How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy in 9 Easy Steps (Free Template)

Creating your social media marketing strategy doesn’t need to be painful. Create an effective plan for your business in 9 simple steps.

How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy in 9 Easy Steps (Free Template) | Hootsuite

A social media marketing strategy is a summary of everything you plan to do and hope to achieve on social media. It guides your actions and lets you know whether you’re succeeding or failing.

The more specific your plan is, the more effective it will be. Keep it concise. Don’t make it so lofty and broad that it’s unattainable or impossible to measure.

In this post, we’ll walk you through a nine-step plan to create a winning social media strategy of your own. We’ve even got expert insights from Amanda Wood, Hootsuite’s Senior Manager of Social Marketing.

How to create a social media strategy:

Bonus: Get a free social media strategy template   to quickly and easily plan your own strategy. Also use it to track results and present the plan to your boss, teammates, and clients.

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing is the practice of using social media channels to sell or promote a brand, product or service.

Social media marketing helps businesses:

  • Increase brand awareness
  • Build engaged communities
  • Sell products and services
  • Measure brand sentiment
  • Provide social customer service
  • Advertise products and services to target audiences
  • Track performance and adjust larger marketing strategies accordingly

social media marketing plan assignment

Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win.

What is a social media marketing strategy?

A social media strategy is a document outlining your social media goals, the tactics you will use to achieve them and the metrics you will track to measure your progress.

Your social media marketing strategy should also list all of your existing and planned social media accounts along with goals specific to each platform you’re active on. These goals should align with your business’s larger digital marketing strategy.

Finally, a good social media plan should define the roles and responsibilities within your team and outline your reporting cadence.

Creating your own social media marketing strategy (video guide)

No time to read the whole article? Let Amanda, Hootsuite’s own Senior Manager of Social Media Marketing, guide you through our free social media marketing strategy template in less than 10 minutes:

How to create a social media marketing strategy in 9 steps

Step 1. choose goals that align to business objectives, set s.m.a.r.t. goals.

The first step to creating a winning social media strategy is to establish clear objectives and goals. Without goals, you have no way to measure success and return on investment (ROI) .

Each of your social media marketing goals should be SMART : s pecific, m easurable, a ttainable, r elevant and t ime-bound.

Psst: If you need examples of smart social media goals , we’ve got you covered.

Track meaningful metrics

Vanity metrics like number of followers and likes are easy to track, but it’s hard to prove their real value. Instead, focus on things like engagement, click-through, and conversion rates.

For inspiration, take a look at these 19 essential social media metrics .

You may want to track different goals for different social media networks, or even different uses for each network.

For example, if you use LinkedIn to drive traffic to your website, you would measure click-throughs. If Instagram is for brand awareness, you might track the number of Instagram Story views. And if you advertise on Facebook, cost-per-click (CPC) is a common success metric.

Social media goals should align with your overall marketing objectives. This makes it easier to show the value of your work and secure buy-in from your boss.

Screenshot of chart showing how social media goals should align to business objectives for an effective social media marketing strategy.

Start developing a successful social media marketing plan by writing down at least three goals for social media.

“ It’s easy to get overwhelmed by deciding what to post and which metrics to track, but you need to focus on what you want to get out of social media to begin with,” says Amanda Wood, Hootsuite’s Senior Manager of Social Marketing. “Don’t just start posting and tracking everything: match your goals to your business, and your metrics to your goals.”

Step 2. Learn everything you can about your audience

Get to know your fans, followers, and customers as real people with real wants and needs, and you will know how to target and engage them on social media.

When it comes to your ideal customer, you should know things like:

  • Average income
  • Typical job title or industry

Here’s a simple guide and template for creating audience/buyer personas .

Social media analytics can also provide a ton of valuable information about who your followers are, where they live, and how they interact with your brand on social media. These insights allow you to refine your strategy and better target your audience.

Jugnoo, an Uber-like service for auto-rickshaws in India, used Facebook Analytics to learn that 90% of their users who referred other customers were between 18- and 34-years-old, and 65% of that group was using Android. They used that information to target their ads, resulting in a 40% lower cost per referral.

Check out our guide to using social media analytics and the tools you need to track them .

Step 3. Get to know your competition

Odds are your competitors are already using social media, and that means you can learn from what they’re doing.

Conduct a competitive analysis

A competitive analysis allows you to understand who the competition is and what they’re doing well (and not so well). You’ll get a good sense of what’s expected in your industry, which will help you set social media targets of your own.

It will also help you spot opportunities.

Maybe one of your competitors is dominant on Facebook, for example, but has put little effort into Twitter or Instagram. You might want to focus on the social media platforms where your audience is underserved, rather than trying to win fans away from a dominant player.

Use social media listening

Social listening is another way to keep an eye on your competitors.

Do searches of the competition’s company name, account handles, and other relevant keywords on social media. Find out what they’re sharing and what other people are saying about them. If they’re using influencer marketing, how much engagement do those campaigns earn them?

Pro tip : Use Hootsuite Streams to monitor relevant keywords, hashtags and accounts in real-time.

Try Hootsuite for free. You can cancel anytime.

As you track, you may notice shifts in how your competitors and industry leaders are using social media. You may come across new, exciting trends. You might even spot specific social content or a campaign that really hits the mark—or totally bombs.

Use this kind of intel to optimize and inform your own social media marketing strategy.

Just don’t go overboard on the spy tactics, Amanda advises. “ Make sure you aren’t ALWAYS comparing yourself to the competition — it can be a distraction. I’d say checking in on a monthly basis is healthy. Otherwise, focus on your own strategy and results.”

Step 4. Do a social media audit

If you’re already using social media, take stock of your efforts so far. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • What’s working, and what’s not?
  • Who is engaging with you?
  • What are your most valuable partnerships?
  • Which networks does your target audience use?
  • How does your social media presence compare to the competition?

Once you collect that information, you’ll be ready to start thinking about ways to improve.

We’ve created an easy-to-follow social media audit guide and template to walk you through each step of this process.

Screenshot of a social media audit spreadsheet for building an effective social media marketing strategy

Your audit should give you a clear picture of what purpose each of your social accounts serves. If the purpose of an account isn’t clear, think about whether it’s worth keeping.

To help you decide, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Is my audience here?
  • If so, how are they using this platform?
  • Can I use this account to help achieve my goals?

Asking these tough questions will keep your social media strategy focused.

Look for impostor accounts

During the audit, you may discover fake accounts using your business name or the names of your products.

These imposters can be harmful to your brand—never mind that they’re capturing followers that should be yours.

You may want to get your accounts verified too to ensure your fans know they are dealing with the real you.

Here’s how to get verified on:

Step 5. Set up accounts and improve profiles

Decide which networks to use.

As you decide which social networks to use, you will also need to define your strategy for each.

Benefit Cosmetics’ social media manager, Angela Purcaro, told eMarketer : “For our makeup tutorials … we’re all about Snapchat and Instagram Stories. Twitter, on the other hand, is designated for customer service.”

Hootsuite’s own social team even designates different purposes for formats within networks. On Instagram, for example, they use the feed to post high-quality educational infographics and product announcements and Stories to cover live events or quick social media updates.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite)

Pro tip : Write out a mission statement for each network. A one-sentence declaration to keep you focused on a specific goal.

Example: “We will use Twitter for customer support to keep email and call volumes down.”

Or: “We will use LinkedIn for promoting and sharing our company culture to help with recruitment and employee advocacy.”

One more: “We will use Instagram to highlight new products and repost quality content from influencers.”

If you can’t create a solid mission statement for a particular social media channel, you may want to ask yourself if it’s worth it.

Note : While larger businesses can and do tackle every platform, small businesses may not be able to — and that’s ok! Prioritize social platforms that will have the most impact on your business and make sure your marketing team has the resources to handle content for those networks. If you need help focusing your efforts, check out our 18-minute social media plan .

Set up your profiles

Once you’ve decided which networks to focus on, it’s time to create your profiles. Or improve existing ones so they align with your strategy.

  • Make sure you fill out all profile fields
  • Include keywords people would use to search for your business
  • Use consistent branding (logos, images, etc.) across networks so your profiles are easily recognizable

Pro tip : Use high-quality images that follow the recommended dimensions for each network. Check out our always-up-to-date social media image size cheat sheet for quick reference.

We’ve also got step-by-step guides for each network to walk you through the process:

  • Create a Facebook business page
  • Create an Instagram business account
  • Create a TikTok account
  • Create a Twitter business account
  • Create a Snapchat account
  • Create a LinkedIn Company Page
  • Create a Pinterest business account
  • Create a YouTube channel

Don’t let this list overwhelm you. Remember, it’s better to use fewer channels well than to stretch yourself thin trying to maintain a presence on every network.

Step 6. Find inspiration

While it’s important that your brand be unique, you can still draw inspiration from other businesses that are great on social.

“ I consider it my job to stay active on social: to know what’s trending, which campaigns are winning, what’s new with the platforms, who’s going above and beyond,” says Amanda. “This might be the most fun step for you, or the hardest one, but it’s just as crucial as the rest of them.”

Social media success stories

You can usually find these on the business section of the social network’s website. ( Here’s Facebook’s , for example.)

Case studies can offer valuable insights that you can apply to your own social media plan.

Award-winning accounts and campaigns

You could also check out the winners of The Facebook Awards or The Shorty Awards for examples of brands that are at the top of their social media game.

For learning and a laugh, check out Fridge-Worthy, Hootsuite’s bi-weekly awards show highlighting brands doing smart and clever things on social media.

Your favorite brands on social media

Who do you enjoy following on social media? What do they do that compels people to engage and share their content?

National Geographic, for example, is one of the best on Instagram, combining stunning visuals with compelling captions.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo)

Then there’s Shopify. The ecommerce brand uses Facebook to sell themselves by showcasing customer stories and case studies.

And Lush Cosmetics is a great example of superior customer service on Twitter. They use their 280 characters to answer questions and solve problems in an extremely charming and on-brand way.

Hey lovely! 💕 We are sorry to hear how much you are missing Scrub Scrub Scrub. We will make sure our team knows you'd love to see it back on the shelves. In the meantime, check out Magic Crystals for a similar scrubtastic feel 😍💜 — Lush North America (@lushcosmetics) October 15, 2021

Notice that each of these accounts has a consistent voice, tone, and style. That’s key to letting people know what to expect from your feed. That is, why should they follow you? What’s in it for them?

Consistency also helps keep your content on-brand even if you have multiple people on your social media team.

For more on this, read our guide on establishing a compelling brand voice on social media .

Ask your followers

Consumers can also offer social media inspiration.

What are your target customers talking about online? What can you learn about their wants and needs?

If you have existing social channels, you could also ask your followers what they want from you. Just make sure that you follow through and deliver what they ask for.

Step 7. Create a social media content calendar

Sharing great content is essential, of course, but it’s equally important to have a plan in place for when you’ll share content to get the maximum impact.

Your social media content calendar also needs to account for the time you spend interacting with the audience (although you need to allow for some spontaneous engagement as well).

Set your posting schedule

Your social media content calendar lists the dates and times at which you will publish types of content on each channel. It’s the perfect place to plan all of your social media activities—from images, link sharing, and re-shares of user-generated content to blog posts and videos. It includes both your day-to-day posting and content for social media campaigns.

Your calendar also ensures your posts are spaced out appropriately and published at the best times to post .

Pro tip: You can plan your whole content calendar and get recommended best times to post on every network based on your past engagement rate, impressions, or link click data in Hootsuite.

Hootsuite Analytics best time to publish

Determine the right content mix

Make sure your content strategy and calendar reflect the mission statement you’ve assigned to each social profile, so that everything you post is working to support your business goals.

(We know, it’s tempting to jump on every meme, but there should always be a strategy behind your social media marketing efforts!)

You might decide that:

  • 50% of content will drive traffic back to your website
  • 25% of content will be curated from other sources
  • 20% of content will support lead-generation goals (newsletter sign-ups, ebook downloads, etc.)
  • 5% of content will be about your company culture

Placing these different post types in your content calendar will ensure you maintain the right mix.

If you’re starting from scratch and you’re not sure what types of content to post, try the 80-20 rule :

  • 80% of your posts should inform, educate, or entertain your audience
  • 20% can directly promote your brand.

The 80-20 rule of social media publishing

You could also try the social media content marketing rule of thirds :

  • One-third of your content promotes your business, converts readers, and generates profit.
  • One-third of your content shares ideas and stories from thought leaders in your industry or like-minded businesses.
  • One-third of your content is personal interactions with your audience

The social media marketing rule of thirds

Don’t post too much or too little

If you’re starting a social media marketing strategy from scratch, you may not have figured out how often to post to each network for maximum engagement yet.

Post too frequently and you risk annoying your audience. But, if you post too little, you risk looking like you’re not worth following.

Start with these posting frequency recommendations:

  • Instagram (feed): 3-7 times per week
  • Facebook: 1-2 times per day
  • Twitter: 1-5 times per day
  • LinkedIn: 1-5 times per day

How often to publish on social media by each platform

Pro tip : Once you have your social media content calendar planned out, use a scheduling tool to prepare messages in advance rather than updating constantly throughout the day.

We might be biased, but we think Hootsuite is the best social media management tool. You can schedule social media posts to every network and the intuitive calendar view gives you a full picture of all your social activity each week.

Try It Free

Step 8. Create compelling content

Remember those mission statements you created for each channel in Step 5? Well, it’s time to go a bit deeper, a.k.a. provide some examples of the type of content you’ll post to fulfill your mission on each network.

If you’re not sure what to post, here’s a long list of social media content ideas to get you started.

The idea here is to:

  • Keep your content aligned with the purpose of each network;
  • Show other stakeholders (if applicable) what kind of content they can expect to see on each network.

This last point especially will help you avoid any tension when your colleagues want to know why you haven’t posted their case study/whitepaper/blog post to TikTok yet. It’s not in the strategy, Linda!

Ideally, you will generate content types that are both suited to the network and the purpose you’ve set out for that network.

For example, you wouldn’t want to waste time posting brand awareness tweets if you’ve designated Twitter for primarily customer support. And you wouldn’t want to post super polished corporate video ads to TikTok, as users expect to see short, unpolished videos on that platform.

It might take some testing over time to figure out which type of content works best on which type of network, so prepare to update this section frequently.

We won’t lie: content creation isn’t as easy as everyone not on the social team seems to think. But if you’re struggling, Amanda suggests going back to basics.

The first question to ask is: is there cohesion between your content types? Is your content providing value? Do you have a good mix of entertaining, or educational content? What does it offer that makes a person stop and spend time? Creating a few different content pillars or categories that encompass different aspects of storytelling for your brand, and what you can offer your audience is a good start.

This brings us to Step 9.

Step 9. Track performance and make adjustments

Your social media marketing strategy is a hugely important document for your business, and you can’t assume you’ll get it exactly right on the first try. As you start to implement your plan and track your results, you may find that some strategies don’t work as well as you’d anticipated, while others are working even better than expected.

Look at performance metrics

In addition to the analytics within each social network (see Step 2), you can use UTM parameters to track social visitors as they move through your website, so you can see exactly which social posts drive the most traffic to your website.

Re-evaluate, test, and do it all again

Once this data starts coming in, use it to re-evaluate your strategy regularly. You can also use this information to test different posts, social marketing campaigns, and strategies against one another. Constant testing allows you to understand what works and what doesn’t, so you can refine your social media marketing strategy in real time.

You’ll want to check the performance of all your channels at least once a week and get to know the basics of social media reporting so you can track your growth over time.

Pro tip: If you use Hootsuite, you can review the performance of all your posts on every network in one place. Once you get the hang of checking your analytics, you may even want to customize different reports to show specific metrics over a variety of different time periods.

Surveys can also be a great way to find out how well your social media strategy is working. Ask your followers, email list, and website visitors whether you’re meeting their needs and expectations, and what they’d like to see more of. Then make sure to deliver on what they tell you.

Finalizing your social media strategy

Spoiler alert: nothing is final.

Social media moves fast. New networks emerge, others go through demographic shifts.

Your business will go through periods of change as well.

All of this means that your social media marketing strategy should be a living document that you review and adjust as needed. Refer to it often to stay on track, but don’t be afraid to make changes so that it better reflects new goals, tools, or plans.

When you update your social strategy, make sure to watch our 5-step video on how to updating your social media strategy for 2023:

Social media strategy template

What’s next? When you’re ready to put your plan into action, we’re here to help…

Save time managing your social media marketing strategy with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can easily:

  • Plan, create, and schedule posts to every network
  • Track relevant keywords, topics, and accounts
  • Stay on top of engagement with a universal inbox
  • Get easy-to-understand performance reports and improve your strategy as needed

Try Hootsuite for Free

With files from Shannon Tien .

Do it better with Hootsuite , the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.

Become a better social marketer.

Get expert social media advice delivered straight to your inbox.

Christina Newberry is an award-winning writer and editor whose greatest passions include food, travel, urban gardening, and the Oxford comma—not necessarily in that order.

