The social media plan is a document that includes the key lines of the brand’s communication strategy in social networks and the way in which it will be implemented. Although the ideal is to make a specific plan in each project, here we usually structure the plans with the following sections:
- Previous analysis
- Social media strategy
- Editorial line
- Campaigns and projects
- Dashboard and KPIs
1. Previous analysis
Before designing a social media strategy, it is necessary to carry out a complete investigation and draw conclusions from the previous situation. In these initial analyzes we can see multiple factors:
Benchmark
Analysis of quantitative competence. We will see which competitors have more followers and interaction and in which networks. We also analyze what type of content they publish and what their objectives are.
Best Practices
Reviewing the entire sector and companies that may be similar to our client, we indicate what the major trends are and show success stories that inspire us in the project.
SWOT
A classic of every project and for us is the key. With a good analysis of weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities specifically oriented to social media we will know at what point we are and on it we will work the whole strategy.
In this phase of analysis we can also include research on the community (target) and can also emphasize the reputation of the brand and the current positioning.
2. Social media strategy
It is the heart of the social media plan. Here we specify the master guides of communication. We obviously include the objectives on which we will work all the solutions presented in the plan.
Tree of objectives
To develop the strategy as much as possible, we present the objectives in the form of a tree so that we prioritize a main objective and then branch into strategic and tactical objectives. While this process leads to a very complex map of ideas with many elements, the client is presented with only the 5 main objectives to facilitate their understanding and focus attention on them.
Community
Defining the community to which we are going is another fundamental aspect. A bad definition or choice of user profile will inevitably lead to failure. For this, the ideal is to use design thinking techniques as the buyer-person but orienting it to very cultural aspects. It is fundamental to have clear values, beliefs and even the ideology of our potential follower and what interests our community will have in common.
Brand territory
Linking the two previous points, the brand territory would be the themes, the cultural trends and the values on which we are going to work all the content. This is the basis of social branding. If the objective of the project is to achieve notoriety and brand recognition, this section will be vital.
Values and tone
Although the brands usually have defined values, we recommend landing them to social media to be more operative and develop them in their own communication and by the fans. That is why we have to redefine these brand values and indicate with concrete examples the tone over which the brand will communicate.
3. Editorial line
In the editorial line we will indicate what specific objectives we have for each social network and what lines of content. These contents can be defined by themes, by creative concepts or by type of formats. We will also specify the publication frequencies (percentage or monthly absolute numbers).
It is also essential to explain how we are going to organize to publish and moderate. Normally we divide between types of content (timeless, periodic and current) to go forward and programming as much as possible. For this we work with runways and content calendars. You can also include in this part the tools that will be necessary to execute the project. Hootsuite is the most usual.
4. Campaigns and projects
In addition to day-to-day communication, it is essential to include those communications and creative that will have a more precise impact or that require the development of more complex projects.
Campaigns calendar
We recommend establishing a campaigns calendar and advance as much as possible the focus and concept of these so that the whole team knows when they will be carried out and what impact is expected from them.
Social Ads
Advertising on social networks should be oriented to the general strategy and hence it is important to indicate the main lines of the campaigns that will be carried out on the networks. Mainly criteria of segmentation, recruitment of followers and continuous promotion of the day-to-day communication of the brand.
Influencers
If we want to support our strategy in influencers, it is time to define the fundamental objectives and criteria of this type of campaign.
Blog and other projects
Social media is not only done on social networks. It can also involve the creation of content in blogs or the creation of more complex projects such as forums or applications. This must be taken into account in this strategy.
5. Dashboard and KPIs
The tree of objectives that we showed in the strategy was correlated with a series of indicators and KPI that will determine if we are succeeding with our communication. We agree on these key indicators and from there we create a panel that allows tracking the evolution of these metrics.
In addition to these chapters we can include others such as the budget or a calendar. The ideal is that the resources are very clear so that we can dimension the social media plan, leaving the budget for the end is something that we try not to do because it totally conditions the project.
As we say each project will have new elements in its social media plan, but the ideal is to always include these sections that we discussed. In any case, this is the objective, the success of a strategy will depend on our ability to analyze and our ability to define objectives and mark lines of content capable of achieving them. The community management in the day to day and the creativity in the copy will be what later mark the differences between a flatter communication and a more attractive one.
Perhaps the most important aspect of a strategy is that it is realistic and that it can be put in place. The great danger of these plans is that they remain in a drawer; therefore it is essential to be provided with the necessary resources to carry out the strategy.