Planning for Success:

How to Use Social Media Effectively to Get the Most

ROI

Lt Col Paul CiancioloNational Marketing & Social Media Manager

10 August 2016

In order to be successful at using social media, you need to be effective at accomplishing your goals.

ROI = Return on Investment

𝑅𝑂𝐼=(𝑆𝑀 𝑅𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛−𝑆𝑀 𝐼𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 )𝑆𝑀 𝐼𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡%

Don’t Throw Spaghetti

★“80 % of marketers incorrectly begin with tactics instead of goals.” -eMarketer Report

CAP Mission Statement

Supporting America’s communities with

emergency response, diverse aviation and

ground services, youth development, and

promotion of air, space and cyber power.

Don’t Throw Spaghetti

★CAP Business Goals = 2016-2020 Strategic Plan

★PA Goals = Annual PA Plan & CAPP 152

2016 Strategic Plan Objective

★ Goal 7.7: Establish accountability for CAP’s public online presence to effectively manage all official social media and digital channels that represent the organization

○ Objective 7.7.1: Improve brand recognition and impact by consolidating CAP’s public online presence into local, state and national channels only; establish guidelines and timelines for implementation

Current Online Presence

★~2.7 Million Webpages about Civil Air Patrol

★18+ National-Level URLs & Subdomains

★~1,700+ Unit & Activity Websites★48+ National-Level Facebook

Pages/Groups★18+ Region-Level Facebook

Pages/Groups★103+ Wing-Level Facebook

Pages/Groups○Yet 9 wing don’t have any Facebook presence.

★Countless Other “Official” Social Media Accounts on Various Channels

Current Accountability

★Personal Channels perceived as Official Channels

★1,439 Charted Units○Unit Headquarters (CC or PA)○Project Officers○Program Directors○Missions & Training○Encampments○Activity Directors

★~8,634 Potential Outlets per Online Channel

★~25,902 if using Website, Facebook & Twitter.

Public Online Presence Goal

Local

Project Officers

SquadronFlight

State

Project Officers

Wing HQ

Group HQ

National

Project Officers

NHQ

Region HQ

NCSAs

Activity Directors

Program Directors

Encampment

Program DirectorsProgram

Directors

Missions &

Training

Missions &

Training

High-Profile

Missions

Activity Directors

Activity Directors

Branding Web Linking Content Sharing Admin Managing

Branding Web Linking Content Sharing Admin Managing

Public Online Presence Goal

Local = Squadron• ~1,378 Squadrons• Purpose is to train members,

maintain readiness, and recruit at the grassroots level of CAP.

• Online content posted stays in local lane while state and national content shared from the source channels.

State = Wing• 52 Wings• Purpose is to function as the

operational component of CAP.

• Online content posted stays in state lane while local and national content shared from source channels.

National = HQ CAP• 1 = NHQ + 8 Regions• Purpose is to equip, manage,

and provide operational leadership and supervision.

• Online content posted stays in national lane while state and local content shared from source channels.

Public Understanding of Civil Air Patrol’s Brand

By Function or Geography

Don’t Throw Spaghetti

★Use Official Social Media Channels Only

★Use Social Media to Accomplish PA Plan Goals

Social Media Platforms

★Not every channel is appropriate or useful to CAP

Social Media Platforms

★Instagram can now do everything Snapchat can

★Only 1 CAP LinkedIn Company Page

Recommended Channels

★Squadrons○Facebook Page (+ Events)

○Twitter Account○Instagram Business Account

○Google Plus (unit’s with physical locations)

★Wing HQs○Facebook Page (+ Events)

○Twitter Account○Google Plus & YouTube

Online Presence Components

Primary Website

Social Media

Email

Word of Mouth

Print Publications

People

Press Releases

Products & Services

Equipment

Branding Links All Components of Organization’s Online Presence

Social Media Guidelines

★CAP Social Media Hierarchy

★Sets Certain Standardization of Social Channels

A social media channel is an account setup for a specific purpose and set of goals.

Social Media Audit

★Hootsuite Template (for accountability)○Step 1: Create spreadsheet for owned social channels.

○Step 2: Create spreadsheet for “Googled” non-owned social channels.