Amanda Wood is a senior social marketing professional who combines analytical and creative thinking to build brands.

As head of social at Hootsuite, Amanda oversees the global social strategy encompassing organic and paid social on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn, a social engagement and listening strategy, and an employee advocacy program.

As the leader of a high-performing social team, she has extensive experience collaborating with creatives to bring campaigns to life on social and drive business results.

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5 Steps to Create an Outstanding Marketing Plan [Free Templates]

Rebecca Riserbato

Published: January 04, 2024

Free Marketing Plan Template

social media marketing plan assignment

Outline your company's marketing strategy in one simple, coherent plan.

Thank you for downloading the offer.

Do you take a good, hard look at your team's marketing strategy every year?

marketer using a free marketing plan

You should. Without an annual marketing plan, things can get messy — and it's nearly impossible to put a number on your budget for the projects, hiring, and outsourcing over the course of a year if you don't have a plan.

Download Now: Free Marketing Plan Template [Get Your Copy]

To make your plan's creation easier, we've put together a list of what to include in your plan and a few different planning templates where you can easily fill in the blanks.

To start, let's dive into how to create a marketing plan and then take a look at what a high-level marketing plan has inside.

In this article, we're going to discuss:

  • What a High-Level Marketing Plan Includes

How to Create a Marketing Plan

  • Marketing Plan Templates You Can Use
  • Simplified Marketing Plan Template
  • Plus — Social Media Plan Templates

social media marketing plan assignment

  • Pre-Sectioned Template
  • Completely Customizable
  • Example Prompts
  • Professionally Designed

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Fill out this form to access a free marketing plan template.

Marketing plan outline.

free marketing plan outline

Download This Marketing Plan Outline for Free

The above marketing plan outline will help you create an effective plan that easily generates buy-in from stakeholders and effectively guides your marketing efforts.

Marketing plans can get quite granular to reflect the industry you're in, whether you're selling to consumers (B2C) or other businesses (B2B), and how big your digital presence is. Nonetheless, here are the elements every effective marketing plan includes:

1. Business Summary

In a marketing plan, your business summary is exactly what it sounds like: a summary of the organization. It's essential to include this information so that all stakeholders, including your direct reports, learn about your company in detail before delving into the more strategic components of your plan.

Even if you’re presenting this plan to people who’ve been in the company for a while, it doesn’t hurt to get everyone on the same page.

Most business summaries include:

The company name

Where it's headquartered

Its mission statement

Our marketing plan outline also includes information on marketing leadership, which is especially helpful for companies with large marketing teams.

2. SWOT Analysis

Your marketing plan's business summary also includes a SWOT analysis , which covers your business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It’s essential to include this information so you can create targeted strategies that help you capitalize on your strengths and improve upon your weaknesses.

In my experience, you need a lot of patience when doing a SWOT analysis; it requires market research and competitive analysis to become truly accurate. I tend to revisit this section periodically, adjusting it as I discover more information about my own business and competition.

3. Business Initiatives

marketing plan template for hubspot

The business initiatives element of a marketing plan helps you segment the various goals of your department. Be careful not to include big-picture company initiatives, which you'd normally find in a business plan. This section should outline the projects that are specific to marketing. You'll also describe the goals of those projects and how those goals will be measured.

Every initiative should follow the SMART method for goal-making . They should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, a broad goal might be something like, "Increase my Facebook following." But a SMART-ified version of this goal could be, "Increase my Facebook following by 30% by June." See the difference?

4. Customer Analysis

marketing plan customer analysis template

In this part of the marketing plan outline, you get plenty of space to share all the data you collected during your market research . If your company has already done a thorough market research study, this section of your marketing plan might be easier to put together. Either way, try to do your research before synthesizing it in a shareable document like this one.

Ultimately, this element of your marketing plan will help you describe the industry you're selling to and your buyer persona . A buyer persona is a semi-fictional description of your ideal customer, focusing on traits like:

Personal challenges

Triggering event

5. Competitor Analysis

marketing plan competitive analysis template

Positioning

Market share

Our marketing plan template includes space to list out the specific products you compete with, as well as other facets of the other company’s strategy, such as their blogging efforts or customer service reputation. Keep this part of your plan simple — your full competitive analysis should be done separately. Here are a few competitive analysis templates to get started.

6. Market Strategy

marketing strategy for business lan

Your market strategy uses the information included in the above sections to describe how your company should approach the market. 

For instance, when I'm filling out this section, I always pull insights from my SWOT analysis, my competitive analysis, and my general market research. This helps me write targeted, effective descriptions of my strategies.

Here's an example: if you found that one of your competitors employs stronger social media marketing strategies , you might add "We'll post 3 times per week on our social media profiles" under "Promotion."

In our full-length marketing plan outline, the market strategy section contains the "seven Ps of marketing" (or the “ extended marketing mix ”):

Physical Evidence

(You'll learn more about these seven sub-components inside our free marketing plan template, which you can download below.)

marketing plan Budget template

When I created my first marketing plan, I made the mistake of confusing the marketing budget section of my plan with my product's price and other financials.

Here's a better way to think of this section: it should describe how much money the business has allotted the marketing team to pursue the initiatives and goals outlined in the elements above.

Depending on how many individual expenses you have, you should consider itemizing this budget by what specifically you'll spend your budget on. Example marketing expenses include:

Outsourcing costs to a marketing agency and/or other providers

Marketing software

Paid promotions

Events (those you'll host and/or attend)

Knowing the budget and doing analysis on the marketing channels you want to invest in, you should be able to come up with a plan for how much budget to invest in which tactics based on expected ROI. From there, you'll be able to come up with financial projections for the year. These won't be 100% accurate but can help with executive planning.

Remember: Your marketing plan only includes a summary of the costs. We recommend keeping a separate document or Excel sheet to help you calculate your budget much more effectively. Here’s a marketing budget template to get started .

8. Marketing Channels

marketing plan marketing channels template

Your marketing plan should also include a list of your marketing channels. While your company might promote the product itself using certain ad space, your marketing channels are where you'll publish the content that educates your buyers, generates leads, and spreads awareness of your brand.

If you publish (or intend to publish) on social media, this is the place to talk about it. Use the Marketing Channels section of your marketing plan to map out which social networks you want to launch a business page on, what you'll use this social network for, and how you'll measure your success on this network.

Part of this section's purpose is to prove to your superiors, both inside and outside the marketing department, that these channels will serve to grow the business.

Businesses with extensive social media presences might even consider elaborating on their social strategy in a separate social media plan template.

9. Marketing Technology

marketing plan outline: marketing technology

Last, but certainly not least, your marketing plan should include an overview of the tools you'll include in your marketing technology (MarTech) stack . These are the tools that will help you achieve the goals you outlined in the previous sections. Since all types of marketing software usually need a generous investment from your company’s leadership, it’s essential to connect them to a potential ROI for your business.

For each tool, describe what exactly you’ll use it for, and be sure that it’s a strategy that you’ve mentioned elsewhere. For instance, we wouldn't recommend listing an advertising management tool if you didn’t list “ PPC Advertising ” under “Marketing Channels.”

  • Conduct a situation analysis.
  • Define your target audience.
  • Write SMART goals.
  • Analyze your tactics.
  • Set your budget.

1. Conduct a situation analysis.

The first step I take when creating a marketing plan is conducting a SWOT analysis. It helps me uncover the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing my business.

Additionally, I need a good picture of the current market. How do I compare to my competitors? Doing a competitor analysis can help.

In doing so, I can identify the gaps (and opportunities) in a competitor's approach. What are they missing? What can I offer that'll give me a competitive advantage?

Answering questions like this should help you figure out what your customer wants, which brings us to step number two.

2. Define your target audience.

If your company already has buyer personas , this step might just mean you have to refine your current personas.

But if you don't have a buyer persona, you should create one. To do this, you might have to conduct market research.

Your buyer persona should include demographic information such as age, gender, and income. However, it will also include psychographic information such as pain points and goals. What drives your audience? What problems do they have that your product or service can fix?

Once you have this information written out, it'll help you define your goals, which brings us to step number three.

3. Write SMART goals.

My mother always used to tell me, "You can't go somewhere unless you have a road map." Now, for me, someone who's geographically challenged, that was literal advice.

However, it can also be applied metaphorically to marketing. You can't improve your ROI unless you know what your goals are.

After you've figured out your current situation and know your audience, you can begin to define your SMART goals .

SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. This means that all your goals should be specific and include a time frame for which you want to complete them.

For example, your goal could be to increase your Instagram followers by 15% in three months. Depending on your overall marketing goals, this should be relevant and attainable. Additionally, this goal is specific, measurable, and time-bound.

Before you start any tactic, you should write out your goals. Then, you can begin to analyze which tactics will help you achieve that goal. That brings us to step number four.

4. Analyze your tactics.

At this point, you've written down your goals based on your target audience and current situation.

Now, you have to figure out what tactics will help you achieve your goals. Plus, what are the right channels and action items to focus on?

For example, if your goal is to increase your Instagram followers by 15% in three months, your tactics might include hosting a giveaway, responding to every comment, and posting three times on Instagram per week.

Once you know your goals, brainstorming several tactics to achieve them should be easy. That said, you may not be able to pursue every tactic on your list (unless you have an unlimited budget, which, if so, jealous ) — which brings us to step number five.

5. Set your budget.

Before you can begin implementing any of the ideas that you've come up with in the steps above, you have to know your budget.

For example, your tactics might include social media advertising. However, if you don't have the budget for that, then you might not be able to achieve your goals.

While you're writing out your tactics, be sure to note an estimated budget. You can include the time it'll take to complete each tactic in addition to the assets you might need to purchase, such as ad space.

Now that you know how to create your marketing plan, let's dive into creating a marketing campaign outline that will help you reach the goals outlined plan.

Marketing Plan Timeline

Rolling out a new marketing plan is a big lift. To make sure things are running smoothly with all of your projects, you'll want to create a timeline that maps out when each project is happening.

A marketing plan timeline allows your team to view all projects, campaigns, events, and other related tasks in one place — along with their deadlines. This ensures everyone on your team knows what’s due, when it’s due, and what’s up next in the pipeline. Typically these plans cover marketing efforts for the entire year, but some companies may operate on a bi-annual or quarterly basis.

Once you’ve completed your analysis, research, and set goals, it’s time to set deadlines for your assignments. From new blog posts and content initiatives to product launches, everything will need a deadline. Take into account any holidays or events taking place over the course of the year.

While setting deadlines for the entire year may seem daunting, start by estimating how long you think each task will take and set a deadline accordingly. Track the time it actually takes for you to complete similar types of projects. Once you’ve completed a few of them, you’ll have a better idea of how long each takes and will be able to set more accurate deadlines.

For each project, you’ll want to build in time for:

  • Brainstorming : This is the first phase where your idea comes to life in a project outline. Decide what you want to achieve and which stakeholders need to be involved to meet your goal. Set a due date and set up any necessary meetings.
  • Planning : This can include determining the project’s scope, figuring out how much budget will be allocated for it, finalizing deadlines and who is working on each task. Map out any campaigns needed for each project (social media, PR, sales promotions, landing pages, events, etc.).
  • Execution : This third phase is all about your project launch. Decide on a date to launch and monitor the progress of the project. Set up a system for tracking metrics and KPIs.
  • Analysis : In this final phase you will analyze all of your performance data to see whether or not your marketing efforts paid off. Did you meet your goals? Did you complete your projects on time and within budget?

HubSpot marketing plan calendar tool

All projects and their deadlines should be in a central location where your team can access them whether that’s a calendar like HubSpot's tool , shared document, or project management tool.

One-Page Marketing Plan Template

As demonstrated above, a marketing plan can be a long document. When you want to share information with stakeholders or simply want an overview of your plan for quick reference, having a shorter version on hand can be helpful. A one-page marketing plan can be the solution, and we’ll discuss its elements below.

HubSpot one-page marketing plan template

Include your company name, list the names of individuals responsible for enacting the different stages of your plan, and a brief mission statement.

business summary example

2. Business Initiatives

Business Initiatives example

3. Target Market

Outline your target audience(s) that your efforts will reach. You can include a brief overview of your industry and buyer personas.

Target Market example

This is an overview of the money you’ll spend to help you meet your marketing goals. Create a good estimate of how much you'll spend on each facet of your marketing program.

marketing plan budget example

5. Marketing Channels

List the channels you’ll use to achieve your marketing goals. Describe why you're using each channel and what you want to accomplish so everyone is on the same page.

marketing plan marketing channel example

Free Marketing Plan Template [Word]

Now that you know what to include in your marketing plan, it's time to grab your marketing plan template and see how best to organize the six elements explained above. The following marketing plan template opens directly in Microsoft Word, so you can edit each section as you see fit:

free marketing plan template

Download your marketing plan template here .

Marketing campaign template.

Your marketing plan is a high-level view of the different marketing strategies you’ll use to meet your business objectives. A marketing campaign template is a focused plan that will help achieve those marketing goals.

A marketing campaign template should include the following key components:

  • Goals and KPIs: Identify the end goal for each of the individual campaigns you’ll run and the metrics you will use to measure the results of your campaign when it ends. For example, conversion rates, sales, sign-ups, etc.
  • Channels: Identify the different channels you’ll use to enact your marketing campaign to reach your audience. Maybe you run a social media campaign on Twitter to raise brand awareness or a direct mail campaign to notify your audience of upcoming sales.
  • Budget : Identify the budget you’ll need to run your campaign and how it will be distributed, like the amount you’ll spend on creating content or ad placements in different areas. Having these numbers also helps you later on when you quantify the success of your campaign, like ROI.
  • Content: Identify the type of content you’ll create and distribute during your campaigns—for example, blog posts, video ads, email newsletters, etc.
  • Teams and DRIs: Identify the teams and people that will be part of enacting your marketing plan from start to finish, like those responsible for creating your marketing assets, budgets, or analyzing metrics once campaigns are complete.
  • Design: Identify what your marketing campaigns will look like and how you’ll use design elements to attract your audience. It’s important to note that your design should directly relate to the purpose of your campaign.

Digital Marketing Plan Template

A digital marketing plan is similar to a marketing campaign plan, but, as the name suggests, it’s tailored to the campaigns that you run online. Let’s go over the key components of a digital marketing plan template to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

  • Objectives: The goals for your digital marketing and what you’re hoping to accomplish, like driving more traffic to your website. Maybe you want to drive more traffic to your website, or
  • Budget : Identify how much it will cost to run your digital marketing campaign and how the money will be distributed. For example, ad placement on different social media sites costs money, and so does creating your assets.
  • Target audience: Which segments of your audience are you hoping to reach with this campaign? It’s essential to identify the audiences you want to reach with your digital marketing, as different channels house different audience segments.
  • Channels: Identifies the channels that are central to your digital marketing campaign.
  • Timeline: Explains the length of time your digital campaigns will run, from how long it should take to create your assets to the final day of the campaign.

Many people use social media in their digital campaigns, and below we’ll discuss some ideas you can use for inspiration.

Social Media Marketing Plan Templates

As your marketing department grows, so will your presence on social media. And as your social media presence grows, so will your need to measure, plan, and re-plan what types of content you want to publish across each network.

If you're looking for a way to deepen your social media marketing strategy — even further than the marketing plan template above — the following collection of social media marketing plan templates is perfect for you:

Download 10 social media reporting templates here .

In the above collection of marketing plan templates, you'll get to fill in the following contents (and more) to suit your company:

  • Annual social media budget tracking
  • Weekly social media themes
  • Required social media image dimension key
  • Pie chart on social media traffic sorted by platform
  • Social media post calendar and publish time

Below, let's review the social media reporting templates, and what you'll find in each one.

1. Social Media Questions

Social media publishing analysis and questions

This template lists out questions to help you decide which social media management platform you should use.

What We Like

Once you know what social media tactics you're going to implement in your marketing plan, it's time to figure out what channels are right for you. This template will help you do that.

2. Facebook Live Schedule

facebook live schedule for marketing

If Facebook Live is one of the marketing tactics in your plan, this template will help you design an editorial calendar. With this template, you can organize what Facebook live's you want to do and when.

Once you've decided on dates, you can color-code your FB calendar and coordinate with your editorial calendar so everyone can see what lives are running in relation to other campaigns.

3. Instagram Post Log

Instagram post log for social media publishing management

Are you going to begin using Instagram regularly? Do you want to increase your following? With this template, you can organize your Instagram posts, so everyone on your team knows what posts are going live and when.

This is more than just a content calendar. You can use this doc to collaborate with your team on messaging, landing pages linked in your bio, and campaign rollouts.

4. Paid Social Media Template

paid social media template for annual budgeting

With this template, you can organize your annual and monthly budget for your paid social media calendar.

With this spreadsheet, all you need to do is plug in your numbers and the formulas will do the works for you. I recommend using this in conjunction with your marketing plan budget to make sure you are not overspending and funds are allocated appropriately.

