How to Write an Outstanding Social Media Marketing Plan

A social media marketing plan is an outline or document that describes how to use different social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. for marketing purposes. It contains specific goals about which social media sites to use and how often to post updates on each one. The plan also describes what types of content will be posted and where this information will be shared.

A social media marketing plan helps you determine your target audience for your product or service so that you can identify the best way to reach them. This plan can help you decide how much time, money, and effort should go into creating a strong presence on social media sites for your business because it shows what kinds of people follow you on these sites now and what kinds of people you want to attract. Also, it can help you decide how much time, money, and effort should be used for marketing on social media sites.

The biggest challenge that comes with writing a social media marketing plan is deciding what information needs to be included in the document. Not only will this help potential customers learn more about your product or service, but it also allows others to see if your company’s marketing message aligns with their own personal branding. Below are some tips on how to write an outstanding social media marketing plan.

Step-By-Step Plans To Help Guide You

Include Specific Goals

First, state exactly what the purpose of each social media site is for your business. For example, one site may be used mainly for gaining client feedback while another site may be used mainly for featuring brand spokespeople. Also, include detailed descriptions about what types of content will be posted and where this information will be shared (for example, YouTube videos can only be hosted on YouTube and Facebook posts can only be made via a personal profile or business page).

2. Include Information About Your Target Audience

Next, explain who your business wants to target with social media marketing activities. This includes demographics such as age, gender, education level, and income as well as psychographics such as values and attitudes. When deciding what types of content to post on each social media site, consider this research so that you can deliver information that matters most to your audience. For example, if you find out that many people in your target audience enjoy watching videos, then post your own YouTube videos on a social media site.

3. Include Information About the Benefits of Using Social Media for Marketing Purposes

Also include information about how and why each social media site can help you achieve marketing goals. This will help potential customers see what makes using social media sites beneficial to their lives. For example, if one of your goals is to increase brand awareness, remind people that brands who use social media sites like Twitter and Facebook tend to be more widely recognized than those who do not. Also, this helps show other types of businesses why they should also invest time in creating a social media presence for their company.

4. Include Information About the Negative Consequences of Not Using Social Media

Some information can also be included about how not using social media for marketing purposes can negatively affect your business. This includes an explanation of why creating a social media presence is crucial to increasing profits, gaining customer loyalty, or improving public relations. Also, explain the types of problems that could arise if your business does not have a strong social media presence. For example, you may lose the ability to interact with current customers because many people now use their favorite social media sites to contact businesses when they have issues or concerns.

5. Include Information About Who Can Provide Information or Make Decisions About Social Media Marketing Activities

Also, include who will be responsible for providing information about the company’s objectives for marketing on different social media sites and who will make decisions about the marketing strategy. For example, if you work in a small business where one person is ultimately responsible for marketing efforts, then it may be best to include that person’s name and contact information on your social media marketing plan.

6. Include Information About What Social Media Sites Are Currently Being Used by Your Business

If your business already has a social media presence, mention this and explain how successful each site has been so far. If some of the sites have not been used at all or the company only uses the sites occasionally, explain why they should create more of an online presence. Also, include information about whether using social media sites is required for current employees.

7. Include Information About How You Will Use Social Media Sites to Market Your Business

Include information about how each social media site can be used as a marketing tool. For example, you could explain that posting YouTube videos is a great way to share business tips and advice with potential customers, whereas using Facebook allows current customers to interact with the company through wall posts and comments on existing updates.

8. Include Information About Which Social Media Sites Are Most Important or Valuable for Your Business

Outline which social media sites your business believes are the most important and valuable. For example, if any of your clients use Instagram — an image-based social sharing site — then it may be best to include more information about strategies for using it. Also, explain why certain social media sites are considered important or valuable.

9. Include Information About How Often You Plan to Post on Social Media Sites

Include information about how often you plan to update your different social media sites. For example, if members of the marketing team plan to post updates only once a month, be sure to make this clear in the social media marketing plan. However, note that posting content too frequently can overwhelm people and result in them no longer visiting your business’s social media pages because they become annoyed with the number of posts.

10. Include Any Other Important Information About Weaving Social Media Into Your Marketing Strategies

Another section that may be beneficial is an outline explaining how social media will fit into existing marketing strategies. For example, if social media is meant to be used in conjunction with press releases and email marketing campaigns, explain how using these different marketing tools together can result in more positive results than using them separately.

11. Include Information About the Social Media Sites That You Intend to Use Most Often for Marketing

Write a list of all social media sites that you plan to use in your social media marketing strategy and include information about why you selected each site and how it will benefit your business. Also, make sure to mention any other social media sites that you do not intend to use but may consider in the future. This way, you are prepared for changes in technology or new types of social media sites being created by third parties. For example, if Facebook becomes more popular in the future, you may wish to include it in your marketing plan.

12. Include Any Other Information That You Want Your Employees to Know About Social Media Marketing

If there are any other relevant pieces of information that you want your employees to know about social media marketing, feel free to include them at the end of this article or create another article entirely. For example, some important they should know could be which social media marketing applications are most beneficial to which types of business.

13. Include an Outline About How Much Time Each Social Media Marketing Plan Will Take

Include an outline explaining how much time each social media marketing plan will take, including the websites that you will use and why. For example, one marketing plan may require your employees to focus on Twitter every day while another may only require Facebook updates once a month. Also, include information about whether or not there are different social media marketing plans for different departments within your company. This is helpful if some department members have more free time than others so they can help out with updating content on social networking sites.

14. Make Sure That You Include Any Existing Social Media Marketing Plans in Your Writing

If there are any existing social media marketing plans at your business or if you have created them in the past, be sure to include these as reference material for this article. All successful companies use social media marketing plans so it is helpful if employees can refer back to prior social media marketing plans when they want ideas about what works best for certain types of social networking sites. Also, including information about other businesses’ social media marketing plans in this document will help employees understand what types of social media sites their competitors use.

15. Make Sure That You Have Someone Else Read Your Article Before Publishing It

Make sure that you have someone else read your article before publishing it because even the most experienced writers can miss errors in their own writing. Ask them to look specifically for grammar issues, confusing headings, and anything else they might not understand when reading your article.

Never Stop Updating Your Plan

Continue this process until your social media marketing plan is at its most effective level so employees are receiving all of the information they need about social networking sites. The more time you invest in making sure that your company’s social media marketing plan is well-written, the more likely your employees are to follow through with it.

You can also use this article in social media when you’re sharing your blog post on Twitter and Facebook, by creating a sentence that includes an image and quote from this article to start discussions about various aspects of writing an outstanding social media marketing plan. For example: “How to Write an Outstanding Social Media Marketing Plan — (Insert article link). I hope this helps you start on a successful path towards your social media marketing goals!