○Step 3: Evaluate needs of your social channels & create mission statement for each.

○Step 4: Make sure all channels on band (CAPP 152).

○Step 5: Centralize ownership of passwords. Use IT module in eServices to record login info or access.

○Step 6: Create process for new channels (PA Plan). Ensure all channels reapproved annually in eServices.

Don’t Throw Spaghetti

★Use Established Best Practices ★Consult CAPP 152 & Social Media

Manager

To Take Measurable Action

Standard CAP Hashtags

★#CivilAirPatrol ★#GoFlyCAP★#CAPCadet ★#CAPNC16 ★#CAPMission★#CAPExercise★#TotalForce

★No one owns any hashtags.

★Use as part of a #sentence alone in a post. #StudentPilot

★3-5 hashtags on Twitter

★11-20 hashtags on Instagram

Facebook Best Practices

★Pages Manager App (separate from Facebook app)

★Go to facebook.com/twitter to link your Facebook Page and Twitter channel together

★Highlight & Pin posts that are more important

★Write for your audience, not always AP style

★Tag CAP and other company Pages in posts

★Upload videos directly to Facebook★Respond to messages within 24 hours

(5 min. icon)★Target posts to interests &

demographics

Facebook Best Practices

★Here is why Facebook users are on Facebook:○To see what their friends are doing.

○To connect with family.

○To share common interests.

○To find out what is going on in the world.

○To be entertained.

Facebook Best Practices

★Facebook marketing is ideal for:○Lending credibility to your organization, which leads to increased trust and affinity, which in turn can lead to more loyal supporters.

○Establishing your organization as a viable entity with staff, volunteers and vibrant programs.

○Showcasing your impact – the people you serve every day, the change you are making in the world, and the REASON (the need) behind your mission.

○Making it easy for your most passionate online ambassadors share your mission with their networks.

Facebook Best Practices

★People see content in their own newsfeed, not on the CAP Page.

★Facebook decides what content it thinks you want to see. Too much CAP dilutes the impact.

Twitter Best Practices

★Go to media.twitter.com (Government & Nonprofit)

★Setup & use Lists to track CAP units & topics

★Write for your audience, not always AP style

★Reply to own tweet to continue the message beyond 140 characters & bounce back up timeline

★Use Direct Messages to take conversations private when appropriate

★Don’t begin a tweet with a username; start with a period in replies to make it more visible

Instagram Best Practices

★Make it Pop! Photos should be unique and interesting. (Cloud-based photos for easy access.)

★Plan ahead. (2-3 posts per day)★Find your voice, hone it, and then

stay consistent.★Make one link count. (No links in

content, only single link in profile.)★Share Instagram links on Facebook

(owned by)★Use IFTTT to tweet actual Instagram

photos. (Enter IFTTT account in eServices too!)

@WeThePeopleDC

Don’t Throw Spaghetti

★Regularly record metrics (in eServices soon)

★Use metrics to report on PA Plan effectiveness

Benchmarking Social Media

★We need to be able to see the big picture of our CAP online presence.

Mentions of @CivilAirPatrol

Social Analytics Framework

Marketing Process

Source: http://simplymeasured.com

Social Media Metrics

Value of Pokémon Example

Value of Pokémon Example

Search by Hashtag #OSH16

Viral Facebook Post Example

★Go to Page Insights and click on Posts

Viral Facebook Post Example

Viral Facebook Post Example

84,000 Non-Fans

Top Tweet

Track Monthly Metrics

★Creating a spreadsheet (Google Sheets) makes it easy to record data each month.

Activity

★Pick out your top social media post from any platform.

★What was the goal of your post?

★Explain the metrics used to determine your post’s effectiveness.

★What could you have done to improve your post?

Don’t Throw Spaghetti

★Throwing “spaghetti” against the wall and seeing what sticks is not the way to get the most ROI from your social media channels!Think before you

post. Know what you want to

accomplish with your content

before publishing.

Further Reading

★https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2202307/social-media-roi-how-to-define-a-strategic-plan

★https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/270071

★https://moz.com/ugc/a-3-step-process-to-measure-social-media-roi

★https://www.pinterest.com/elementdc/social-media-infographics-training/