5. Social Media Audit

Social media audit template

Conducting a social media audit? You can use this template to help you gather the right analytics. Tracking the results of your marketing efforts is key to determining ROI.

Use this template to track each of your campaigns to determine what worked and what didn't. From there, you can allocate funds for the strategies that deliver the results you want.

6. Social Media Editorial Calendar

Social media editorial calendar template

With this template, you can organize your social media editorial calendar. For example, you can include social media posts for each platform, so your team knows what's going live on any given day.

This calendar makes it easy to track activity across every social media platform, since each platform is assigned a specific color. 

7. Social Media Image Sizes

Social media image size template

With this template, your team can have the latest social media image sizes handy. This template includes image sizes for all major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Having a resource like this readily available for your team ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding image sizes and prevents delays.

8. Social Media Marketing Proposal

Social media marketing proposal template

With this template, you can create an entire social media marketing proposal. This will outline the social media goals, the scope of the work, and the tactics that you plan to implement.

This proposal functions as more of a deep dive into the marketing channel section of your marketing plan. It's relatively straightforward and contains all the essential sections of a proposal.

9. Social Media Reporting Template

Social media report template

With this template, you'll gain access to a slide deck that includes templates for social media reporting.

If you plan to implement social media in your marketing plan, these reporting templates can help you track your progress. If using the social media audit above, you can add all of your data here once it's been collected.

10. Hashtag Holidays

Social media hashtag holidays

If you're going to lean into social media in your marketing plan, you can use hashtag holidays to generate ideas.

These holidays are a great way to fill out your social media publishing schedule. With this template, you'll get a list of all the hashtag holidays for the year. Once you've come up with content ideas, you can add them to your social media calendar.

Simple Marketing Plan Template

Of course, this type of planning takes a lot of time and effort. So if you're strapped for time before the holidays, give our new Marketing Plan Generator a try.

This tool simplifies yearly planning by asking prompted questions to help guide your process. You’ll be asked to input information about:

Try our free Marketing Plan Generator here .

  • Your annual marketing mission statement, which is what your marketing is focused on for the year.
  • The strategy that you’ll take with your marketing throughout the year to accomplish your marketing goals.
  • Three main marketing initiatives that you’ll focus on during the year (i.e., brand awareness or building a high-quality pipeline) metrics you’ll use to measure your success.
  • Your target goals for those marketing initiatives like generating 100 leads per week.
  • Marketing initiatives that are not aligned with your current strategy to stay focused on your goals and activities that will help you be successful.

Once you input all information, the tool will spit out a table (as shown in the image below) that you can use to guide your processes.

simple marketing plan template

Pro Tip: If the tool doesn't work, clear your browser's cache or access it in incognito mode.

Start the Marketing Planning Process Today

The best way to set up your marketing plan for the year is to start with quick wins first, that way you can ramp up fast and set yourself (and your team) up to hit more challenging goals and take on more sophisticated projects by Q4. So, what do you say? Are you ready to give it a spin?

Editor's note: This post was originally published in December 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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How to create a social media strategy (with template)

Hero image with an icon of a person (profile)

I've been in the social media game for years now, and despite the vile cesspool of nonsense on social, there are plenty of decent people looking for what we marketers are offering. But you need to know what you're offering.

To make the process easier, I developed this downloadable social media strategy template. Read on for details on how to fill it out.

How to create a social media strategy:

Establish a clear purpose

Understand your target audience

Research your competitors

Research your audience

Choose the right social media channels

Determine your KPIs

Conduct a social media audit

Perfect your publishing cadence

What is a social media marketing strategy? 

A social media marketing strategy is a game plan for using social media platforms to promote your offerings and stand out in an oversaturated digital market. It's not just a five-minute whiteboard drawing; it's a comprehensive document detailing how you'll use social media to achieve your business objectives.

Here are three questions to ask yourself when you're getting started, which you'll want to comprehensively answer in your strategy:

What are your goals? Your social endeavors should tie back to your business objectives. Be it driving sales, boosting engagement, or elevating brand visibility—know what you want to get out of it.

Who's your audience? Understand who you're talking to. Tailor your content to resonate with the people you want to reach, ensuring your messages aren't just broadcasted but effectively land.

What's the competition up to? Take a look at your rivals. Learn from their hits and misses, then carve your unique path. Inspiration is good; plagiarism isn't.

Remember, the purpose of this strategy is to guide your online endeavors so that every post, every comment, and every share has a purpose behind it.

Benefits of a social media strategy

Having a strategy for your social media isn't about cramping creativity but rather channeling it effectively. Setting a clear direction ensures that your online efforts lead to tangible business benefits:

Increase sales: When done right, your social media content should funnel people to your website or store. Then, you can use more middle- and bottom-funnel content to turn those visitors into paying customers.

Boost engagement: Strategic content isn't just seen; it's interacted with. And that doesn't just mean more likes. We're talking real engagement, like shares, comments, and conversations. That's what really builds brand awareness and fosters trust within your audience.

Track preferences: Predetermined metrics like reach, engagement, conversion rates, and ROI provide awesome insights into what types of content are and aren't effective, so you can take that content and scale it beyond social media.

Build communities: Your brand isn't just about selling; it's about connecting. A well-honed strategy helps cultivate spaces where enthusiasts can rally around what you offer and get the word out to others.

Gather feedback: Your digital communities also become treasure troves of insights. They're your direct line to what customers adore, desire, or would change.

Support cross-functional efforts: A cohesive social media strategy amplifies other departments' efforts, whether announcing a product launch, amplifying a PR campaign, or driving attendance to a corporate event.

How to create a social media marketing strategy

I've run quite a few social media campaigns for my personal brand as well as different businesses I've worked for. Each one had different goals, which is to be expected. But regardless of your end goal, you can use the same big ideas to formulate your social media marketing strategy.

1. Establish a clear purpose

I can't tell you how many social media managers I've seen just throw as many things at the wall as possible and hope something sticks: giveaways that get short-term engagement, services that guarantee followers and likes, or jumping on whatever the most recent bandwagon is. What these lack is a clear purpose. 

To outline how social media marketing will help your brand, write SMART goals , or goals that are S pecific, M easurable, A chievable, R ealistic, and T ime-Bound. Some example SMART goals you might have for your social media strategy could be: 

Within six months, achieve a 20% growth in social media engagement through targeted advertising and influencer partnerships to enhance brand awareness .

Within three months, increase website traffic by 15% and online sales by 10% by implementing effective call-to-action (CTA) strategies and conversion tracking on Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter).

Within 12 months, identify and hire at least 50 brand advocates who consistently share our content and refer new customers through the implementation of a brand advocacy program.

When you have an overarching purpose, the rest of the strategy planning is simple. It also makes it easy to adjust your social media strategy as you go without losing sight of your long-term goals. Each time you make a social media decision, ask yourself: does this align with the purpose? Yes? Keep it. If not, get rid of it.

2. Understand your target audience

Before sitting down to map out your social media strategy, figure out who you want to see your content (and whether they want to see it). If your company already has a good understanding of your target consumer, boom—you're off to a great start. Use that research for your social media strategy. If you don't have a target audience already, curate an audience persona to flesh out their "character." For true crime fans, think of it like being a profiler. 

From there, orient each part of your strategy—from which platform you post on and when to what metrics you're trying to hit—toward that target audience. 

Aim to create a strategy that answers all of these questions:

Is your strategy respectful of your audience's backgrounds and experiences, and what value does it add to their lives?

What are you hoping they take away from your content, and what are they hoping to take away from it?

What existing knowledge do you expect them to come with, and what can you teach them?

3. Research your competitors

As much as we all want to feel like unique, creative geniuses, everything is inspired by something. But don't just copy what your competitors are doing—ask yourself why they're doing it that way and what the thought process is behind it. 

Here are some questions you can consider when filling out the social media strategy template:

Who are your competitors trying to target?

Why is their strategy working?

What social media platforms are they using and why?

What social media platforms aren't they using and why?

How often do they post content to each platform?

Are they replying to comments?

What is the ratio of posts trying to sell something compared to fun, interesting, or educational content?

Look for gaps and opportunities that your competitors—whether they're crushing it on social or not—aren't taking advantage of. What are they missing that you think your target customers would enjoy?

Let's say you're a vegan restaurant and other vegan joints only post images of their food. They may have plenty of followers, likes, and sales, but you know you can do more. You can post behind-the-scenes videos, recipe tutorials, and images of your clientele with rich anecdotes as captions, Humans of New York style, to show your audience you're more than a menu.

Or maybe it's even simpler. Let's say a competitor isn't getting a ton of engagement on their posts, and you notice they never end their captions with a discussion question. Try including this simple call to action in your own captions to encourage more comments and drive up your engagement.

4. Research your audience

Outlining a social media strategy without doing audience research first is like going out of your way to get your friend an iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso when they hate oat milk, brown sugar, and turns out they drink tea. But unlike your pal, your audience won't just smile and say thanks—they'll keep scrolling.

You need to know what type of content your audience likes, so you don't leave them scrolling for something better. Take these steps to get to know your audience:

Engage in social listening : Use social media management tools that offer social listening to monitor what people are saying about your brand, industry, or competitors. Create a list of relevant keywords (your brand name, industry-related terms, competitors, trending topics) to help narrow your search.

Send surveys and gather feedback: Use survey software to send out market research surveys . Offering incentives like discounts, freebies, or contest entries in exchange for taking your survey can help get responses.

Analyze engagement metrics: Look at posts from your account and your competitors' accounts that get the most engagement. What topics resonate the most? Do they prefer short, funny videos? Or educational deep dives?

Segment your audience: Not all of your followers are the same, so you'll want to divide them into groups based on their behaviors or preferences, like followers who engage more with your trending content rather than business updates. This can help you more precisely target your audience rather than trying to appease everyone with broad messaging.

5. Choose the right social media channels

Just as there's a "right" audience for your content, there's a right channel (well, channels) for it as well. We don't have to spell out what each platform does, but knowing some ins and outs of them will be key when using social media for your business .

A table showing the different social media platforms, their audience demographics, ideal content types, and what their audience is looking for content-wise

Make sure the social platforms you choose are right for your brand. Consider some of the following questions:

Does the platform host your target audience?

Is it working for your competition?

If it's not working for the competition, is it because your target audience isn't there or because competitors are doing something wrong?

Does it fit well with the content you plan on making?

Is it worth your time and effort to create content for it?

Once you've chosen the social media platforms you plan to use, check out these channel-specific guides for more detailed strategy tips:

4 tips to develop a Twitter marketing strategy

How to do more with user-generated content on Instagram

YouTube marketing: Tips, tricks, and strategies

7 TikTok marketing ideas from small business owners

6. Determine your KPIs

So, what exactly does social media "success" look like? Bringing in more business, sure, but that's a little vague. You want to see that your social media strategy is hitting smaller goals along the way. To gauge how your strategy is paying off, define some quantifiable key performance indicators, or KPIs. 

Here are some examples.

With easy-to-use reporting tools , you can track your progression toward KPIs. 

You need to please the social media algorithms in order to get your content promoted organically, and the algorithms care about engagement. Social media engagement, like shares, comments, and likes directly impact every other KPI due to how the algorithms work, so engagement should be your main focus.

7. Conduct a social media audit

As marketers, analytics are our bread and butter (if you're wondering why you're salivating right about now). A social media audit highlights the data behind your efforts. 

It's probably a good idea to audit your accounts before embarking on a campaign to get a sense of where you're starting off. But most importantly, perform an audit after each campaign to ensure your strategy is paying off. 

Other than your KPIs, here are some things to track when you audit yourself:

What types of content you're posting and on which platforms

How much engagement each post received

How many followers you have (or gained/lost)

Any positive or negative comments

Whether you're reaching your target audience or not

For some of these, a human's perspective makes sense. For the more granular work, a social media management tool can help make the auditing process a whole lot easier.

8. Perfect your publishing cadence

If you send me an email at 5 p.m. on a Friday, you can expect a response Monday morning at the earliest . And if you spam me with 11 messages that definitely could've been consolidated into one, there's a chance they're all going in the trash.

The same goes for your social media strategy. When and how often you post can make a big difference in how your content performs.

Here's how to figure out a publishing cadence that works best for your brand:

Analyze peak times: Use analytics tools within social platforms or external tools like HubSpot or Later to find the days and times your audience is most active. Remember, time zones and holidays can affect engagement.

Prioritize quality over quantity: It's better to post high-quality content a couple of times per week than bad content every five minutes.

Test and learn: Conduct A/B tests by posting at various times and days of the week, and monitor engagement to see which posting times perform the best.

Plan ahead with a content calendar: Use a social media scheduling tool to plan your content in advance. Look for a tool that lets you schedule posts and view and adjust how your feed will look.

Stay on top of trends: You have to be able to adjust to changes like trending topics or news that's relevant to your brand. Hold space in your content calendar to create trending content.

Bonus: Get inspired by these 6 examples

Here are some examples of how real-life social campaigns knocked it out of the park. Each one has a clear strategy behind it (which I've teased out based on the campaign itself).

1. Olivia Rodrigo #ShotoniPhone15Pro campaign

Apple wanted to flaunt the iPhone's camera capabilities and knew it had to resonate with the younger demographic obsessed with photography and music. Enter Olivia Rodrigo—a contemporary musical sensation. Through their collaboration, Apple seamlessly blended tech and pop culture, using platforms like YouTube, where both visuals and melodies reign supreme. This helped showcase Apple's camera and Olivia's music while also boosting brand recognition among younger demographics.

Audience: Tech-savvy and pop culture-conscious Gen Z users 

Goal: Increase awareness of the iPhone 15 and its advanced camera capabilities

Tactics: Celebrity partnerships; high-quality videography and photography

Twitter screenshot of Olivia Rodrigo's #ShotoniPhone15Pro campaign

2. Marcus Theatres

Marcus Theatres, in a move that's pure genius if you ask me, put their CEO Greg right where he should be—front and center on TikTok. Embracing trending sounds and being his genuine goofy self, Marcus Theatres wasn't just looking to make a name; they were all about fostering brand love. And with 73K loyal followers, I'd say, mission accomplished.

Audience: Gen Z and Millennial TikTok aficionados

Goal: Build brand loyalty and resonate with the TikTok community

Tactics: CEO-led TikTok videos; tapping into trending sounds

TikTok video screenshot of CEO Greg chatting with customers at Marcus Theatres

Zapier knows its audience loves being in the loop. By hinting about a soon-to-be-launched product, they weren't just teasing—they were turning product announcements into social media events. By nudging followers to make a guess, Zapier reminded everyone they're not just a tool, they're the ultimate tech community.

Audience: Tech and Zapier enthusiasts

Goal: Generate buzz for an upcoming product and reinforce brand community

Tactics: Interactive teasers; encouraging audience predictions

Screenshot of a Zapier Instagram post generating buzz for an upcoming product and reinforce brand community

4. Poppin Candy

In a sweet twist, Poppin Candy turned to its followers for new candy concoctions. Instead of guessing what their audience might want, they went straight to the source. By letting followers have a say, they're boosting engagement and making sure their treats hit the sweet spot every time.

Audience: Sweet-toothed fans and creative candy connoisseurs

Goal: Enhance engagement and customer connection to the brand

Tactics: Audience-driven candy mix challenges; crowdsourcing flavor ideas

social media marketing plan assignment

Ok, the movie was great, but I'd argue the social media strategy was even better. Warner Bros. got social media right, partnering up with big names like Burger King and Crocs, and diving deep into TikTok trends. And the cherry on top? A whopping 25% spike in U.S. Barbie toy sales post-movie release. Coincidence? I think not.

Audience: Kids, teens, and those with nostalgic connection to Barbie

Goal: Promote the Barbie movie and its doll catalog

Tactics: Brand collabs; capitalizing on viral TikTok trends

social media marketing plan assignment

6. Starbucks

Starbucks knows a thing or two about creating a buzz. Their September ThursYays BOGO on fall drinks was all over social media. And if the long lines post-noon on Thursdays are any indication, their cups—and registers—were overflowing.

Audience: Fall flavor fans and deal hunters

Goal: Drive up sales and increase word-of-mouth promotion of fall flavor release

Tactics: Limited-time deals; heavy promotion of seasonal specials

Screenshot of Starbucks September Thursyays

How to get the most out of our social media strategy template

This template for your social media strategy will help you document everything we just covered. If your goals and KPIs change when you start a new campaign or marketing plan, you can reuse this template to outline your new strategy.

A snippet of the social media strategy template that can be downloaded via the button below

And as you execute your strategy, it never hurts to use social media automation as much as possible for promotion, so you can focus on content creation. Here are some tips for getting started with social media automation:

Make social media monitoring easier with automation

4 workflows to better manage your brand's social media

5 ways to automate Twitter

Automatically post to Instagram for Business with these 3 workflows

How to automate your business Facebook Page for easier marketing

You can use Zapier's pre-built social media planner template to create captivating posts for different social channels, schedule them effortlessly, and track their posting status—all in one centralized tool.

