Project on Social Media Strategy for Whole Foods as part of Social Media Management course at University of Florida

1. WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
SOCIAL MEDIA
STRATEGY
TETIANA GOLDSMITH
02/24/2018

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary, February 2018 4
Social Media Audit 5
- Social Media Assessment, January 2018-February 2018 6
- Traffic Sources Assessment, December 2017-February 2018 7
- Audience demographics assessment 8-9
- Competitor assessment 10
Social Media Objectives 11-12
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
Online Brand Persona and Voice 13-14
Strategies and Tools 15-16
Timing and Key Dates 17-18
Social Media Roles and Responsibilities 19
Social Media Policy 20
Critical Response Plan 21-22
Measurement, Reporting Results, and Recommendations 23-28
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

4. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Social media priorities for 2018 will be raising brand awareness. The main
focus will be to educate people on brand's goals in improving planet's
sustainability, encourage taking actions to preserve the resources and
promote healthy, organic, non-toxic products for customers.
Major social strategies to pursue brand's priorities will include:
1. Drive website traffic from social media and increase engagement
2. Inspire to take action towards preserving the environment
3. Educate on sustainability and organic products
4. Boost sales of organic products
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Whole foods is a grocery chain store that promotes healthy nutrition,
quality organic foods, champions environmental friendly efforts and
sustainable future. Brand's target market are people who aim to lead a
healthy lifestyle and preserve the environment.

5. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
Social media audit for Wholefoods Market is presented below and includes social media
assessment, website traffic sources assessment, audience demographics assessment, and
competitors assessment.
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

6. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
Data as of February 22, 2018
SOCIAL MEDIA ASSESSMENT*
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Social Media Assessment: Whole Foods' most popular media channels are Facebook and Twitter.
It posts and engages with customers most frequently through this platforms and responds actively
through Twitter. The engagement rates are calculated as the number of interactions divided by the
number of followers which is why they seem low on Facebook and Twitter but high on Youtube.

7. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
Website Traffic Summary: Two most popular social media channels, Facebook and Twitter,
account for 30% total of overall website traffic and constitute 16 250 unique visits during the
given time period. It happens because of bran's popularity and direct links on Facebook and
Twitter.Visitors from Twitter demonstrate highest conversion rate, which is action taken as a
result of social media exposure (includes purchases, store visits, event participation, preservation
efforts, advocacy, etc.) Instagram does not provide as high visitation rate as expected due to the
absence of direct links in posts.
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
WEBSITE TRAFFIC SOURCES*
Timeframe: Monthly average, December 2017 - February 2018

8. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
Audience Demographics Summary: Biggest part of social media audience are people who are
doing shopping and hold responsibilities for family's lifestyle. They are mostly females from 31
to 45 years old. Next biggest age group are active social media users from 19 to 30 years. Whole
Foods' audience is mostly using the brand for healthy organic food. People are using social media
to understand nutritional value, discover recipes, and learn about sustainability.
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS ASSESSMENT*
Evaluated through questionnaires on the website, social media, and store locations in December 2017
Primary purpose: Get information on food products, nutritional value, healthy recipes, and
store promotions
Secondary purpose: Obtain educational materials on recycling, sustainability, and stay updated
about store events

9. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS *
Age Gender

10. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
COMPETITOR ASSESSMENT*
Name: Fresh Market
SM Profile: Instagram, The Fresh Market
Strengths: Aesthetic visuals, healthy food
Weaknesses: Low engagement, no videos, no
educational material, almost no comments
Name: Local Foods
SM Profile: Facebook, Local Foods
Strengths: Greatly staged visuals, UGC
Weaknesses: Low posting frequency, cross-
posting from Instagram, page refers to
specific location only
Name: Publix
SM Profile: Twitter, Publix
Strengths: Publishes videos,
educational materials, drives
traffic to web-site's blog,
great response rate
Weaknesses: use exclusively
their articles, doesn't promote
events on SM

11. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES
OBJECTIVES
SOCIAL MEDIA
INCREASE RECOGNITION OF
THE BRAND AND ITS GOALS
INCREASE SALES
INCREASE AWARENESS OF
HEALTH BENEFITS FROM
ORGANIC FOODSThe main goal of social media
management for Whole Foods brand in
2018 will be to educate the audience
and promote healthy nutrition,
awareness of organic foods benefits, as
well as the importance of resource
preservation. Social media will be used
to call people to action in sustaining
the clean environment and improving
their health.
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
RAISE APPRECIATION OF
SUSTAINABILITY AND
ACTIONS TAKEN TOWARDS
PRESERVING OUR PLANET
ENCOURAGE RECYCLING
EFFORTS THROUGH
PROMOTING WHOLE GREENS
PROGRAM
INCREASE SALES OF SAFE
NON-TOXIC CLEANING
PRODUCTS

12. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES
NUMBERS
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
- Increase number of interactions
and mentions on Facebook,
Twitter, and Instagram by 10%
- Increase national sales by 3% in
a year
- Increase sales of organic vs
non-organic counterparts by 10%
- Increase participation in Whole
Greens Program by 20% in a
year
- Increase sales of non-toxic
cleaning supplies by 5% in a year
- Increase amount of recycling
materials dropped off at Whole
Foods by 25%
- New followers, brand's
mentions, amount of advocates
- Monetary gain from annual
sales
- Comparative analysis of sales
income from organic vs non-
organic products
- Number of visits to
environmental materials on
website that call to action
- Volume of sales of non-toxic
cleaning supplies
- Amount of recyclable
materials dropped off at each
store location
KPI KEY
MESSAGES
Eat healthy. Live well. Be aware.
Sustainability for the
whole planet
"Sustainability Beyond
Organic Food" **

13. ONLINE
BRAND
PERSONA
Responsible
Aware
Active
Caring
Rational
Creative
Friendly
ONLINE BRAND PERSONA AND VOICE
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

14. ONLINE
VOICE
Engaging
Responsive
Friendly
Prompt
Accommodating
Professional
ONLINE BRAND PERSONA AND VOICE
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
During the interaction with
an online audience, Whole
Foods is:

15. EARNED
Announce food tastings, closed
events, and giveaways for
advocates or supporters who
mention the brand and use
hashtag #wholefoods. Give
10% discount coupons for each
new followers who advertises
the brand. Each month offer
$20 for first 50 followers who
report recycling and reusing.
PAID
Advertise Facebook posts
during the weekend.
Collaborate with 10
influencers who will
highlight environmental
events. Use Youtube Ads to
increase followers and views
on videos that call to action
(healthy nutrition and
resource preservation)
OWNED
Scheduling one post every 2 days
on each social media channel
through Buffer. Using SM
analytics such as Hootsuite or
AgoraPulse. Using metrics to
analyze the results. Distributing
SM tasks to multiple social team
members. Cross-posting and
promoting each event one month
prior to its date. Daily reposting
UGC through branded hashtag
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
STRATEGIES AND TOOLS
STRATEGIES
SOCIAL MEDIA

16. APPROVED EXISTING
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
STRATEGIES AND TOOLS
TOOLS
SOCIAL MEDIA
Hootsuite
Buffer
Photoshop
Tweetdeck
AgoraPulse
BuzzSumo
Hashtap
Coschedule
Canva
Ripl
REJECTED
N/A (employees
only use tools that
have beed
approved)
****

17. TIMING AND KEY DATES
TIMING AND KEY
DATES
The assessment of social media strategy will be conducted every month, every
quarter and at the end of the year from the starting day.
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
The best original posting frequency is once a day on each social media. It can be
adjusted based on monthly analytic results. Audience engagements should happen
multiple times a day. Crisis situations need to be handled immediately.
The timing of the post needs to be analyzed a month after the strategy is
implemented. Evening posts are expected to have the highest reach.
Social media coverage of an upcoming event or holiday needs to start 3 weeks
prior to the scheduled date

