETERS*:

90%increased exposure

77%generated positive results

66%noted lead generation benefits

64%built a loyal fan base

*Social Media Examiner


05 Step No. 1: Understand the value

07 Step No. 2 : Set goals

10 Step No. 3: Reach the right audience

13 Step No. 4: Choose social platforms

17 Step No. 5: Create a local presence

20 Step No. 6: Create a content plan

24 Step No. 7: Create a content calendar

26 Step No. 8: Prioritise visuals

28 Step No. 9: Build a community

31 Step No. 10: Measure and optimise

34 Authors

35 About Lynda.com

Table of Contents


Understand the value


STEP NO. 1

Understand the valueSocial media marketing can provide a new kind of exposure. Using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and more, you can reach new prospects and further engage existing customers and clients. Social media also offers value beyond brand recognition and website traffic. Let’s explore additional value-adds.

create new and immediate opportunities for feedback Prospects and customers can share thoughts directly or ask questions that help you identify the good and bad in your business.

get a sense of what’s important Get to know your audience members by understanding what and how frequently they share. With an active audience, you can ask for feedback or test ideas before crafting larger marketing initiatives. Today’s savvy consumers spend significant time researching brands and products before spending money. Customers can indirectly advocate for you. If they post a comment, share a review or interact with your content, it can boost your overall credibility.

develop a community A community can drive awareness of your brand. As customers become advocates, they’ll shower you with praise, ignite word-of-mouth marketing, and help you reach untapped territory. Friends look to friends for recommen-dations, and social media allows you to activate those opportunities.


Set goals


STEP NO. 2

Set goalsSocial media marketing works best when it creates interaction to achieve defined goals. Most often, the primary goal is to boost website traffic or draw attention to a brand. Unlike other forms of marketing, social media is rooted in using prospects and customers or clients as marketing vessels.

questions to ask

What are you trying to accomplish?

Is it brand awareness?

Do you hope to drive more traffic to your website or blog?

Are you selling a product or service?


Set goals to help determine which marketing resources you should devote to tactical programmes and which social media platforms you should use; the more aggressive the goal, the more resources typically needed. Setting goals also helps measure progress and helps inform adjustments.

For additional tips, watch a three-minute video about setting goals from the

Lynda.com course Marketing Fundamentals.

http://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Setting-goals/168334/188139-4.html


Reach the right audience


STEP NO. 3

Reach the right audience Understanding what you’re selling can be easy, but understanding who you’re selling to, and where to find those customers, can be difficult. Reaching the right audience will deliver the biggest ROI. Anything less is a waste of time and advertising spend.


To help understand your audience, complete a customer strategy worksheet created by Lynda.com.

For more information on how to reach the right audience, watch a four-minute video on building a brand strategy from the Lynda.com course Online Marketing Fundamentals.

Define your audience. Start by creating personas that describe your ideal customers. Include interests, demographics, motivations, goals, pain points and behaviour patterns. The more detailed these profiles are, the better.

Build your message for that audience. Create personalised value propositions for each of your buyer personas. Create content that supports those propositions.

Figure out where to find your audience. Specifically, research which social media channels are best to deliver your message to each persona. We’ll explore this more in Tip No. 4.

How to reach the right audience

http://www.lynda.com/Analytics-tutorials/Building-brand-strategy/188429/367611-4.html

http://pages.lynda.com/rs/063-DFS-642/images/Customer_Strategy_Worksheet_Guide.pdf


Choose social platforms


STEP NO. 4

Choose social platforms Decide which platforms connect you with your audience and in turn generate the biggest ROI.

To get started, don’t take on more than your team can manage. Create two or three social profiles. You can add more later. One of the worst things you can do in social media is neglect a platform and rarely post. To successfully drive social engagement, be consistent and active.

Think about your defined audience. Figure out where your audience spends its time online by researching the demographics of platforms; each has a different purpose and attraction. For example, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are quite useful for business-to-business (B2B) marketing, while Pinterest and Instagram are better for business-to-consumer (B2C).

LinkedIn is great for generating sales by advertising your organisation and

discussing relevant industry topics with specific buyer personas.

Twitter is largely a real-time feed of short, public thoughts.

Twitter is wonderful for customer service and providing short brand updates.

Facebook is more private. Members mostly catalogueue information

and ideas with friends and family.

Facebook is an excellent place to share in-depth content and create conversations.


linkedin twitter facebook

members More than 364 million in 200-plus countries. More than 172,000 new mem-bers every day, or 2 new per second.

About 20% of entire Internet population, or 750 million worldwide.