This article was originally published in November 2020 by Tierney Mosier. The most recent update, with contributions from Michael Kern, was in October 2023.

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Chris Boutté

Chris is a Las Vegas local and has years of experience in content marketing, SEO, and social media marketing. He is also an author, YouTube influencer, podcast host, and committed advocate for mental health.

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Social media marketing: What it is and how to build your strategy

Reading time  22 minutes

Published on  September 20, 2023

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Looking to fine-tune your social media marketing strategy? Good! Now’s the perfect time to make it happen. In a landscape with more competition, content and networks than ever, a succinct strategy gives you the focus needed to say “no” to efforts that don’t serve your goals.

That’s why we put together a comprehensive guide to creating a social media marketing plan from scratch. Whether you’re totally new to social or want to double-check your priorities in 2024, this guide has you covered.

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing means using social media platforms like Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook to promote your brand and sell your product or service.

If your business comes out with a new item and you plan to promote the launch on social media, that’s social media marketing. If you interact with your customers via comments, that’s social media marketing. And if you create engaging content that showcases your brand’s values and story, that’s social media marketing too.

This form of marketing requires you to use social media management skills and tools. Just as you prepare other aspects of your marketing strategy, you need to have a plan for your social media marketing.

Now that we’ve defined social media marketing, let’s walk through how to create a plan. Check out our video below to watch how you can use the tips in this article to build a strategy in seven steps.

Set goals that make sense for your business

Social media strategy planning starts with your goals. Whether you want to expand your team, build a larger following or a more active community, taking the time to define your social goals is the first step to reaching them.

Either way, your goals will define your social media marketing strategy and how much time and energy you’ll need to dedicate to your campaigns.

Example social media goals for 2024 and beyond

What really matters is that you set realistic social media goals . We recommend tackling smaller objectives that allow you to scale your social efforts in a way that’s both reasonable and affordable.

Below are some example social media marketing goals that businesses of all shapes and sizes can pursue.

Goal example 1: Increase brand awareness

Brand awareness means getting your name out there. Some 68% of consumers say the primary reason they follow a brand on social media is to stay informed about new products or services, according to The Sprout Social Index™ .

Stat callout from The Sprout Social Index™ that reads, "68% of consumers say the primary reason they follow a brand on social is to stay informed about new products or services."

Try to avoid solely publishing promotional messages and strike a good balance with authentic content that emphasizes your brand’s voice and story. The Sprout Social Index™ found that consumers don’t see enough authentic, non-promotional content from brands on social.

The Sprout Social Index™ ranking what consumers don't see enough of from brands on social. Authentic, non-promotional content is ranked as the top choice. The other reasons appear in descending order from most popular to least popular: transparency about business practices and values, information about how products are made or sourced, educational content related to the brand's industry and user-generated content or customer testimonials.

For example, in this TikTok video, Sani, a family-owned apparel company features a day in the life of the brand’s founders while visiting India for business:

The thumbnail image for a TikTok video link. Click to go to the Sani Sisters TikTok.

Goal example 2: Generate leads and sales

Whether online, in-store or directly through your social profiles, followers don’t make purchases by accident. For example, are you alerting customers about new products and promos? Are you integrating your product catalog into your social profiles? Are you running exclusive deals for followers? Social media gives you an avenue to generate revenue.

Cami Cake's Cupcakes Instagram post featuring an assortment of cupcakes. The caption reads, "Happy $2 Tuesday! 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Tuesday. #camicakes #cupcakes."

Goal example 3: Grow your brand’s audience

Bringing new followers into the fold means finding ways to introduce your brand to folks who haven’t heard of you before. Growing your audience also means discovering conversations around your business and industry that matter the most. Digging through your social channels is nearly impossible without monitoring or listening for specific keywords, phrases or hashtags. Having a pulse on these conversations helps you expand your core audience (and reach adjacent audiences) much faster.

Word cloud featuring top keywords, hashtags, mentions and emojis for the Future of Work topic, within Sprout Social's Listening dashboard.

Goal example 4: Provide holistic customer care

The Index shows over half of consumers believe the most memorable thing a brand can do on social media is respond to customers.

Although 76% of consumers value quick responses, providing quality customer care isn’t just responding rapidly. Consumer expectations have evolved. Some 70% of consumers expect brands to provide a holistic experience with personalized responses that fit their unique customer service needs.

This means companies need to experiment with messaging and content when approaching customer care . For example, does your team have a protocol for handling @-mentions and comments? Do you have templated responses to FAQs? Does your brand promote user-generated content and hashtags? Your customers can be your best cheerleaders, but only if you give them a reason to grab the megaphone.

Goal example 5: Drive traffic to your site to illustrate ROI of social efforts

The Sprout Social Index™ shows 46% of marketers plan to calculate the return on investment (ROI) of advertising spend to connect the value of social to business goals in 2024.

Simple enough. If you’re laser-focused on generating leads or traffic to your website, social media can make it happen. Whether through organic promotional posts or social ads, keeping an eye on conversions and URL clicks can help you better determine your ROI from social media .

Any combination of these goals is fair game and can help you better understand which networks to tackle, too. When in doubt, keep your social media marketing strategy simple rather than complicating it with too many objectives that might distract you. Pick one or two and rally your team around them.

Research your target audience and select your networks

Making assumptions is bad news for marketers. Both leaders and practitioners can disprove assumptions from the valuable insights social data provides. With the right tool, marketers can quickly research their audience . No formal market research or data science chops necessary.

What you need to know about your audience to influence your social media marketing strategy is already available. You just have to know where to look.

Remember: different platforms attract different audiences

Here are some key numbers for your 2024 social media marketing strategy that speak directly to which networks your brand should approach and what types of content to publish:

  • According to The Sprout Social Index™, 53% of consumers say their social media usage has been higher over the last two years than the previous two.
  • Instagram has 2 billion active users worldwide in 2023 and continues to be one of the most popular networks among teens between 13-17 years old.
  • Women make up more than 60% of Pinterest’s global audience . Gen Z and Millennials use the platform the most.
  • X has over half a billion monthly monetizable active users. And people spend an average of 31 minutes on the platform.
  • LinkedIn is the hub for in-depth, industry-specific content that might be more niche than what you see on Facebook or X.
  • LinkedIn is the top platform for B2B lead generation, rated by marketers. Some 4 out of 5 LinkedIn members drive business decisions.
  • Some 78% of TikTok users have purchased a product after watching TikTok creator content about the product.
  • And some 73% of users feel a deeper connection to brands they interact with on TikTok vs other platforms.
  • YouTube is one of the most popular search engines in the world with billions of monthly users across 80 languages and 100+ countries.

Social media demographics and stats like the ones above are great for understanding where your target audience lives, but it's also important to understand the nuances of each social network so you can decide where your business needs to be.

Bigger brands with large customer bases tend to have presences across multiple platforms. Giants like McDonald’s and Starbucks are more likely to have the resources to be everywhere at once, but what if you’re a mid-size or small business? And just because there are so many social platforms, doesn’t mean all of them are right for your brand. For the sake of narrowing down where you should spend your time, below is a quick overview of each of the major social platforms:

Simple and straightforward, X is a solid starting point for most businesses. Requiring minimal setup and providing a place to go back and forth with followers directly, there's a reason why X remains one of the go-to platforms for customer service . If you’re trying to master the social media marketing basics of hashtags, tagging, brand voice and social media etiquette, look no further.

A Chick-fil-A Post on X showing a chicken biscuit, fruit and orange juice. The caption reads, "Starting your day with a chicken biscuit #TheLittleThings."

Facebook is a must-have for brick-and-mortar businesses looking to target local customers. Allowing check-ins and reviews, it’s a prime place to grow a dedicated local following. Plus, they have an incredible chatbot functionality that can take your customer service and marketing campaigns to the next level.

Like many social algorithm changes, the platform’s algorithm change in late 2022 posed a challenge to some businesses looking to grow their Pages and stay in touch with fans consistently. The earliest algorithm prioritized Likes, but today’s is much more sophisticated and focuses on showing users the most relevant, meaningful content based on inventory, signals, relevancy scoring and other factors. That said, Facebook’s ad platform is the gold standard for social media ads because it can help businesses cut through the noise and lessen the impact of algorithm changes.

Mary Mac's Tea Room Facebook post featuring a photo of the line outside of the restaurant. The caption encourages groups of 15 or less to join their waitlist on Yelp.com for a better seating experience.

At its core, Instagram is a network centered around visual content. A major hub for brick-and-mortar businesses, e-commerce shops and influencers alike, the platform encourages brands to get creative. From eye-popping photos to clever captions, it’s all about finding unique ways to show off what you’re selling.

A King Arthur Baking Company Instagram post featuring a photo of bread. The caption says to view their 15 September recipes at the link in bio.

When Meta released Threads on July 5, 2023, the social network received over 100 million registrations less than a week after its launch, making it the most rapidly downloaded app ever. The launch of Threads sparked conversations about its role in the fediverse, or decentralized social media .

But, for now, Threads is a text-based social network that users can sign up for through their current Instagram account. Users can post on mobile, but Threads is also available on desktop. Threads are great for brands who already have Instagram accounts because the sign up process is pretty seamless.

A Thread post from Sprout Social that reads, "Our first desktop Threads post. Is this thing still on?"

LinkedIn is a network laser-focused on business trends and networking. LinkedIn is a goldmine, especially for anyone networking in the B2B space. Looking to get in touch with an influencer, marketing manager or CEO? Chances are you can find them here.

There are so many benefits of using LinkedIn marketing beyond networking, including content distribution and lead generation. We also have a guide for LinkedIn best practices so you can get full advantage of those benefits.

Example LinkedIn profile of Ann Hadley

Pinterest marketing is insanely popular, especially among Gen Z and Millennials. Over 465 million people use this visual pinning platform every month to find inspiration and their next purchase. Pinterest is noted to be one of the best networks for social selling. Like Instagram, Pinterest thrives on imagery and inspirational content where products serve as the proverbial centerpiece.

Sprouts Farmers Market Pinterest page featuring several pinboards.

Although some might not regard YouTube as a traditional social network, the platform’s active and engaged community speaks for itself. Considering that video represents the top-performing type of content across nearly every social network, YouTube is a great place to house your videos if you’re already producing them.

Trader Joe's YouTube tutorial for taco monkey bread.

TikTok reached 1 billion users in September 2021 and remains one of the most popular apps in the world. Along with its viral trends and niche communities, the short-form video app is known for its hyper-personalized algorithm that keeps users scrolling for hours. TikTok marketing has changed the game for brands, allowing them to connect with customers in an entirely new way.

A Starbucks video on TikTok featuring a new drink. The drink is shown within a miniature picnic set.

Picking networks for your social media marketing strategy

There are more than 15 social media platforms your brand can use , but don’t spread yourself too thin. Rather than try to dominate them all, you should consider which platforms make the most sense based on your industry and target audience.

Do your homework on your existing social media audience and focus on networks where your core audience is already active. You need to do further analysis before you can determine what your real-world social customers actually look like.

That’s why many brands use a social media dashboard that provides an overview of who’s following you and how they interact with you on each channel.

For example, Sprout’s analytics dashboard puts your audience demographics front and center. It highlights which social networks see the most activity, helping you ensure you spend your time on the right networks. You can also use analytics to determine if you should create a new social media account . With Sprout, you can view X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest data side-by-side in a customizable format that’s exportable by date range and profile.

Sprout Social's Profile Perfromance dashboard featuring audience growth across several social media platforms.

There are plenty of other sources of valuable audience data to supplement your social media insights. This includes your Google and email analytics, your CRM, your customer service platform or even your best-selling products.

All of the above will ultimately influence everything from your marketing messaging to how you’ll approach customer service or social commerce .

Establish your most important metrics and KPIs

No matter your goals or industry, your social media strategy should be data-driven. Rather than focus on vanity metrics, dig into data that aligns directly with your goals.

So, what metrics are we talking about? Below you’ll find a quick overview, but our full guide breaks down the social media metrics that matter (and why) in more detail.

  • Reach . Post reach is the number of unique users who saw your post. How much of your content actually reaches users’ feeds?
  • Clicks . This is the number of clicks on your content or account. Tracking clicks per campaign is essential to understand what drives curiosity or encourages people to buy.
  • Engagement . The total number of social interactions divided by the number of impressions. This sheds light on how well your audience perceives you and their willingness to interact.
  • Hashtag performance . What were your most-used hashtags? Which hashtags were most associated with your brand? Having these answers can help shape the focus of your content going forward.
  • Organic and paid likes . Beyond a standard Like count, these interactions are attributed to paid or organic content. Given how much harder organic engagement is to gain, many brands turn to ads. Knowing these differences can help you budget both your ad spend and the time you invest in different formats.
  • Sentiment . This is the measurement of how users react to your content, brand or hashtag. Did customers find your recent campaign offensive? What type of sentiment do people associate with your campaign hashtag? It’s always better to dig deeper and find out how people talk or feel about your brand.

Sprout's Sentiment Summary report summarizing positive, negative and neutral sentiment.

  • Video views. This varies by platform, but refers to the number of views you receive on a video. Some channels treat video views as impressions–like TikTok–and others get super detailed with views. For example, Instagram offers views metrics for Stories, Reels and Live. Facebook and LinkedIn count a view when a user watches a video for at least three seconds. From the popularity of TikTok to live streaming, video is taking the internet by storm, so familiarize yourself with social video engagement metrics if you plan to use it in your strategy.
  • Follower growth. Follower growth measures the net new followers you earned within a set time frame. Follower count on its own doesn’t tell the whole story: knowing how many followers you gained can help you prove the value and return on investment for campaigns, content types and social media experiments.
  • Follower growth rate. This percentage shows how quickly your audience is growing or declining over time.
  • Reply time. This refers to how long it takes for your team to reply to a customer message or @-mention on social.
  • Total response volume. The sum of responses your team sends to customers.
  • Customer satisfaction score (CSAT). A CSAT shows how satisfied customers are with your product, service or brand as a whole. You can use social messaging to measure CSAT by DMing customers and asking them how likely they are to refer your business. Or by working with your customer care team to formalize a survey for after interactions.
  • Impressions. The number of times a piece of content was displayed to users. Impressions can indicate how well you’re promoting your account, content, campaigns, ads, etc.
  • Brand mentions. This number tracks how many times a brand is mentioned in posts/comments, whether the brand is directly tagged or not.
  • Share of voice (SOV). This indicates where your brand ranks in the market compared to competitors. SOV can help you understand how much of the industry conversation your brand dominates.
  • Conversation rate. This metric measures how many people you convert to take a desired action on social, such as making a purchase, downloading gated content, or signing up for a free trial, webinar, newletter, etc.

An effective social media marketing strategy is rooted in numbers. That said, those numbers need to be put into context that aligns with your original goals. Conduct analytics reports regularly to convey the story behind the metrics and see if your efforts match up to your vision.

Create (and curate) engaging social content

No surprises here. Your social media marketing strategy hinges on your content. At this point, you should have a pretty good idea of what to publish based on your goals, audience and brand identity. You probably feel confident in which networks to cover, too.

But what about your content strategy? Below are some tips, ideas and inspiration that can help.

Defining your content strategy

Coming up with a content strategy might seem like a lot of legwork, but it all really boils down to your goals.

  • Looking to educate your audience in the B2B space? Publish blogs, news and opinions relevant to your industry.
  • Trying to push e-commerce products? Post action shots of your products and photos of others showing off your swag.
  • Focused on customer service? Tips, shout-outs and company updates are fair game.

Regardless of what you might post, coming up with a hashtag to couple with your content is a brilliant branding move.

Fenty Beauty's post on X featuring a new product video. The caption reads, "The easiest foundation you'll ever use. #EazeDropStick is available now! Swip, melt, go get it!"

Hashtags can be used to get your attention and encourage people to share their photos interacting with your brand.

A Post from Salesforce Developers about Dreamfroce 2023. The caption asks what attendees are looking for to the most while attending the conference.

Find your brand voice

One of the best ways to stand out on social media is to define your distinct brand voice. Chances are you’ve seen a post from a particular brand that just feels like, well, theirs.

The quippy, casual tone that makes Discord’s X presence beloved by casual users and moderators alike is a great example.

A Discord Post that reads, "Shoutout to all the lurkers in my server you know who you are."

Of course, not every company will benefit from the same sort of tone. The key is to present yourself as a human rather than a robot. Adopt a consistent brand voice and style that’s appropriate for your business.

The importance of sticking to content themes

From graphics to Reels and beyond, many brands rely on the same content formats and creative touches time and again. These themes can help you become more consistent and zero in on a content strategy that makes sense.

For example, you might cycle between memes, product photos and user-generated content while sticking to a defined color scheme. If you’re struggling to keep up with all these sources of social content, consider social media management tools that help you organize your media library and schedule your posts in advance.