18. TIMING AND KEY DATES
TIMING AND KEY
DATES
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
- Monthly
- Quarterly
- Annual report
Internal EventsReporting dates
Important dates for social media should
correspond with local store's events,
community events, and promotions.
Key Dates and
Holidays
- March 17, 2018. St. Patrick's Day
- March 30, 2018. Good Friday
- March 31, 2018. Passover
- April 1, 2018. Easter
- May 13, 2018. Mother's Day
- June 17, 2018. Father's Day
- July 4, 2018. Independence Day
- September 10, 2018. Rosh Hashanah
- September 19, 2018. Yom Kippur
- October 31, 2018. Halloween
- December 3, 2018. Hannukah
- December 25, 2018. Christmas
- January 1, 2019. New Year
- February 14, 2019. Valentine's Day

19. SOCIAL MEDIA ROLES AND POLICY
ROLES AND
POLICY
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social Media Coordinators - Antony Tompson, Kaitlin
Bush, Fernandez Castillo, Maria Martin, Jeff Robbins,
Robert Bergman, Kate Shul, Nina Lazarus, David Allen
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Marketing director - Sofia Walls ***
Social Media Director - Juan Nuanez
Social Media Managers - Nicole Smith,
Jane Pars, Chloe Poston, Christopher Kaltz
Main decisions on company's policies and
development are coming from marketing
director and her team. Social media director
works on strategies and content of Whole Foods
social media. Social media manager supervises
the execution of strategies and makes necessary
adjustments. Each SM manager has 2 SM
coordinators who publish content. The team
below refers only to national pages of Whole
Foods. Each regional location has its own
profiles and team. One person is responsible for
customer communication through social media.
SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT
Technical support - John Johnes
Social media customer response - Wallace Rits
Social Media Ads Support - Nicole Simon

20. SOCIAL MEDIA ROLES AND POLICY
POLICY
SOCIAL MEDIA
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Social media policy corresponds with general
company's policy of respect to all that we consume.
Quality is not just about food, but about treating
employees, farmers, and customers with respect.
Quality of food translates into quality of information
on social media. All employees are expected to
follow these guidelines on social media:
Deliver only the best quality
information
Be respectful
Be fast in response and make best
efforts to solve the problem
Be kind
Promote sustainability and healthy
lifestyle
Care for community of customers
Be helpful
Don't delete negative comments; resolve them
Always double check any misunderstandings with
social media manager
Be responsible
Avoid controversy on social media
Be creative
Publish ONLY appropriate content that is relevant to
the brand

21. CRITICAL RESPONSE PLAN
BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
CRITICAL RESPONSE PLAN
Problem: apples purchased in the store turned out to be rotten from inside
Action Plan:
1. Communicate the situation to sales and supplies department immediately
2. Have each local representative check apples (and other fruits) in every location. Throw away everything
that is rotten
3. Check with sales and supplies department and see whether they will replace the supplier
4. Publicly apologize on social media
5. Offer a person who bought rotten apple coupon for $50 for next purchase
6. Report on actions taken to prevent the problem and on sales and supply feedback
Pre-approved messages:
"We sincerely apologize and regret this fault. Our team is working now to check the product at every Whole
Foods location. Further actions by sales and supply department will be reported within the next few hours."
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
SCENARIO 1

22. CRITICAL RESPONSE PLAN
BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
CRITICAL RESPONSE PLAN
Problem: Negligible response to customer's injury on Twitter ("You can read all information on our website;
there is nothing new I can tell you about this matter," "I can only get back to you in a week" or similar)
Action Plan:
1. Delete the response and apologize to the customer immediately
2. Answer customer's inquiry
3. If response has been spread, issue public video apology from the company
4. Identify who had access to Twitter on the day of occurrence
5. Issue serious warning (depending on severity - maybe termination)
6. Report what actions were taken towards negligible employee
Pre-approved messages:
"Whole Foods deeply regrets negligibility of one of our new social media coordinators. Actions were taken (an
example of actions) to ensure that this treatment of customers will never occur in the future. All customer
inquiries are taken very seriously by the company and treated with high priority and respect."
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
SCENARIO 2

23. MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RESULTS
MEASUREMENT
AND
REPORTING
RESULTS
WEBSITE SOURCES
TRAFFIC
ASSESSMENT
REPORTED KPIS
TOOLS
PERFORMANCE
Reporting Period: 3 months
Data as of June 1, 2018
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
SOCIAL NETWORK
DATA
SENTIMENT
ANALYSIS
FUTURE ACTIONS

24. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RESULTS
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
WEBSITE TRAFFIC SOURCES*
Timeframe: Monthly average, March 1, 2018 - June 1, 2018

25. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RESULTS
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
SOCIAL NETWORK DATA*
Timeframe: Monthly average, March 1, 2018 - June 1, 2018
Increase in posting frequency, especially on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube has proven to increase the
amount of followers. The biggest increase in engagement rate is on Twitter due to frequent quality interactions
with customers.

26. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RESULTS
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
SENTIMENT ANALYSIS*
Timeframe: Monthly average, March 1, 2018 - June 1, 2018
Interactions and mentions on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, has increased by 3%,
5%, and 2% accordingly.
Organic reach of the posts on Facebook has been increased by 4.5% due to mentions
and shares from other customers
3 influencers have been found (healthy nutrition advocates and environmentalists) and
agreed to cooperate with the brand. They started sharing brand's posts twice a month
each.
2 organizations (Environmental Protection Agency and National Farmers Organization)
has agreed to establish a partnership on social media
No messages on social media have been unanswered
Average response time on social media has reduced by 3 hours

27. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RESULTS
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
OTHER KPI AND TOOLS PERFORMANCE*
Timeframe: Monthly average, March 1, 2018 - June 1, 2018
National sales increased by 0.85% with income increase in 0.5%
Ratio of ales of organic products vs their non-organic counterparts have increased by 15%
Number of visits to environmental educational materials on Whole Foods website has been
increased by 10%. Most traffic comes from FB and Twitter
Sales of non-toxic cleaning supplies have been increased by 1%
Amount of recyclable materials dropped off at each store location combined increased by 2.5%
Use of COschedule app enabled team members to collaborate more efficiently and average
response time has reduced by 3 hours
Use of Canva and Riple created more unique, informative, and visual content that performs
well organically
Use of Hashtapgenerated relative hashtags for each image which increased post's reach on
Instagram

28. BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RESULTS
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
FUTURE
RECOMMENDATIONS
Establish LinkedIn Profile
Work with marketing team to organize and highlight more
environmental and local community events
Create more video content, especially UGC
Create hashtags that are relevant to event or promotion. For
example, #irecycledatwholefoods or #wholehealthyrecipe
Continue implementing existing strategy and report monthly,
quarterly, and at the end of the campaign (in one year, February
2019)

29. NOTES
BERKSHIRE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
THANK
YOU!
WHOLE FOODS | SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Notes:
* All the data is a rough estimate based on assumptions. No real data was retrievable. In "Social Media Assesment" part the follower count is shown based on information from
social media pages. Snapchat's follower count is unable to be identified due to particularities of the app. Average Weekly Activity was calculated manually based on the amount
of posts for the last 7 days. Engagement rate was calculated as the amount of interactions (posts, comments, reposts, replies) divided by the number of followers. Due to
difficulties in manually calculating the interactions (such as mentions and likes) and a big number of followers engagement rates seem very low. Website traffic sources and
Demographics also include very rough approximation and are not based on real data. In estimating 3 months results all the proportions of data are saved. Measurement and
results are fictional, however, the proportion of the data was calculated.
** This is a real key message on Whole Food's website
*** All names and positions are fictional
**** No data on company's existing social media tools is available in common access
This presentation was created through Canva
Image sources: foodnavigatorusa.com, couponsunited.com, zagat.com, publix.com, thefreshmarket.com, commons.wikimedia.com, jillvisit.com, burntx.com