1.2 billion worldwide.

demographics 64% of members older than 30. Has the oldest age demographic for a social network with more 100 million age 50 or higher.

Most popular with 18- to 29-year-olds. Appeals most to users age 24 to 50.

gender ratio Nearly equal, but slightly more male**. Slightly more female, but not by much. Split between male and female.

communication Great for discussing hot topics in an industry. Social advertising tends to be underutilized, but a great place to go for persona-based marketing.

Great for short, rapid messages. 500 million tweets sent daily. A top choice for consumers seeking support or celebrating brands. Impressive mobile saturation. About 30% of users check feeds multiple times daily from a mobile device.

Delivers content specific to user interests. Think of Facebook as an ongoing conversation.

best time to post

Busiest times with maximum reach are between 7 and 8 a.m. or 5 and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday*.

Weekdays provide 14% more engagement than weekends. Nearly 90% of engagement happens in the first hour after a tweet*.

Thursday and Friday. Note that status updates can maintain traction for several days*.

*http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/social-media-post-best-times

**http://www.statista.com/statistics/246169/share-of-us-internet-users-who-use-linkedin-by-gender/

Social platforms comparison


To further explore how to promote brands, increase sales, engage customers, and drive site traffic using Facebook and Twitter, watch the Lynda.com course Social Media Marketing.

Think about your defined audience. Figure out where your audience spends its time online by researching the demographics of platforms; each has a different purpose and attraction. For example, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are quite useful for B2B marketing, while Pinterest and Instagram are better for B2C.

When choosing social platforms

http://www.lynda.com/Facebook-tutorials/Social-Media-Marketing-Facebook-Twitter/191496-2.html


Create a local presence


STEP NO. 5

Create a local presenceIt’s essential for your business to be represented as a local company in online search engine results. If you sell pizza and are located in Chicago, for example, it’s important that hungry people who are in Chicago can find out about your restaurant online.

The way to achieve this is by targeting social media marketing campaigns for mobile devices.

If you haven’t yet considered mobile while putting together your social media plan, start now. A significant 50% of all searches conducted on mobile devices are to find local results— and 61% of those searches result in a purchase, according to Search Engine Watch.


Why is mobile important?

54% 45% 47% of consumers are more

likely to purchase on a mobile-optimised site.

ExactTarget, 2014 Mobile Behavior Report

of consumers will

leave a site that is not mobile-optimised.


of consumers say it is easier to find

information on mobile-optimised sites.


of US businesses

conduct some form of mobile marketing on

mobile websites (70%), mobile applications

(55%), or QR codes (49%).

StrongMail

percent of marketing companies planned

to increase activity on mobile apps in 2016.


27%37%


Create a content plan


STEP NO. 6

Create a content plan Great content can drive marketing success. Breaking through is difficult in today’s multi-channel world characterised by a whirlwind of devices and technologies. Gone are the days when a sales representative furnished a prospective customer’s first contact with a company. Today customers do their own research—online, and without you. But you can cut through the noise by creating great content and sharing it socially.


To create great content, you need a plan. Make planning a team collaboration between marketing leads, copywriters, graphic designers, and other key stakeholders. Referring again to your defined audience, identify themes to cover for each persona. Decide which pieces of content are best for each stage of each buyer’s journey. For best results, expect to do some A/B testing (e.g. version testing), analyse results, and change course as needed.

Consider your content mix. What types of content can help make your social media offerings diverse? Determine how much original content you will create. And decide how much content will be sourced from outside sources, curated and re-shared.


Start by planning large content initiatives. These could include guides (like the one you are currently reading), a large ebook, or any other ideas with extensive promotional plans and thought leadership elements.

Second, consider boiled-down pieces that are quickly consumed. These could include “tips and tricks” suggestions, data sheets, checklists, and collections of best practices.

Third, plan fun and light-hearted, indulgent pieces. These could include infographics and videos.

Last, evaluate whether each piece can be used across multiple channels. Decide which platforms will drive the best engagement for each piece.

To learn more about the fundamentals of content marketing and how to create a content plan for your organisation, watch the Lynda.com course Content Marketing Fundamentals.

When planning content

http://www.lynda.com/Marketing-Lead-Generation-tutorials/Content-Marketing-Fundamentals-2015/369044-2.html


Create a content calendar


STEP NO. 7

Create a content calendar In conjunction with deciding what to post, create a content calendar for when to post it. A calendar helps keep your social media initiatives well timed and your colleagues up to speed on your activities.