Content ideas for social media marketing in 2024

The Sprout Social Index™ reveals an interesting trend around the type of content consumers want to see on social. When asked what makes brands memorable on social, 38% of consumers said the most memorable brands prioritize original content over following trending topics. Some 37% said engaging directly with their audience rather than publishing a lot of content makes a brand more memorable, followed by 33% who remember brands that publish timely, on-trend posts.

The takeaway? There’s not one sure-fire way to approach content, but consumers generally want a good quality mix of original and timely, trending content.

That’s why businesses should focus on what their audience wants so they can know which content mix is best for their brand. Here are some social media trends to consider to help narrow down the specifics of what you should publish and inspire innovative content.

Stories and time-sensitive posts

Stories aren’t going anywhere. Tapping into your followers’ FOMO (fear of missing out), Stories-style content is both interactive and can’t-miss. Popping up first in your followers’ feeds by default, this content can help your brand’s account “skip the line” and stay fresh in your audience’s minds.

Spiller Park's Instagram Story featuring a repost from a customer saying the coffee shop is their favorite in Atlanta.

Stories are especially valuable for taking your followers behind-the-scenes and making your social feed feel more personal. For example, consider how you can use Stories to cover an event or take your followers on a journey without them having to leave the comfort of the ‘gram.

Short-form video

Thanks to the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels , social video is booming. Short-form productions continue to dominate the social space across all platforms due to their high engagement rate.

Sprout Social’s 2022 Index data shows that consumers find short-form videos 2.5x more engaging than long-form ones. Some 66% of consumers report paying the most attention to short-form content as well.

Thanks to advancements in DIY and remote video production , you don’t need massive budgets to be successful. All you need is a laptop or smartphone and a few tricks of the trade, like video length best practices and editing tools .

Posts that show off your brand’s uniqueness and human side

Both personal and personable content should be a cornerstone of your social media marketing strategy. Don’t be afraid to remind followers of the humans behind your posts. Remember that over a third of consumers are looking for authentic, original content from brands.

For example, Zoom has excellent original content on their Instagram and TikTok accounts, like this Reel that explores the different signs in the workplace:

Zoom's Reel video about different zodiac signs in the workplace.

Collaborate with creators

If you haven’t already, it’s time to tap into the creator economy . The Sprout Social Index™ shows that 25% of consumers remember brands that collaborate with content creators and influencers. Social partnerships are very effective when executed correctly: they can help drive traffic to your website, produce compelling content and inspire purchase decisions.

But consumers care about creators’ qualifications, so choose wisely. The two most important qualifications of content creators working with brands is their experience with the product/service and their authenticity.

Identify creators who align with your brand and consider how they can help you craft stand-out content for your audience.

Pro-tip: conduct a competitive analysis to help your content stand out

Before you start creating content, you should have a good idea of what your competitors are up to.

While some brands might want to look into third-party competitor analysis tools to dig deeper into their competitors’ numbers, you can learn a lot from a simple review of your competitors’ social presence.

The simplest way to find competitors is through a Google search. Look up your most valuable keywords, phrases and industry terms to see who shows up.

Then, see how their social channels compare to your own. The goal here isn’t to copycat or steal your competitors’ ideas. No two companies’ social media marketing strategies can be (or should be) the same. Instead, determine what’s working for them and what conclusions you can draw to adapt your own campaigns accordingly.

After identifying some of your industry rivals, you can use competitive analysis tools such as those found in Sprout to quickly compare competitor performance to your own.

Sprout Social's Instagram Competitors report comparing audience growth.

See what they’re posting on Facebook. Contrast your X engagement with theirs. Find out how they’re tagging their content on Instagram. Optimize your own strategy. Rinse and repeat.

You can also go a step further using Sprout’s Advanced Listening . Using social listening, you can spotlight unfiltered consumer feedback regarding competitors, as well as their products and services. You get the added bonus of discovering honest conversations about your brand you may have otherwise missed.

Make your social presence as timely as possible

Timeliness is arguably more important than ever for marketers. Not only are you expected to put out fresh content regularly, but also to always be “on” for your followers. But you can’t always expect customers to operate on your clock. And timeliness is a tall order when you’re strapped for resources or are part of a small team.

Let’s look at some ways to maximize your schedule and your time spent on social media.

Assemble your content calendar

Use a content calendar to plan out your posts and stay organized. Knowing in advance what you’re going to post will save you a lot of time and keeps you from posting the same pieces of content too frequently.

With the help of Sprout’s scheduling and publishing , you can house your social posts, captions and creative in one place.

Sprout's publishing calendar in month view. An overlay appears that says, "This post is receiving a lot of engagement. View Post Performance Report."

Post at the best times to engage

As evidenced by our best times to post on social , brands have a lot of ground to cover in terms of frequency and how much content to push. It’s important to pay attention to the optimal times for engagement so you can automate the most tedious aspects of your social presence without having to worry about posting in real time.

Sprout also offers a cool interactive tool that populates best times by industry and network. You can check it out here .

Sprout's Optimal Send Times powered by ViralPost™.

But, quick question: When is your brand available to engage and interact with customers?

You might see some recommended times to post late in the evening, for example. But if your team isn’t there to communicate, what’s the point of posting at the “preferred” time?

When you’re able to do so, ensure your social media or community managers are available and ready to answer any product questions or concerns when you post. Take time to review the best times to post on social media, but remember that it’s just as critical to engage after posting.

Facebook Global Engagement map showing peak days and times from lowest to highest engagement, with the most engagement in the afternoon on weekdays.

You should also consider taking advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and automation so you can serve and engage with customers when your team is offline, which leads us to our next point.

Respond to your customer questions and shout-outs ASAP

Your customers want speedy responses, but it’s likely impossible to respond to every message across multiple channels manually. Lean into AI to help execute faster. For example, you can use chatbots or automated replies to connect with customers when your team is offline.

The 2023 Index shows 81% of marketers say AI has already had a positive impact on their work. But marketers aren’t just using AI to increase efficiency–they’re using it to scale their entire customer care strategies.

Over half of marketers plan to use customer self-service resources like FAQs, forums and chatbots to grow their social customer care strategy. Nearly half of brands say they will use AI and automation to handle basic customer inquiries and tasks.

Data visualization from The Sprout Index™ summarizing strategies marketers plan to use to scale social customer care. 54% of brands say they will use self-service tools and resources like FAQs, forms and chatbots. 50% say advanced social media management tools to streamline workflows/efficiency. 47% say AI and automation to handle basic inquiries/tasks. 35% say comprehensive training for existing team members to enhance their productivity.

Your brand can’t forget these core elements of community building. It takes effort to ensure conversations or engagement opportunities aren’t left unattended. On social media, you gain respect as a brand by being present and talking to your audience. That’s why social customer care is so important to brands wanting to increase audience awareness—word travels fast about great service.

This is why you should designate teams to respond to specific customer cases. It can help your staff run like a well-oiled social media team, whether you’re a group of one or 100.

As social algorithms evolve, organic content has an increasingly tough time reaching the majority of your audience. The last thing you want to do is ignore those who do engage and lose out on sending more people down your marketing funnel.

Sprout's Smart Inbox featuring a positive incoming message and a response to a customer comment.

Evaluate and improve your social media strategy

By now you should have a big-picture understanding of your social media strategy. However, it’s important to adapt your strategy throughout the year.

Without continuously analyzing your efforts, you’ll never know how one campaign did over another. Having a bird’s eye view of your social media activity helps put things into perspective. This means looking at your top-performing content and adjusting your campaigns when your content stalls .

There’s no denying that a lot of social media is a matter of trial-and-error. Monitoring the metrics behind your campaigns in real time allows you to make small tweaks to your social media marketing strategy rather than sweeping, time-consuming changes.

Doing social media marketing right starts by being diligent about your data. You can be reactive in the short term to get the most out of your running campaigns, and then proactively use these takeaways to inform your next strategy overhaul.

To guarantee that you get in front of as many customers as possible, monitoring your growth is a major must-do. With Sprout, social reports can clue you in on everything from your top-performing content to how engaged your audience is. These reports are crucial for accountability and guaranteeing your numbers continue to tick upward.

Sprout's Profile Performance report featuring impressions breakdown by network and day.

Reporting on data is also important for the sake of sharing valuable insights from social with your coworkers and colleagues. Remember that 60% of organizations use social data daily—be one of the brands that embrace it.

Sharing this information in regular reports not only holds you accountable for your efforts but also highlights the impact and bottom-line results your social strategy produces.

Based on your data, you can better assess whether your KPIs truly ladder up to your overarching company goals or whether they need to change.

Bring other departments into the mix

Social media teams have a unique advantage when it comes to understanding customer sentiment. You’re the eyes and ears for your brand online. Those insights can do more than just inform marketing strategy. They can transform your business. Stand-out social media teams will approach cross-department collaboration with enthusiasm and intention.

Which departments can benefit from social data?

The short answer? All of them. Index data shows 76% of social marketers say their team’s insights inform other departments.

However, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Instead, start where you think you can make the most impact. Here are a few ideas to jumpstart your strategy.

Human Resources

Collaborating with human resources on social-first employer brand initiatives can do more than just fill open roles quickly. It can attract stronger, more qualified candidates as well. Many companies have embraced social recruiting strategies, such as publishing creative “we’re hiring” posts on LinkedIn to attract top talent.

Data from The 2023 Sprout Social Index™ notes marketers plan to track conversations and sales directly resulting from social efforts in 2024 to better connect the value of social to business goals. Sharing social insights with your sales organization can empower reps to work smarter in the context of increasingly digital customer journeys. Consider learning more about social selling to leverage the power of online networks even further.

Product and merchandising

You’ve probably received quite a few feature or product requests while managing your brand’s social inbox. With a social media management tool , you can distill those messages into actionable insights for your product or merchandising teams. These insights can complement existing roadmap research, creating a customer-focused plan that delights.

Customer care

Monitoring customer service metrics like average reply time, average wait time and response volume can help your social customer care team identify what is working well and spot opportunities for improvement. Marketers are using social media customer service software to elevate their support strategies and get the most out of their tech stack.

And with that, we wrap up your social media strategy guide for 2024 and beyond!

Is your social media marketing strategy future proof?

This guide highlights plenty of moving pieces to maintain a modern social presence. That said, putting together yours doesn’t have to be a drag.

If you set actionable goals and address each of the steps above, you’ll already be way ahead of the curve when it comes to your social media marketing strategy.

And if you need more inspiration for actionable ways to build out your strategies, make sure to download The Sprout Social Index™ to learn more.

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></center></p><ul><li>Facebook Marketing</li><li>Instagram Marketing</li><li>LinkedIn Marketing</li><li>Pinterest Marketing</li><li>TikTok Marketing</li><li>YouTube Marketing</li><li>Twitter Marketing</li><li>Mastodon Marketing</li><li>Content Marketing</li><li>Email Marketing</li><li>Video Marketing</li><li>Champs Talk</li></ul><h2>Popular Keywords</h2><p>No Record Found</p><h2>How to Create a Winning Social Media Marketing Plan</h2><p>Marium fahim khan.</p><ul><li>August 12, 2021</li><li>Blog , Marketing</li></ul><p><center><img style=

As a business/startup owner or even a social media marketer, one of the most daunting and time-consuming tasks is to create a social media marketing plan that delivers the business goals. However, it is also one of the essential tasks to make sure the team achieves all the business milestones.

Ignoring social media and treating it as optional is a self-imposed suicide mission for your business since more than half of the world’s population uses social media.

percentage of social media users

What Is a Social Media Marketing Plan?

Social media marketing plan is a set of activities that you put together to achieve your quarterly or yearly goals. It summarizes all that you plan to do or the outcomes you want to accomplish at the end!

For example, at Social Champ, our social media marketing goals are;

  • Increase reach
  • More engagement
  • Convert visitors into leads

Similarly, an ecommerce store or one that sells a service instead of a product might have a different set of goals. There is no single social media marketing plan that fits all. However, there are a few steps that one could follow to create a working plan for the brand.

Why Should You Have a Social Media Marketing Plan in Place?

Having a plan before executing tasks is always a good idea, whether you are hosting a party or planning a trip to outer space.

Similarly, having a social media plan in place has the following benefits;

  • A social media marketing plan or strategy helps everyone work towards a shared goal.
  • It helps decrease discrepancies in a team; since everyone knows what the end objective is, everyone will work towards it.
  • A social media marketing plan makes it easy for the team to measure how far they have come at the end of a quarter.
  • It also helps streamline tasks and set priorities.

A social media marketing plan helps increase brand awareness by highlighting the strategies, approaches, and networks.

Featured Article: 10 Steps to Create an Epic Social Media Campaign

6 Steps to Creating a Kickass Social Media Marketing Plan

Creating a social media marketing plan from scratch might seem like a lot of work, but the exercise can yield excellent results if done systematically. Building from the ground up, here are the six significant steps that you need to take.

Using this guide, you can also tweak and adjust your already using social media marketing plan!

6-Steps to social media Marketing Plan

Set Social Media Marketing Goals

Before anything else happens, you need to set the goals and objectives that you want to achieve. This would make all the other steps a breeze, and you have clear expectations about how well your plan works out.

Most of the time, all businesses want to increase their sales through social media. However, they cannot just go and directly ask people to buy their products. They need a strategy that spans over multiple elements to convert a visitor into a paying customer.

Let’s take the example of an ecommerce business.

Sara is a t-shirt shop owner with a pretty nice following on social media. She aims to increase brand awareness and drive people to her website.

She can upload pictures on her Instagram with the link to her shop using the Shopping tab. This is not directly pushing people to her website; instead, she can nudge them in the right direction.

While setting goals, always remember that you need to align your short-term and long-term social media goals with your overall business objectives. This way, all teams are working towards a shared aim.

Research Your Target Audience

If you are an already established business, the chances are that you already know who your target audience is. So if you are just tweaking your social media marketing plan, you can skip this step.

However, if you create a plan to launch a new product or make your very first strategy, try to figure out your audience.

Check out your competitors to see who they are targeting and what they lack in their research. Fill those gaps, run small research groups, and talk to people on the internet to identify who needs your product.

Identify and Select Target Social Media Networks

The next step is pretty essential but requires a lot of effort on your end. Each social media network has its audience and “best practices.” There is an overlap in terms of features, but they all have a pretty solid primary use case.

Here is the breakdown of the popular options:

  • Facebook is one of the most popular networks with a user base of 2.8 billion users. The highest number of users are between the age of 24 to 35 and are millennials. Facebook ads are beneficial for businesses.

Facebook users

  • Instagram is the hub of Gen-Z and has incredible visual features. From stories to short reels, to longer IGTV videos, to the shopping tab, and unique stickers, Instagram has it all. If you are more inclined towards using graphical content in your campaigns, Instagram is your best friend! You can also run ads on Instagram.
  • TikTok and influencer marketing go hand in hand. If your social media marketing plans involve many influencers and star-studded videos , TikTok is the way to go!
  • LinkedIn is more formal but should not be ignored. Many B2B companies gain a lot of business through the network as it provides all the essential information about a company.
  • Twitter is also super important as the content is constantly changing on the platform. Create a presence on Twitter and try to tweet as often as you could. Moreover, if you are a startup owner, try to engage with people on Twitter and re-tweet influencers who can be of use to you in the future!

Pinterest audience

It is best to use different social media networks and not just rely on one to get your plan across. This would give your brand more exposure and allow you to capture a broader range of audiences.

Once you identify the mix of social media profiles you are using, start optimizing them or creating them if you don’t already have them.

Here are a few optimization pointers:

  • Upload the same display and cover photos to all profiles.
  • Update the bio and add a link to your website.
  • Clearly define what you do through the profile.
  • Invite all your employees and friends to like and follow the page.
  • Tailor your voice to suit your audience.
  • Keep a consistent tone on all social media profiles.
  • Be a human; no one likes a bot.
  • Try to answer what you are doing for your target audience.
  • Keep it fresh, light, and happy!

Create a Post Schedule and Calendar

Having a posting schedule and sticking to it is one of the most crucial parts of a social media marketing plan. If you have nothing to post on social media, what good is your plan anyway?

Facebook

Stop Stressing, Start Planning!

Social champ helps you automate all your social media marketing processes so that you can put on your thinking hat and create creative content, test, analyze, adjust, and optimize.

This is the moment of truth!

In this step, you will take your social media marketing plan live. In the first couple of weeks, execute your plan to the T and jot down the results in a sheet. Analyze the results and check out how well you are doing.

Ideally, it is best to use a social media management tool that can help you monitor platform-centric analytics. Create reports and see how well your plan is doing.

Automate and Engage

The final part of a social media marketing plan involves you having help and a process!

You cannot humanly handle posting, scheduling, and tracking on your own. This is where a kickass social media marketing tool comes into play.

Tools like Social Champ enable you to create and design content, schedule it, create a calendar, and track the analytics. It helps you fully automate the process so that you can focus on all the other tasks!

Once you have a plan in front of you, the rest of the steps get easy!

