Objectives, Strategies, Tactics

Week #4February 17, 2015

Utica CollegePRL 408: Social MediaThomas Armitage

In today’s lesson…

● Challenges ● Importance of a plan● What’s in a plan● Goals● Objectives● Strategies● Tactics● Metrics● Things to remember

Challenges

Challenges

● “It’s just a fad!”● “My niche is too small!”● “It takes too much time!”● “I don’t see how it can help my business!”

Importance of a plan

● Like PR and marketing, social media work must be strategically planned in order to accomplish important business goals.

Importance of a plan

Importance of a plan

● Other reasons:○ Accountability○ Timing○ Budget

What’s in a plan

● Background● Target Audience● Goal● Objectives● Strategies/Platforms● Tactics● Metrics/Measure● Budget● Conclude

Goals

Goals

● Biggest, most important thing you want to accomplish with your work.

● Often abstract.● Cannot be easily accomplished, needs work.

Goals

● Example○ Utilize social media to reach new target

audience members and strengthen our online presence.

Objectives

Objectives

● Smaller, more manageable benchmarks that will help achieve the goal.

● Concrete.● Should have multiple objectives. Each will have

its own strategies, tactics, and metrics.

Objectives

Objectives

● Example○ 1) Boost traffic to our website by way of social

media sites by 20% by the end of 2015.○ 2) Boost engagement rates on Facebook and

Twitter by 30% by the end of 2015.○ 3) Increase online sales via our e-commerce

store by 10% by the end of 2016.

Strategies

Strategies

● Roadmap that ties tactics together to reach objectives. Keeps efforts in sync.

● Discuss what platforms you will use and why, as well as key messages.

● Should have specific strategy for each objective.

Strategies

● Example: ○ For objective #3, to boost online sales:○ Persuade consumers that our products are top

of the line and our online shopping experience is superior to competitors. Utilize Facebook, Twitter and YouTube by showcasing our latest products in video format. Links drive people to our online store.

Strategies

● Who is your target audience?● Which platform(s) best fit this objective? Why?● What are you trying to sell?

Tactics

Tactics

● Typically, a number of tactics are needed to help accomplish an objective.

● This is where you provide your ideas.● Be creative. Think promotions, contests,

advertising, types of content, examples, etc

Tactics

● Example:○ Carry out promotion on Twitter where every

day throughout the month of February we will give away a $50 gift card to Gertrude Hawk to one lucky winner. Participants just need to follow us and use the hashtag #TweetforSweets to enter. We will use SproutSocial to carry out the campaign and it will be supported by Twitter advertising.

Metrics

Metrics

● What will you be measuring?● How often will you track?● What software do you need?

Metrics

● Example:○ Objective #1, boost social referrals on site.○ Tactic #1: Participate in daily blogging efforts

and share these posts on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn to drive people back to our website.

○ We will use Google Analytics to measure how many visitors we have coming to the website. We will use filters to identify how many visitors directly came from social media sites.

Things to remember

● Identify target audience first, this will help with your plan.

● How much do tactics cost and how much is in my budget? Measure ROI.

● Show examples. Be creative. Be specific.● Social media plan should be one component of

your overall marketing plan.

Things to remember

Things to remember

Paper. Snow. A GOST!

Exercise

● Individually, choose a company.● Develop the following:

○ Goal○ Objectives○ Strategy○ Tactics

● As a group, we’ll discuss your ideas and brainstorm on how to best measure them.

Next week, we will discuss…

● Content Creation and Blogging

● To do:

○ Read Chapter 10

○ Read articles from #UticaCollegeSM and comment

○ Quiz next week

References

● Arruda, W. (2013, August 27). Three elements of an effective social media strategy. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2013/08/27/three-elements-of-an-effective-social-media-strategy/

● Cronin, A. (2014, January 20). 7 Things to Include in Your Brand’s Social Media Strategy. ClickZ. Retrieved on February 8, 2014 from http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2323003/7-things-to-include-in-your-brand-s-social-media-strategy

● Evans, D. (2012). Social Media Marketing: An Hour A Day, 2nd Edition. Indianapolis: Wiley.

● Sandler, J. (2012, December 26). Your social media marketing plan in 5 easy steps. ClickZ. Retrieved on February 6, 2014 from http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2203265/your-social-media-marketing-plan-in-5-easy-steps

● Shandrow, K. L. (2013, September 16). 10 questions to ask when creating a social-media marketing plan. Entrepreneur. Retrieved on February 6, 2014 from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228324