Use a simple Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheets. The key elements of a content calendar are: social platform, date, post copy, link and image or asset description.

Take advantage of inexpensive or free social media management tools to help automate this process.

For spreadsheet inspiration, check out a simple template.

For more information about social media management tools, check out the Lynda.com course Top 10 Social Media Management Tools.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f2nnhWlitQMD_WV9XC8tMz9jXN6TnXidBuCmbsR2mCA/edit?pli=1#gid=0

http://www.lynda.com/Marketing-Enterprise-Marketing-tutorials/Top-10-Social-Media-Management-Tools/188205-2.html


Prioritise visuals


STEP NO. 8

Prioritise visualsSourcing good images can be a pain. But images often are the most important ingredient of good social content. Rely on your creative team to take the lead.

Don’t use copyrighted images without permission. Doing so can bring legal troubles and damage your online reputation. Also note that all social platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter have specific requirements for image size and image copy.


Build a community

STEP NO. 9

Build a community Don’t just publish content and hope prospective customers or clients see it. Build a following and gain authority by engaging with a community. Communities are based on relationships. Relationships can be between two people, but also between brands and people, or between customers. All matter. By effectively cultivating an online community, you can keep relationships positive.

When dealing with customers online, demonstrate that you care about their experiences with your brand. If you don’t care, you won’t convert. Whether you know it or not, you’re being reviewed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by everyone using your product or service. People are having conversations about your business. You need to join those conversations and influence the narrative. Don’t and you’ll be left behind.



For more on engagement, watch the Lynda.com course Building an Online Community.

When engaging people online:

Answer questions. You’d provide excellent customer service to someone walking into your brick-and-mortar store. Your online social media channels are no exception. People expect the same level of attention and timely response.

Start conversations. This boosts the visibility of your company, makes it easier for people to find you and reduces the need to give a sales pitch. Search for people engaging with topics and hashtags relevant to your business.

Provide value. Use social media as more than a mouthpiece. Interact and give back.

http://www.lynda.com/Business-Online-Marketing-tutorials/Building-Online-Community/151648-2.html

http://www.lynda.com/Business-Online-Marketing-tutorials/Building-Online-Community/151648-2.html

Measure and optimise



STEP NO. 10

Measure and optimiseAs you scale up, A/B test your efforts and optimise your programmes for the best ROI.

Optimisation is key; don’t expect to push “Go” and have a fully realised campaign producing top results. Matching the right content with the best audience takes tweaking over time.

Use tools including Google Analytics, Adobe Reports and Analytics, and Optimizely to measure results.

http://www.lynda.com/Google-Analytics-training-tutorials/411-0.html

http://www.lynda.com/Analytics-tutorials/Up-Running-Adobe-Reports-Analytics/163415-2.html

https://www.optimizely.com/


ConclusionWith a little direction and organisation around these 10 tips, any SMB can benefit

from social media. But remember that these tips are just a start. Going forward, stay consistent with your posting habits and learn as much as you can

about what type of content your audience interacts with most.

To learn more, check out Lynda.com courses How to Rock Social Media and Social Media Marketing with Facebook and Twitter.

Or browse even more expert-taught Lynda.com social media marketing courses.

http://www.lynda.com/Facebook-tutorials/How-Rock-Social-Media/373993-2.html

http://www.lynda.com/Facebook-tutorials/Social-Media-Marketing-Facebook-Twitter/191496-2.html

http://www.lynda.com/Social-Media-Marketing-training-tutorials/1366-0.html


LEAD

Lindsay Thomson, Lead Generation SpecialistLynda.com

Lindsay Thomson is a marketing specialist at Lynda.com focused on providing enterprise learning solutions to academic institutions, businesses and government agencies. Working in the elearning industry allows Lindsay to share her passion for helping organisations build effective elearning programmes that promote lifelong learning.

CONTRIBUTORS

Michelle Hernandez, Social Media Manager Lynda.com

Brad Batesole, Staff Author Lynda.com

Dayna Rothman, Author Lynda.com

Justin Seeley, Staff Author Lynda.com

Tom Schultz, Enterprise Marketing Writer Lynda.com

Authors


For 20 years, Lynda.com has helped marketing professionals, leaders, IT and design pros, project managers—anyone in any role—build software, creative and business skills. We work with the best instructors. Our production standards are second to none. And with training that is quick to market, we’ve grown our online video-based content library to include thousands of engaging courses.

Now a LinkedIn company, Lynda.com serves more than 10,000 organisations. With tutorials presented in five languages, Lynda.com is a global platform for success.

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web: www.lynda.com/industries

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