Happy planning, folks!

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  • Marketing |
  • How to create a winning marketing plan, ...

How to create a winning marketing plan, with 3 examples from world-class teams

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A marketing plan helps leaders clearly visualize marketing strategies across channels, so they can ensure every campaign drives pipeline and revenue. In this article you’ll learn eight steps to create a winning marketing plan that brings business-critical goals to life, with examples from word-class teams.

quotation mark

To be successful as a marketer, you have to deliver the pipeline and the revenue.”

In other words—they need a well-crafted marketing plan.

Level up your marketing plan to drive revenue in 2024

Learn how to create the right marketing plan to hit your revenue targets in 2024. Hear best practices from marketing experts, including how to confidently set and hit business goals, socialize marketing plans, and move faster with clearer resourcing.

level up your marketing plan to drive revenue in 2024

7 steps to build a comprehensive marketing plan

How do you build the right marketing plan to hit your revenue goals? Follow these eight steps for success:

1. Define your plan

First you need to define each specific component of your plan to ensure stakeholders are aligned on goals, deliverables, resources, and more. Ironing out these details early on ensures your plan supports the right business objectives, and that you have sufficient resources and time to get the job done. 

Get started by asking yourself the following questions: 

What resources do I need? 

What is the vision?

What is the value?

What is the goal?

Who is my audience?

What are my channels?

What is the timeline?

For example, imagine you’re creating an annual marketing plan to improve customer adoption and retention in the next fiscal year. Here’s how you could go through the questions above to ensure you’re ready to move forward with your plan: 

I will need support from the content team, web team, and email team to create targeted content for existing customers. One person on each team will need to be dedicated full-time to this initiative. To achieve this, the marketing team will need an additional $100K in budget and one new headcount. 

What is the vision?  

To create a positive experience for existing customers, address new customer needs, and encourage them to upgrade. We’ll do this by serving them how-to content, new feature updates, information about deals and pricing, and troubleshooting guides. 

According to the Sales Benchmark Index (SBI) , CEOs and go-to-market leaders report that more than 60% of their net-new revenue will come from existing customers in 2023. By retaining and building on the customers we have, we can maintain revenue growth over time. 

To decrease the customer churn rate from 30% to 10%, and increase upgrades from 20% to 30% in the next fiscal year. 

All existing customers. 

The main channel will be email. Supporting marketing channels include the website, blog, YouTube, and social media. 

The first half of the next fiscal year. 

One of the most important things to do as you create your marketing strategy is to identify your target audience . As with all marketing, you need to know who you’re marketing to. If you’re having a hard time determining who exactly your target audience is, try the bullseye targeting framework . The bullseye makes it easy for you to determine who your target audience is by industry, geography, company size, psychographics, demographics, and more.

2. Identify key metrics for success 

Now it’s time to define what key marketing metrics you’ll use to measure success. Your key metrics will help you measure and track the performance of your marketing activities. They’ll also help you understand how your efforts tie back to larger business goals. 

Once you establish key metrics, use a goal-setting framework—like objectives and key results (OKRs) or SMART goals —to fully flush out your marketing objectives. This ensures your targets are as specific as possible, with no ambiguity about what should be accomplished by when. 

Example: If a goal of your marketing plan is to increase email subscriptions and you follow the SMART goal framework (ensuring your objective is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound) your goal might look like this: Increase email subscription rate from 10% to 20% in H1 . 

3. Research your competition 

It’s easy to get caught up in your company’s world, but there’s a lot of value in understanding your competitors . Knowing how they market themselves will help you find opportunities to make your company stand out and capture more market share.

Make sure you’re not duplicating your competitors’ efforts. If you discover a competitor has already executed your idea, then it might be time to go back to the drawing board and brainstorm new ways to differentiate yourself.  By looking at your competitors, you might be surprised at the type of inspiration and opportunities you’ll find.

To stay ahead of market trends, conduct a SWOT analysis for your marketing plan. A SWOT analysis helps you improve your plan by identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 

Example: If your competitor launches a social media campaign identical to what you had planned, go back to the drawing board and see how you can build off their campaign. Ask yourself: How can we differentiate our campaign while still getting our message across? What are the weaknesses of their campaign that we can capitalize on? What angles did they not approach?

4. Integrate your marketing efforts

Here’s where the fun comes in. Let’s dive into the different components that go into building a successful marketing plan. You’ll want to make sure your marketing plan includes multiple supporting activities that all add up into a powerful marketing machine. Some marketing plan components include: 

Lead generation

Social media

Product marketing

Public relations

Analyst relations

Customer marketing

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Conversational marketing

Knowing where your consumer base spends the most time is significant for nailing this step. You need to have a solid understanding of your target audience before integrating your marketing efforts. 

Example: If your target audience is executives that spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, focus your social media strategy around placing branded content on LinkedIn. 

5. Differentiate with creative content

Forty-nine percent of marketers say visual images are hugely important to their content strategy. In other words, a clear brand and creative strategy is an essential component to every marketing plan. As you craft your own creative strategy, here are some tips to keep in mind: 

Speak to your audience: When defining your creative strategy, think about your audience—what you want them to feel, think, and do when they see your marketing. Will your audience find your creative work relevant? If your audience can’t relate to your creative work, they won’t feel connected to the story you’re trying to tell. 

Think outside the box: Find innovative ways to engage your audience, whether through video, animations, or interactive graphics. Know what screens your creative work will live on, whether desktop, mobile, or tablet, and make sure they display beautifully and load quickly across every type of device. 

Tie everything back to CTAs: It’s easy to get caught up in the creative process, so it’s important to never lose sight of your ultimate goal: Get your audience to take action. Always find the best way to display strong Calls to Action (CTAs) in your creative work. We live in a visual world—make sure your creative content counts.

Streamline creative production:   Once you’ve established a strong creative strategy, the next step is to bring your strategy to life in the production stage. It’s vital to set up a strong framework for your creative production process to eliminate any unnecessary back and forth and potential bottlenecks. Consider establishing creative request forms , streamlining feedback and approval processes, and taking advantage of integrations that might make your designers’ lives easier.

Example: If your brand is fun and approachable, make sure that shows in your creative efforts. Create designs and CTAs that spark joy, offer entertainment, and alleviate the pressure in choosing a partner.

6. Operationalize your marketing plan

Turn your plan into action by making goals, deliverables, and timelines clear for every stakeholder—so teams stay accountable for getting work done. The best way to do this is by centralizing all the details of your marketing plan in one platform , so teams can access the information they need and connect campaign work back to company goals.  

With the right work management tool , you can: 

Set goals for every marketing activity, and connect campaign work to overarching marketing and business objectives so teams focus on revenue-driving projects. 

Centralize deliverables for your entire marketing plan in one project or portfolio .

Mark major milestones and visualize your plan as a timeline, Gantt chart, calendar, list, or Kanban board—without doing any extra work. 

Quickly loop in stakeholders with status updates so they’re always up to date on progress. This is extremely important if you have a global team to ensure efforts aren’t being duplicated. 

Use automations to seamlessly hand off work between teams, streamlining processes like content creation and reviews. 

Create dashboards to report on work and make sure projects are properly staffed , so campaigns stay on track. 

With everything housed in one spot, you can easily visualize the status of your entire marketing plan and keep work on track. Building an effective marketing plan is one thing, but how you operationalize it can be your secret to standout marketing.

Example: If your strategy focuses on increasing page views, connect all campaign work to an overarching OKR—like “we will double page views as measured by the amount of organic traffic on our blog.” By making that goal visible to all stakeholders, you help teams prioritize the right work. 

See marketing planning in action

With Asana, marketing teams can connect work, standardize processes, and automate workflows—all in one place.

See marketing planning in action

7. Measure performance

Nearly three in four CMOs use revenue growth to measure success, so it’s no surprise that measuring performance is necessary. You established your key metrics in step two, and now it’s time to track and report on them in step eight.

Periodically measure your marketing efforts to find areas of improvement so you can optimize in real-time. There are always lessons to be learned when looking at data. You can discover trends, detect which marketing initiatives performed well, and course-correct what isn’t performing well. And when your plan is complete, you can apply these learnings to your next initiative for improved results. 

Example: Say you discover that long-form content is consistently bringing in 400% more page views than short-form content. As a result, you’ll want to focus on producing more long-form content in your next marketing plan.

Marketing plan examples from world-class teams

The best brands in the world bring their marketing plans to life every day. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out these examples from successful marketing teams.

Autodesk grows site traffic 30% three years in a row

When the Autodesk team launched Redshift, it was initially a small business blog. The editorial team executed a successful marketing plan to expand it into a premier owned-media site, making it a destination for stories and videos about the future of making. 

The team scaled content production to support seven additional languages. By standardizing their content production workflow and centralizing all content conversations in one place, the editorial team now publishes 2X more content monthly. Read the case study to learn more about how Autodesk runs a well-oiled content machine.

Sony Music boosts creative production capacity by 4X

In recent years the music industry has gone through a pivotal transition—shifting from album sales to a streaming business model. For marketing and creative teams at Sony Music, that meant adopting an “always on” campaign plan. 

The team successfully executed this campaign plan by centralizing creative production and approvals in one project. By standardizing processes, the team reduced campaign production time by 75%. Read the case study to learn more about how Sony Music successfully scaled their creative production process.

Trinny London perfects new customer acquisition 

In consumer industries, social media is crucial for building a community of people who feel an affinity with the brand—and Trinny London is no exception. As such, it was imperative that Trinny London’s ad spend was targeted to the correct audience. Using a work management tool, Trinny London was able to nail the process of creating, testing, and implementing ads on multiple social channels.

With the help of a centralized tool, Trinny London improved its ad spend and drove more likes and subscriptions on its YouTube page. Read the case study to learn more about how Trinny London capitalized on paid advertising and social media. 

Turn your marketing plan into marketing success 

A great marketing plan promotes clarity and accountability across teams—so every stakeholder knows what they’re responsible for, by when. Reading this article is the first step to achieving better team alignment, so you can ensure every marketing campaign contributes to your company’s bottom line. 

Use a free marketing plan template to get started

Once you’ve created your marketing strategy and are ready to operationalize your marketing plan, get started with one of our marketing templates . 

Our marketing templates can help you manage and track every aspect of your marketing plan, from creative requests to approval workflows. Centralize your entire marketing plan in one place, customize the roadmap, assign tasks, and build a timeline or calendar. 

Once you’ve operationalized your entire marketing plan with one of our templates, share it with your stakeholders so everyone can work together in the same tool. Your entire team will feel connected to the marketing plan, know what to prioritize, and see how their work contributes to your project objectives . Choose the best marketing template for your team:

Marketing project plan template

Marketing campaign plan template

Product marketing launch template

Editorial calendar template

Agency collaboration template

Creative requests template

Event planning template

GTM strategy template

Still have questions? We have answers. 

What is a marketing plan.

A marketing plan is a detailed roadmap that outlines the different strategies your team will use to achieve organizational objectives. Rather than focusing solely on the end goal, a marketing plan maps every step you need to reach your destination—whether that’s driving pipeline for sales, nurturing your existing customer base, or something in-between. 

As a marketing leader, you know there’s never a shortage of great campaign and project ideas. A marketing plan gives you a framework to effectively prioritize work that aligns to overarching business goals—and then get that work done. Some elements of marketing plans include:

Current business plan

Mission statement  

Business goals

Target customers  

Competitive analysis 

Current marketing mix

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Marketing budget  

What is the purpose of a marketing plan?

The purpose of a marketing plan is to grow your company’s consumer base and strengthen your brand, while aligning with your organization’s mission and vision . The plan should analyze the competitive landscape and industry trends, offer actionable insights to help you gain a competitive advantage, and document each step of your strategy—so you can see how your campaigns work together to drive overarching business goals. 

What is the difference between a marketing plan and a marketing strategy? 

A marketing plan contains many marketing strategies across different channels. In that way, marketing strategies contribute to your overall marketing plan, working together to reach your company’s overarching business goals.

For example, imagine you’re about to launch a new software product and the goal of your marketing plan is to drive downloads. Your marketing plan could include marketing strategies like creating top-of-funnel blog content and launching a social media campaign. 

What are different types of marketing plans? 

Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, what your timeline is, or which facet of marketing you’re driving, you’ll need to create a different type of marketing plan. Some different types of marketing plans include, but aren’t limited to:

General marketing plan: A general marketing plan is typically an annual or quarterly marketing plan that details the overarching marketing strategies for the period. This type of marketing plan outlines marketing goals, the company’s mission, buyer personas, unique selling propositions, and more. A general marketing plan lays the foundation for other, more specific marketing plans that an organization may employ. 

Product launch marketing plan: A product launch marketing plan is a step-by-step plan for marketing a new product or expanding into a new market. It helps you build awareness and interest by targeting the right audience, with the right messaging, in the right timeframe—so potential customers are ready to buy your new offering right away. Nailing your product launch marketing plan can reinforce your overall brand and fast-track sales. For a step-by-step framework to organize all the moving pieces of a launch, check out our product marketing launch template .

Paid marketing plan: This plan includes all the paid strategies in your marketing plan, like pay-per-click, paid social media advertising, native advertising, and display advertising. It’s especially important to do audience research prior to launching your paid marketing plan to ensure you’re maximizing ROI. Consult with content strategists to ensure your ads align with your buyer personas so you know you’re showing ads to the right people. 

Content marketing plan: A content marketing plan outlines the different content strategies and campaigns you’ll use to promote your product or service. When putting together a content marketing plan, start by identifying your audience. Then use market research tools to get the best insights into what topics your target audience is most interested in.

SEO marketing plan: Your SEO marketing plan should work directly alongside your content marketing plan as you chart content that’s designed to rank in search results. While your content marketing plan should include all types of content, your SEO marketing plan will cover the top-of-funnel content that drives new users to your site. Planning search engine-friendly content is only one step in your SEO marketing plan. You’ll also need to include link-building and technical aspects in order to ensure your site and content are as optimized as possible.

Social media marketing plan: This plan will highlight the marketing strategies you plan to accomplish on social media. Like in any general or digital marketing plan , your social media strategy should identify your ideal customer base and determine how they engage on different social media platforms. From there, you can cater your social media content to your target audience.  

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20 Social Media Marketing Plan Examples: Strategies for Effective Online Promotion

Social media marketing is essential for success in today’s digital landscape. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn offer immense reach and engagement potential, allowing businesses to connect with their target audience, enhance brand visibility, and drive conversions.

In this article, we present 20 social media marketing plan examples that will inspire and guide your online promotion efforts. Each example showcases a unique strategy or approach, providing valuable insights and practical tips for creating effective social media marketing plans.

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Whether you’re a small business establishing your online presence or a larger organization optimizing your social media strategies , this article offers a diverse range of ideas and tactics to elevate your social media marketing game. Get ready to explore these 20 social media marketing plan examples and unlock the potential to achieve your marketing goals.

Social Media Marketing Plan Basics

A well-defined social media marketing plan is the foundation for successful online promotion and achieving desired marketing objectives. In this section, we will explore the definition of a social media marketing plan, its key components, and the benefits it offers to businesses.

What is a Social Media Marketing Plan?

A social media marketing plan is a strategic roadmap that outlines the goals, strategies, and tactics for utilizing social media platforms to promote a brand, engage with the target audience, and achieve marketing objectives. It is a comprehensive document that guides businesses in effectively leveraging social media channels to enhance brand visibility, drive website traffic, generate leads, and foster customer loyalty.

Key Components of a Successful Social Media Marketing Plan

  • Clear Objectives: A well-defined social media marketing plan starts with setting clear and measurable objectives. These objectives should align with the overall business goals and can include increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, generating leads, boosting sales, or improving customer engagement.
  • Target Audience Analysis: Understanding the target audience is crucial for developing a successful social media marketing plan. Conducting thorough research on demographics, interests, online behavior, and preferences of the target audience helps in crafting tailored content and engagement strategies.
  • Platform Selection: Choosing the right social media platforms is essential to reach and engage with the target audience effectively. Evaluating the demographics, user engagement, and content suitability of different platforms helps businesses focus their efforts on the most relevant platforms.
  • Content Strategy: Developing a content strategy is a fundamental component of a social media marketing plan. This includes planning the types of content to create (e.g., images, videos, blog posts), determining the content themes and topics, and establishing a consistent posting schedule.
  • Engagement and Community Building: A successful social media marketing plan emphasizes building and nurturing a community of followers. Strategies for engaging with the audience, responding to comments and messages, and fostering meaningful conversations contribute to brand loyalty and advocacy.
  • Metrics and Analytics: Monitoring and measuring the performance of social media efforts is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of the marketing plan. Tracking key metrics such as reach, engagement, click-through rates, and conversions helps in making data-driven decisions and optimizing future strategies.

