​Do you have a social media strategy for your business yet? If you don’t, you could be missing out on game-changing results. ​The businesses that do social media marketing well will see even bigger wins in 2013, as the gap between who “gets it” and who doesn't grows wider by the minute. ​The good news? You don’t need to be everything to everyone anymore !!! ​Chances are your strategy will be more effective if you keep it simple. ​A three-step plan designed to help you develop an effective, streamlined road map for social media success.

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3 STEPS TO AN EFFECTIVE MEDIA STRATEGY
3 Steps to an
Effective Social Media Strategy
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2. 3 STEPS TO AN EFFECTIVE MEDIA STRATEGY
3 Steps to an
1. Laser focus: You can create
content that resonates instantly.
2. Break barriers: Confront pain
points head-on to build trust.
Effective Social 3. Language: Increase engagement
by being a person your audience
relates to.
Media Strategy 4. Empathy: The more you listen,
the better you can respond to
specific needs.
5. Positioning: You can become the
go-to source in your niche.
Step 1: Assessment b. Define a Guiding Theme Strategy
Since you’ve identified your audience,
Start with a single question: “Why social
the next step is to ask yourself what you
media?” The answer will dictate
want them to do.
everything you do in this first phase.
Assessment is to evaluate where you What’s your theme? It’s usually one of
are, where you want to go and what the three things:
wins will be along the way.
 Awareness
 Sales
a. Put Your Audience First  Loyalty
First things first: You need to clarify your Loyalty and awareness can both lead to
audience’s needs, wants and challenges sales, of course but stick to just one
not to mention where they’re spending overarching goal for your strategy.
time online. Use tools like Survey Consistency and simplicity are key here.
Monkey or Google Docs to quickly and
Now it’s time to get really specific. This
inexpensively survey your customers.
might be the hardest piece in the
Each time I want to learn more about my assessment process, and yet it’s critical
audience's behaviors, I create a quick to your success. Ask yourself, what
survey and post it on my social networks does my business actually do? What do
to go straight to the source. my fans say when they’re happy? What
is at the core?
The five major benefits of knowing your
audience are considerable: Talk it out with your team. Together you
can hone in on your “One Thing” the
heart and soul of your brand. Your “One
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3. 3 STEPS TO AN EFFECTIVE MEDIA STRATEGY
Thing” will affect every content and d. Put It All in Writing
posting decision you make.
Don’t wait for an emergency to nail
As an example, if Disney = magic and down your communication policies. For
Apple = innovation, what do you equal? example, what happens when there are
negative comments? How should the
Your “One Thing” is the voice of your company’s social sites be used? Are
strategy across every network. there guidelines for what fans and
followers can post to a company
Facebook page?
c. Identify Metrics and Monitoring
Drill down on the answers in a written
How will you measure your strategy’s editorial guide tailored to your business,
success? Depending on your theme, the team and goals. A good guide will
metrics may change. address:
For example:  Who is your team? Who is
responsible for what?
 If your theme is awareness, you’ll
 What’s the point? Identify why
want to measure growth,
you’re using social media, and
engagement, brand awareness,
what you want to track.
sharability, likes and subscribes.
 Where? Identify the networks you
 If it’s sales, look at click rates,
want to focus on.
social e-commerce sales and
 When? Be as specific as
conversion rates.
possible; e.g., blog at 8 am, post
 For loyalty, look at engagement,
it to Facebook at 10 am.
sentiment and influence (Klout
 How—identify team tools and
and Edge Rank Checker are
platforms. Including examples is
good sentiment-measuring tools).
great, especially when it comes
It’s useful to monitor some overall trends to formatting of content. Your
too, like mentions of key people at your guide should enable anyone new
company, your company name, brand on the team to know what’s going
names, product services, competitors on.
and industry keywords.
And if you’re new to data measurement,
take baby steps. Start with a simple free Step 2: Implementation
tool like Google Alerts.
Next up: execution. The implementation
phase is all about zeroing in on the
details and day-to-day tasks you and
your team are now responsible for.
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4. 3 STEPS TO AN EFFECTIVE MEDIA STRATEGY
a. Create a Content Calendar c. Identify Core Sales Campaigns
Now that you have an editorial guide, it’s Visible social media icons and social
time to translate policy into concrete plugins are some of the easiest ways to
actions preferably on an editorial drive traffic to your social media
calendar. The more information and networks.
detail you include, the better you can
measure effectiveness. Consider: Yes, social media is about relationships
first. But the fact is, once you’ve built
 What is the theme or essence of solid, genuine relationships online,
your content? you’re going to want to use your
 Who will create it? influence to grow your business. That
 When and where will it be doesn’t mean shoving it down fans’
shared? throats or putting sales above the
 How often will you create content relationship. It simply means that you
versus share third-party content? can and should promote what you offer
 How will you deliver content—as to the people who believe in your
eBooks? Blogs? Video? All of the mission.
above? Establish an action plan for the core
campaigns you’ll use to collect and
nurture leads, like:
b. Have a Step-by-Step Plan for
Promotion and Growth.  Outline promotional policy what is
acceptable, and what is not
There are literally hundreds of ways to
allowed?
get your team promoting and sharing on
 Identify and implement opt-in
the key social media sites you plan to
opportunities like a custom
use. Here are a few to get you started:
welcome tab on your Facebook
 Integrate social media on your page.
website with plugins and icons.  Determine where to direct leads
 Run contests and promotions or for example, will you create an
offer rewards. ecommerce platform on
 Drive traffic by offering webinars, Facebook with a custom tab, or
training programs, interviewing sell only on your site?
experts and create blog.
 Promote your networks
consistently.
 Add networks to letterhead, email
signatures and business cards.
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5. 3 STEPS TO AN EFFECTIVE MEDIA STRATEGY
Step 3: Monitor, Measure and Here are ideas for some “next steps” to
Get Momentum take:
After about two months of running your  Facebook ads are a good,
brand-new social media strategy, it’s inexpensive way to grow your fan
time to hunker down with your team, base, increase engagement and
evaluate your progress and fine-tune the collect leads. Try mixing up
details. different ad types and
destinations.
 Run a multi-level contest
integrating multiple channels (like
a. Schedule an Evaluation Session
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube).
Don’t put off analyzing your results. Use a promotion, event or reward
Schedule your first evaluation meeting that will resonate with your
when you start phase one. I recommend audience. Word-of-mouth is a
scheduling a meeting about two or three powerful way to leverage
months out from your start date. That’s momentum.
just enough time to start seeing results  Live Q&As on Facebook, Twitter
and identifying weak spots. or Google+ hangouts.
Make sure you or your team members Ultimately, everyone’s social media
bring numbers and data to the table and strategy will look different—and will get
are prepared to discuss them. Metrics, very different results. To be effective,
no matter how simplistic, will help you know your business and the metrics that
figure out what’s working and what’s matter to you. A consultancy might need
not. Include time for brainstorming new just 100 high-quality fans, whereas a
ideas, too. company that sells a product might need
several thousand to see financial
results.
b. Take Advantage of the Momentum Now It is Your Turn!!!
If you’re seeing traction with your
strategy at this first evaluation
milestone, consider mixing it up and Does your business have a social media
adding some more advanced strategies strategy in place? What tips do you
into your plan. You have momentum have for someone putting a strategy
building run with it! together for the first time?
_______________________________
Leave your questions and comments to:
herve@delhumeau.com
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6. 3 STEPS TO AN EFFECTIVE MEDIA STRATEGY
PERSONAL NOTES
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