Benefits of Having a Well-Defined Plan for Social Media Marketing Efforts

  • Focused Efforts: A social media marketing plan provides a roadmap that keeps businesses focused on their goals, prevents aimless activities, and ensures that every action is aligned with the overall marketing objectives.
  • Efficient Resource Allocation: With a well-defined plan, businesses can allocate their resources effectively. This includes allocating time, budget, and personnel to different social media platforms and activities based on their potential for reaching the target audience and driving desired outcomes.
  • Consistency and Cohesion: A structured social media marketing plan helps maintain consistency in brand messaging, visual identity, and tone of voice across different platforms. It ensures that all social media efforts work together cohesively to create a strong brand presence.
  • Improved Audience Targeting: A clear understanding of the target audience enables businesses to tailor their content and messaging to resonate with their audience’s needs and interests. This results in higher engagement rates, better audience targeting, and increased chances of conversion.
  • Measurable Results: By setting clear objectives and defining metrics, a well-defined social media marketing plan enables businesses to track and measure the success of their efforts. This allows for data-driven analysis and optimization, leading to continuous improvement and better results over time.

Having a well-designed social media marketing plan is essential for businesses to navigate the ever-changing digital landscape and achieve their marketing goals effectively. By incorporating the key components mentioned above and leveraging the benefits it offers, businesses can maximize their social

Strategy 1: Organic Reach

social media marketing plan assignment

Organic reach refers to the number of people who see your social media content without any paid promotion or advertising. It plays a crucial role in expanding your brand’s visibility and attracting a wider audience. In this section, we will delve into the concept of organic reach on social media platforms and explore techniques to increase it through content creation, engagement, and community building.

Explanation of Organic Reach on Social Media Platforms

Organic reach is the result of your content being shown to users organically, typically through their news feeds or timelines. It is influenced by various factors, including the algorithms of social media platforms, user engagement with your content, and the relevancy of your posts to the target audience. The higher the organic reach, the more users your content will reach without the need for paid promotion.

Techniques and Examples of Increasing Organic Reach

  • Create High-Quality and Relevant Content: Craft engaging, valuable, and shareable content that resonates with your target audience. Use a mix of formats such as images, videos, infographics, and blog posts to cater to different preferences. For example, a fashion brand can create visually appealing outfit inspiration posts or how-to videos that showcase their products.
  • Optimize Content for Platform Algorithms: Understand the algorithms of each social media platform and optimize your content accordingly. Use relevant hashtags, tag relevant users or brands, and leverage trending topics when appropriate. For instance, a fitness brand can use popular fitness-related hashtags and tag fitness influencers to increase the discoverability of their content.
  • Encourage User Engagement: Prompt users to like, comment, and share your content. Ask open-ended questions, create polls, or run contests to encourage interaction. Respond to comments and messages promptly to foster conversations and show that you value audience engagement. For example, a food blog can ask followers to share their favorite recipes or cooking tips in the comments.
  • Build an Active Community: Foster a sense of community by creating opportunities for users to connect with each other and share their experiences related to your brand. Encourage user-generated content (UGC) by featuring and reposting content created by your followers. This strengthens the bond between your brand and your audience. A travel agency can create a dedicated hashtag for users to share their travel photos and experiences.

Strategy 2: Paid Advertising

Paid advertising on popular social media platforms is an effective strategy for reaching a wider audience and boosting brand visibility. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn offer various advertising options such as sponsored posts, display ads, video ads, and carousel ads. These options allow businesses to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, ensuring their ads are seen by the right people.

Successful paid advertising campaigns on social media include examples like the “Share a Coke” campaign by Coca-Cola, which encouraged users to personalize their Coke bottles and share photos using the hashtag #ShareaCoke. Another example is Airbnb’s “We Are Here” campaign, which used targeted Facebook ads to promote unique accommodations and inspire travel.

To optimize paid ads, it’s crucial to define clear objectives, select the right platforms for your target audience, create compelling ad content, and continuously monitor and refine your campaigns based on performance data. Testing different ad formats, targeting options, and messaging can help maximize reach, engagement, and conversions. Regularly analyzing metrics like click-through rates, conversions, and cost per acquisition can provide valuable insights for optimization.

Strategy 3: Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing plays a crucial role in social media promotion by leveraging the reach and influence of individuals with large and engaged followings. Collaborating with influencers allows businesses to tap into their credibility, authenticity, and loyal fan base to promote products or services.

Successful influencer marketing campaigns span various industries. For instance, fashion brand Daniel Wellington partnered with numerous fashion and lifestyle influencers to showcase their watches, generating significant brand awareness and sales. Another example is Halo Top, a low-calorie ice cream brand, which collaborated with fitness influencers to promote its product as a guilt-free treat for health-conscious individuals.

To make the most of influencer marketing, it’s important to identify influencers who align with your brand values and target audience. Authenticity is key, so the influencer’s content should naturally integrate your brand. Establish clear objectives, provide creative freedom to influencers, and track key performance indicators, such as engagement and conversions, to measure the success of your campaigns.

Strategy 4: User-Generated Content

social media marketing plan assignment

User-generated content (UGC) involves leveraging content created by your audience to promote your brand on social media. It is a powerful strategy that enhances engagement, builds trust, and amplifies brand advocacy.

Many businesses effectively utilize UGC to engage their audience and build brand loyalty. For example, Starbucks launched the “White Cup Contest” encouraging customers to doodle on their white cups and share them on social media. The contest generated a massive amount of user-created content, fostering a sense of community and creativity around the brand.

To encourage and leverage UGC, businesses can run contests, create branded hashtags, or simply ask their audience to share their experiences and stories related to the brand. Reposting and sharing UGC on social media not only showcases customer appreciation but also encourages others to participate. It’s important to give credit to the original creators and seek permission to use their content.

Strategy 5: Cross-Platform Promotion

Cross-platform promotion is vital for maximizing brand visibility and ensuring consistent messaging across various social media platforms. Each platform has its own unique features and audience demographics, requiring tailored content and engagement strategies.

Effective cross-platform social media marketing strategies include integrating social media handles and icons on websites, blogs, and email signatures. Creating teasers or snippets of content on one platform and directing users to the full content on another platform can drive traffic and engagement. Brands can also repurpose content across platforms by adapting it to suit each platform’s format and audience preferences.

For instance, National Geographic effectively cross-promotes content by sharing captivating images on Instagram and linking to longer articles on Facebook. Similarly, Wendy’s, a fast-food chain, adopts a playful and witty tone on Twitter, engaging with followers through humorous and timely responses.

Understanding the unique strengths and limitations of each platform, as well as the preferences and behaviors of your target audience, will help tailor your content and engagement strategies to maximize the impact of cross-platform promotion.

Strategy 6: Influencer Takeovers and Collaborations

Influencer takeovers and collaborations involve handing over control of your social media account to an influencer for a specified period or partnering with them to create content together. This strategy can significantly increase reach, engagement, and credibility by tapping into the influencer’s expertise and loyal following.

Successful influencer takeovers and collaborations have been observed across social media platforms. For example, GoPro frequently features influencers taking over their Instagram Stories to share their adventures and showcase the capabilities of their cameras. This approach generates excitement among followers and provides authentic content from real users.

To plan and execute influencer takeovers and collaborations effectively, establish clear goals and guidelines for content creation, ensuring it aligns with your brand. Choose influencers who have a genuine interest in your product or service and whose values resonate with your target audience. Collaborate closely with influencers to create engaging content that provides value and enhances the overall brand experience.

Strategy 7: Hashtag Campaigns

social media marketing plan assignment

Hashtag campaigns are a powerful way to increase social media reach and engagement by creating a unified tag for users to follow and contribute to. They allow businesses to drive user participation, generate buzz, and make content easily discoverable.

Successful hashtag campaigns span various industries. One notable example is the ALS Association’s #IceBucketChallenge, which went viral and raised awareness and funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research. Another example is Nike’s #JustDoIt campaign, which encourages individuals to share their fitness accomplishments and stories, inspiring a global community of active individuals.

To create and promote effective hashtag campaigns, choose a memorable and relevant hashtag that aligns with your brand and campaign objectives. Encourage users to participate by sharing their experiences, stories, or creative content related to the hashtag. Promote the campaign through social media posts, influencer partnerships, and collaborations. Engage with participants by liking, commenting, and sharing their contributions, fostering a sense of community and connection.

Strategy 8: Video Marketing

Video marketing has become a cornerstone of social media promotion due to its engaging and shareable nature. Videos have the power to captivate audiences, convey messages effectively, and evoke emotions, making them a valuable tool for brands to tell their stories and showcase their products or services.

Many businesses leverage video content successfully on social media platforms. For example, Tasty, a food-focused media brand, creates short and visually appealing recipe videos that quickly grab attention and inspire viewers to try the recipes themselves. Similarly, Red Bull creates adrenaline-pumping videos showcasing extreme sports and adventures, aligning with their brand image of energy and excitement.

To create engaging and shareable videos for social media marketing, keep them short, concise, and visually compelling. Capture attention within the first few seconds, use subtitles for silent auto-play videos, and include a clear call to action. Experiment with different video formats such as tutorials, behind-the-scenes footage, testimonials, or storytelling narratives. Analyze video performance metrics like views, watch time, and engagement to optimize your video marketing strategy.

Strategy 9: Social Listening and Customer Engagement

Social listening is the process of monitoring social media platforms to gain insights into audience needs, preferences, and conversations related to your brand or industry. It plays a significant role in understanding customer sentiment, identifying trends, and enhancing customer engagement on social media.

Businesses have effectively utilized social listening to enhance customer engagement. For example, Spotify actively listens to user-generated playlists and recommends personalized music based on individual preferences. Similarly, Nike engages with customers on social media by responding to their comments, inquiries, and feedback, building a strong connection with their audience.

To implement social listening practices, use social media monitoring tools to track mentions of your brand, relevant keywords, and industry trends. Analyze the data collected to identify patterns, sentiments, and emerging topics of discussion. Actively engage with your audience by responding to their comments, addressing their concerns, and initiating conversations. Incorporate customer feedback into your product development and marketing strategies to meet their needs effectively.

Strategy 10: Social Media Contests and Giveaways

social media marketing plan assignment

Running contests and giveaways on social media can be an effective strategy for increasing brand awareness, generating user participation, and fostering a sense of excitement and loyalty among your audience.

Many businesses have successfully implemented social media contests and giveaways. For instance, Airbnb runs periodic contests where participants have a chance to win unique travel experiences or accommodations. Similarly, beauty brand Glossier often hosts giveaways where followers can enter to win their popular products.

To plan and execute engaging contests and giveaways, clearly define the objectives, set specific entry requirements, and determine the prize(s). Choose a compelling theme or concept that resonates with your target audience. Promote the contest or giveaway through social media posts, influencers, and collaborations. Encourage user-generated content related to the contest or giveaway, such as photos or testimonials. Select winners fairly and transparently, and follow up with personalized communication to maximize the impact of the campaign.

Strategy 11: Micro-Influencer Marketing

Micro-influencer marketing focuses on partnering with individuals who have a smaller but highly engaged and niche audience. This strategy allows businesses to tap into the trust and authenticity of micro-influencers, who often have more personal connections with their followers.

Successful micro-influencer campaigns on social media have been observed across platforms. For example, food and beverage brands often collaborate with micro-influencers who specialize in specific cuisines or dietary lifestyles, reaching a targeted audience interested in those topics. Fitness brands may partner with micro-influencers who focus on niche workout routines or wellness practices.

To leverage micro-influencer marketing effectively, identify influencers who have a genuine interest in your industry, product, or service. Analyze their engagement rates, audience demographics, and content quality. Collaborate closely with micro-influencers to develop authentic and valuable content. Provide them with creative freedom while aligning their content with your brand values. Measure the success of the campaign through key performance indicators such as engagement, reach, and conversions.

Strategy 12: Social Media Analytics and Optimization

Tracking social media metrics and analyzing performance data is essential for optimizing your social media strategies and improving results over time. Social media analytics provides valuable insights into audience behavior, content performance, and campaign effectiveness.

Businesses utilize various tools and techniques for social media analytics and optimization. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter offer built-in analytics dashboards that provide detailed information on post reach, engagement, and audience demographics. Third-party tools such as Google Analytics , Hootsuite, and Sprout Social enable more comprehensive tracking and analysis of social media performance.

To make the most of social media analytics, define relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) based on your objectives, such as engagement rate, conversion rate, or reach. Regularly monitor and analyze metrics to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement. Use the insights gained to refine your content strategy, targeting, and posting schedules. A/B testing different approaches can help determine what resonates best with your audience. Continuously iterate and optimize your social media strategies based on the data collected.

Strategy 13: Collaborative Content Creation

social media marketing plan assignment

Collaborative content creation on social media involves partnering with other brands, influencers, or even your own audience to create compelling and shareable content. This strategy not only helps expand your reach but also brings fresh perspectives and enhances engagement with your target audience.

Successful collaborative campaigns and initiatives have been seen across social media platforms. For instance, fashion brands often collaborate with influencers or other fashion brands to create joint product launches, photo shoots, or fashion shows. This creates a buzz and generates excitement among their respective audiences.

To plan and execute collaborative content creation projects, identify potential partners or collaborators whose values and target audience align with yours. Define a clear objective and theme for the collaboration. Establish a timeline, roles, and responsibilities for each participant. Leverage the strengths and creativity of each party to develop content that tells a cohesive story or delivers value to your audience. Promote collaborative content through various channels, leveraging the collective reach of all involved parties.

Strategy 14: Emotional Storytelling

Emotional storytelling is a powerful technique in social media marketing that aims to connect with your audience on a deeper level by evoking emotions and creating a memorable brand experience.

Many businesses effectively use emotional storytelling to resonate with their audience. For example, Google’s “Dear Sophie” campaign tells the heartwarming story of a father using Google products to document and share his daughter’s life. This campaign tugs at the heartstrings and highlights the role of technology in preserving memories.

To craft compelling narratives that evoke emotions, understand your audience’s values, aspirations, and pain points. Identify relatable and authentic stories that align with your brand message. Incorporate elements such as relatability, empathy, inspiration, or humor into your storytelling. Utilize different formats such as videos, testimonials, or user-generated content. Foster a sense of connection and engagement by encouraging your audience to share their own stories and experiences.

Strategy 15: Employee Advocacy Programs

Employee advocacy programs involve empowering and encouraging your employees to become brand ambassadors on social media. By leveraging their personal networks and expertise, businesses can amplify brand messaging, increase reach, and foster a sense of authenticity and trust.

Successful employee advocacy programs on social media have been observed across industries. For example, Microsoft encourages its employees to share their experiences, industry insights, and behind-the-scenes content on social media, showcasing the company’s culture and expertise. This humanizes the brand and generates a sense of credibility.

To implement an employee advocacy program, educate and train your employees on social media best practices, brand guidelines, and content strategies. Provide them with relevant and engaging content to share. Encourage participation through incentives, recognition, and gamification. Foster a culture of transparency and trust, allowing employees to share their perspectives and ideas openly. Regularly monitor and measure the impact of employee advocacy efforts to refine and improve the program.

Strategy 16: Social Media Influencers

social media marketing plan assignment

Social media influencers are individuals who have gained a significant following and influence on social media platforms. Collaborating with influencers can be a highly effective strategy for expanding brand reach, establishing credibility, and driving engagement and conversions.

Social media influencers impact brand promotion through their authentic content, engaged followers, and ability to influence purchasing decisions. Successful influencer collaborations and endorsements have been seen across

social media platforms. For example, beauty brands often partner with makeup artists or beauty influencers to showcase their products in tutorials or reviews, leveraging their expertise and trust among their followers.

To identify and partner with social media influencers effectively, conduct thorough research to find influencers whose values, niche, and audience align with your brand. Analyze their engagement rates, audience demographics, and content quality. Reach out to influencers with a personalized and genuine approach, highlighting the mutual benefits of collaboration. Establish clear expectations, goals, and guidelines for the partnership. Provide influencers with creative freedom while ensuring their content aligns with your brand messaging. Track and measure the impact of influencer collaborations through metrics such as reach, engagement, and conversions.

Strategy 17: Real-Time Engagement and Trend Riding

Real-time engagement and trend riding on social media involve actively monitoring and participating in ongoing conversations, events, or trending topics. By staying relevant and joining relevant discussions, businesses can increase brand visibility and connect with their audience at the moment.

Brands effectively leverage real-time events and trends for increased visibility by creating timely and engaging content. For example, during major sporting events, brands often create social media posts or campaigns that align with the event and capture the excitement. Additionally, participating in popular challenges or meme trends can also generate buzz and engagement.

To make the most of real-time engagement and trend riding, stay updated on current events, news, and popular culture. Monitor social media platforms for trending hashtags, topics, or challenges that are relevant to your brand. Create content that aligns with the trend or event, showcasing your brand’s unique perspective or value. Engage with your audience through comments, replies, or shares related to the trend. However, ensure that your participation is authentic and aligns with your brand identity.

Strategy 18: Community Building and Advocacy

Building and nurturing an online community is crucial for brand advocacy on social media. By fostering a sense of belonging, engaging with your audience, and empowering community members, businesses can cultivate a loyal and active community of brand advocates.

Successful examples of businesses fostering a community of loyal followers can be seen across industries. For instance, LEGO encourages its fans to share their creations, ideas, and stories on social media, creating a vibrant and engaged community. Similarly, online fitness platforms like Peloton or ClassPass build communities of users who support and motivate each other in their fitness journeys.

To engage and empower your community, create opportunities for interaction, such as Q&A sessions, polls, or discussions. Respond promptly to comments, messages, and mentions, showing that you value and appreciate your community members. Encourage user-generated content and showcase community members’ contributions. Provide exclusive benefits or rewards to community members, such as early access to content or special discounts. Celebrate and recognize community members who actively support and advocate for your brand.

Strategy 19: Influencer Outreach and Partnerships

social media marketing plan assignment

Influencer outreach and partnerships involve reaching out to relevant influencers in your industry and collaborating with them to promote your brand, product, or service. This strategy helps leverage the influencer’s reach and credibility to expand your brand’s visibility and engage with its loyal following.

Successful influencer outreach campaigns focus on building genuine relationships and mutually beneficial partnerships. For example, fashion brands often send their latest collections to fashion influencers, who then create content showcasing the products to their audience. This generates exposure and drives interest among their followers.

To enhance brand awareness and credibility through influencer outreach, identify influencers whose values, niche, and audience align with your brand. Personalize your outreach by highlighting why you believe a partnership would be beneficial. Offer value to the influencer, such as exclusive access, product samples, or financial compensation. Clearly define the expectations, deliverables, and timeline for the partnership. Maintain open communication and collaborate closely with the influencer to create authentic and engaging content. Monitor and measure the impact of the partnership through metrics such as reach, engagement, and conversions.

Strategy 20: Personalized Marketing on Social Media

Personalization is a crucial element in social media marketing efforts to create tailored experiences that resonate with individual users. By customizing content, offers, and engagement based on user preferences and behaviors, businesses can drive conversions, brand loyalty, and customer satisfaction.

Brands effectively implement personalized marketing strategies on social media platforms by utilizing data and analytics. For example, e-commerce platforms often recommend personalized product recommendations based on a user’s browsing or purchase history. Similarly, email marketing campaigns can segment subscribers and send targeted content based on their interests or previous interactions.

To personalize your social media marketing, collect and analyze data on user preferences, behaviors, and demographics. Leverage social media analytics tools to understand audience engagement, interests, and interactions with your content. Develop content that resonates with specific segments of your audience. Utilize targeted advertising options on social media platforms to reach specific demographics or interests. Engage with users through personalized messages, responses, or offers. Continuously refine and optimize your personalization strategies based on user feedback and metrics.

Elevate your social media marketing with these 20 strategies! From organic reach to influencer marketing, we’ve explored a range of tactics to inspire and guide your online promotion efforts. Remember, a well-designed social media marketing plan is your roadmap to success. Define clear objectives, understand your audience, and create valuable content to achieve meaningful results. Embrace the power of social media and stay agile in the ever-evolving digital landscape. Let’s take your social media game to new heights!

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social media marketing plan assignment

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Assignment ideas for social media courses

I want to share some assignments that I developed for Introduction to Social Media Marketing, which is a 3-week open online course at MulinBlog Online J-School . If you are an instructor of social media, please offer some comments and share your course materials; if you are a student, please also share your learning experience.

The three weekly modules in this open course each covers a focused topic – concept, strategy and tactics. This course does not cover the range of topics I would include in a regular college-level course, which will go deeper in each topic and will include additional topics such as engagement and measurement.

In each week, there are selected readings, tutorials, quiz, class discussions, and one or two assignments. You can download the syllabus or view it embedded below. I developed detailed instructions for each assignment; see below the embedded syllabus for each week’s assignment instructions.

[gview file=”http://www.mulinblog.com/mooc/syllabus_mulinblog_social_media_marketing.doc” save=”0″]

Week 1 assignment: Social media marketing concepts

Following guidelines and examples in the reading, please conduct a real social media SWOT analysis. Some suggestions on what you can do:

  • You can do an analysis of a big brand; compare their social media practices with the four areas of a SWOT analysis, and discuss what we can learn from this brand.
  • You can analyze social media activities of a small business or a non-profit organization, and try to suggest improvements. It can be a business or organization you have connections with or otherwise have knowledge of.
  • If you want to, you can even conduct a SWOT analysis of your instructor, Dr. Mu Lin, who has been promoting his blog (www.mulinblog.com) on Twitter and Facebook.

When posting your analysis, please follow this format:

  • Description of the business or organization you are analyzing.
  • The actual SWOT analysis (please follow examples in the reading).
  • Takeaways or suggestions. Something we can learn, or improvements they can use.

Week 2 assignment: Social media marketing strategy

There are two options for this week; you can choose to work on one or both of them.

Option #1: social media strategy

Read or download a social media strategy template by HootSuite and create a social media strategy for a real business or institution. You may need to conduct a SWOT analysis and incorporate findings in your strategy.

Option #2: content curation

Follow tips in this week’s reading for finding content ideas, research for an idea and create a Storify story.

Week 3 assignment: Social media marketing tactics

Option #1: Social media listening

Set up social media listening in Hootsuite for a brand, an institution, a celebrity or just any subject where there may be active related social media discussions. You can refer to the lesson for how to set up listening streams as well as what to monitor.

In your report, tell us what you listened to, what streams you set up, what you have found that interest or otherwise surprise you, and what you suggest that business or institution should do, and just anything else you want to discuss and share with us.

Option #2: Message creation

If you have a Twitter or Facebook account, try promoting something following best practices in this week’s lesson.

Specifically, choose a piece of content that you think may interest your followers/fans. Create a new tweet or Facebook post following writing guidelines in the lesson, conduct a hashtag research to find and include a few hashtags, then publish your message.

In your report, paste the actual tweet or post you created, tell us what specific guidelines you followed in drafting that message, how you came up with relevant hashtags, and tell us about responses to your message.

Related posts:

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Digital Marketing Campaign Assignment

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Long before the term "influencer" was coined, young people played that social role by creating and interpreting trends. Now a new generation of influencers had come on the scene. Members of Gen Z-loosely, people born from 1995 to 2010-were true digital natives: from earliest youth, they have been exposed to the internet, to social networks, and to mobile systems (Tracy and Fernanda, 2018) Generation Z had became a dominant population in the world of social media which in turn had shaped the world of marketing up-side-down. Cait and Andrew also suggested that Marketing had been revolutionized due to the rise of digital media and new forms of electronic communication. In response, academic researchers have attempted to explain consumer and firm-related phenomena related to digital, social media and mobile marketing.

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Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Social media marketing (SMM) is a content creation that promotes business vendors or products on a social media platform like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn, etc. Although the terms ‘e-marketing’ and ‘digital marketing’ are still dominant in academia, both practitioners and researchers are becoming more popular in social media marketing. Social media marketing furnishes organizations with an approach to arrive at new clients, draw in with existing clients, and advance their ideal culture, strategic, tone. SMM has become an amazingly mainstream path for organizations to interface with their crowds since every stage reports millions or even billions of clients every day.

Most social media platforms have built-in data analytics tools that allow businesses to track ad campaign progress, success, and engagement. Social media marketing has grown into its own field since its advent, complete with unique terms which are essential for understanding how it works. Companies address a variety of stakeholders through social media marketing, including current and potential customers, current and potential employees, journalists, bloggers, and therefore the general public. Many social networks enable users to provide detailed geographic, demographic, and personal information allowing marketers to tailor their messages to what is most likely to resonate with users.

When utilizing social media marketing, firms can permit clients and Internet clients to post client created content (e.g., online remarks, item audits, and so forth.), otherwise called “earned media”, instead of utilization advertiser arranged to publicize duplicate. Since Internet crowds can be preferable divided over more customary advertising channels, organizations can guarantee that they are zeroing in their assets on the crowd that they need to target. More than 80 percent of business leaders identified social media as an integral part of their business in 2014. Business retailers have seen increases in their social media marketing revenues of 133 percent.

Social media marketing (SMM) has become a necessity for all modern businesses wishing to connect with their online customers. A major strategy used in social media marketing is to develop messages and content that will be shared between individual users and their families, friends, and coworkers. Customers have come to expect some level of online presence from the majority of the companies they patronize, with over 75% of consumers reporting that they are going online and research a business before choosing whether to create a buying deal. Some examples of popular social networking websites over the years are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Snapchat.

Social media procedure includes the making of substance that is “clingy,” implying that it will stand out enough to be noticed and increment the likelihood that the individual in question will lead an ideal activity, for example, buy an item or offer the substance with others. There are over 3.8 billion individuals via online media in 2020, which implies there are 3.8 billion chances to get sellers brand out to another client. Social media raises awareness of the brand through engagement, so if they create a business page for their company and engage with other social media posts, vendors or sellers only by that simple act increase their brand awareness. Marketers create viral content which is designed to quickly spread among users.

Social media advertising ought to likewise urge clients to make and offer their own substance, for example, item surveys or remarks (known as “earned media”). Advancing and sharing substances via online media is an incredible method to improve lead age, which is the way toward pulling in and changing over outsiders into expected clients. As a communications tool, one of the main purposes of using social media in marketing is to make companies accessible to those interested in their product and make them visible to those who have no knowledge of their products. A huge driver of the popularity of social media marketing is the desire for genuine interaction of the customers.

Social media marketing involves the use of social networks, online brand-related consumer activities (COBRA), and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) to advertise successfully online. While social media marketing can bring benefits, it can also create barriers that companies may not have had to address otherwise. A regularly updated online presence goes a long way in establishing the business of vendors as a mark authority. In addition, regular customer interaction shows that they are committed to and care about their customers and their satisfaction; social media makes this easily reachable and visible.

Information Sources:

  • business.com
  • investopedia.com

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  1. Social Media Marketing: A Simple Roadmap

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  3. Steps for Social Media Marketing plan

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  4. FREE 15+ Sample Social Media Marketing Plan Templates in PDF

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  5. Social Media Marketing Strategy Plan Template

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  1. The Social Media Marketing Plan

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COMMENTS

  1. Social Media Marketing Plan Assignment

    Organize your Social Media Marketing Plan using Heading for each of the following section titles of your plan: - Title Page - Brief Overview - Competitive Analysis - Goals & Strategies - Target Market - Platform Tools - Content Development - Monitoring Tools

  2. How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy [Template]

    Step 1. Choose goals that align to business objectives Step 2. Learn everything you can about your audience Step 3. Get to know your competition Step 4. Do a social media audit Step 5. Set up accounts and improve profiles Step 6. Find inspiration Step 7. Create a social media content calendar Step 8. Create compelling content Step 9.

  3. How to create and structure a social media campaign plan, step-by-step

    Having a social media campaign strategy aligned with your marketing campaign plan means you will action a defined and consistent process for planning and measuring your social media marketing activities, with defined objectives structured around the campaign.

  4. How to Create a Social Media Marketing Plan From Scratch

    Step 1: Determine which social media sites you will use Social media is as homogenous from network to network as soda pop is from brand to brand. Sure, it's all social media, but Instagram and Twitter might as well be Mountain Dew and Pepsi. Each network is unique, with its own best practices, own style, and own audience.

  5. 5 Steps to Create an Outstanding Marketing Plan [Free Templates]

    Businesses with extensive social media presences might even consider elaborating on their social strategy in a separate social media plan template. 9. Marketing Technology. Last, but certainly not least, your marketing plan should include an overview of the tools you'll include in your marketing technology (MarTech) stack. These are the tools ...

  6. How to create a social media strategy (with template)

    Keep it. If not, get rid of it. 2. Understand your target audience. Before sitting down to map out your social media strategy, figure out who you want to see your content (and whether they want to see it). If your company already has a good understanding of your target consumer, boom—you're off to a great start.

  7. How to Create a Social Media Plan: The Complete Guide + Templates

    Follow these simple yet effective steps to create a social media plan for your business. 1. Do a Social Media Audit. The first step in creating a social media plan is to do a social media audit of your existing channels. This will give you an idea about what's working, what isn't and how to improve the things that are falling flat.

  8. 30-Day Social Media Plan [Template]

    Week 1: Establish your goals and define your metrics Day 1: Establish goals for social Establishing clear social media goals is the first step toward transforming your strategy. Determine exactly what you want social to achieve. Here are several examples of goals you might consider: Drive website traffic Raise brand awareness Boost brand engagement

  9. How to Build Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

    Goal example 1: Increase brand awareness Brand awareness means getting your name out there. Some 68% of consumers say the primary reason they follow a brand on social media is to stay informed about new products or services, according to The Sprout Social Index™.

  10. How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy

    A great social media marketing strategy. Venturing into social media marketing without a strategy is like wandering into the unknown without a destination in mind — never mind a map to help you get there. If you don't know the basics: your goals, target audience, the kind of content that will resonate with them, you'll be directionless.

  11. 6 Steps to Creating a Social Media Marketing Plan

    In the first couple of weeks, execute your plan to the T and jot down the results in a sheet. Analyze the results and check out how well you are doing. Ideally, it is best to use a social media management tool that can help you monitor platform-centric analytics. Create reports and see how well your plan is doing.

  12. How to Create a Winning Marketing Plan [With Examples] [2023 ...

    1. Define your plan First you need to define each specific component of your plan to ensure stakeholders are aligned on goals, deliverables, resources, and more. Ironing out these details early on ensures your plan supports the right business objectives, and that you have sufficient resources and time to get the job done.

  13. 20 Social Media Marketing Plan Examples: Strategies for Effective

    A social media marketing plan is a strategic roadmap that outlines the goals, strategies, and tactics for utilizing social media platforms to promote a brand, engage with the target audience, and achieve marketing objectives.

  14. PDF Final Project Assignment: Live Case Social Media Marketing Plan

    Final Project Assignment: Live Case Social Media Marketing Plan, Campaign, and Presentation- SCOPE The Project: To complete an analysis of the Social Media Marketing strategy of a real local business, and then create a Social Media Marketing Plan and Campaign.

  15. Assignment ideas for social media courses

    Week 1 assignment: Social media marketing concepts Following guidelines and examples in the reading, please conduct a real social media SWOT analysis. Some suggestions on what you can do: You can do an analysis of a big brand; compare their social media practices with the four areas of a SWOT analysis, and discuss what we can learn from this brand.

  16. A Comprehensive Social Media Strategy: Setting SMART ...

    The document outlines an assignment to create a social media strategy for a brand. It provides instructions for 8 required sections: [1] Introduction, [2] Brand Persona, [3] Objectives, [4] Target Market, [5] Competitor Analysis, [6] Platforms, [7] Content & Engagement Plan, and [8] Challenges. Students are asked to develop a comprehensive strategy drawing on course materials and research ...

  17. 7 Steps To Mastering Social Media Management [Infographic]

    And with billions of people using social media apps every day, you do need a social media marketing strategy. Sure, you could wing it, and hope for the best, and there will be some brands that do find success that way. But the best performing brands, consistently, follow core foundational steps in building a strategy.

  18. PDF Final Project: Social Media Marketing Plan for Snow College

    create the social media marketing plan. As much as I would love to study an in depth analysis of social media marketing across many different types of organizations, I decided to focus on higher education, specifically with Snow College and its marketing. After gathering the data I was also asked to present at a conference of admissions and

  19. Social Media Marketing Plan A2

    Social Media Marketing Plan A2 - ASSIGNMENT TITLE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PLAN SUBJECT CODE MKT5SMS - Studocu Ted Baker's #WhatsYourChoice The first section of this provides an introduction to the social media marketing plan while the second section addresses the situation analysis.

  20. MRKT330 Social Media Marketing Plan Assignment.docx

    The assignment clearly and comprehensively presents clear marketing objectives for the social media strategy based on the situation analysis and the identified media marketing opportunities, and provides comprehensive support for the objectives.

  21. (PDF) Digital Marketing Campaign Assignment

    Digital Marketing Campaign Assignment. Long before the term "influencer" was coined, young people played that social role by creating and interpreting trends. Now a new generation of influencers had come on the scene. Members of Gen Z-loosely, people born from 1995 to 2010-were true digital natives: from earliest youth, they have been exposed ...

  22. Social Media Strategy Assignment

    Social Media Strategy Assignment. Alli Mowrey Search Strategist. Mar 5, 2014 •. 1 like • 3,265 views. Business. Social media strategy assignment for a public relations class. 1 of 7. Download Now.

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    Social Media Marketing Assignment - Free download as Word Doc (.doc / .docx), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. This document provides a plan for using social media marketing to promote TCP Events, a new event management company.

  24. Social Media Marketing (SMM)

    A major strategy used in social media marketing is to develop messages and content that will be shared between individual users and their families, friends, and coworkers. Customers have come to expect some level of online presence from the majority of the companies they patronize, with over 75% of consumers reporting that they are going online ...