How to Develop a Social Media Plan

A well-planned social media strategy, which aligns with your business goals, is crucial to take your business to the next level. From setting objectives to identifying your target audience and creating a content calendar, the experts at our social media agency are here to enhance your existing social media strategy to help you succeed in the social media landscape.

But first, why do you need a social media plan?

Having a social media plan is essential for any business looking to create a successful social media presence.

A social media plan helps you to define your social media goals and objectives and create a strategy to achieve them. It ensures that your social media efforts are aligned with your business goals – whether it is to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or drive sales.

Without a social media plan, you may end up wasting time and resources on activities that don’t justify your brand’s image or resonate with your audience. It allows you to stay focused on the right activities and efficiently use your resources.

A social media plan also works as a roadmap for your social media efforts, in that it tells you what content to create, which platforms to focus on, and how often to post. It provides a clear direction for your social media activities, which can help you to stay on track and avoid getting sidetracked by other priorities.

In addition, consistency is key to building a successful social media presence. A plan helps you to establish a consistent posting schedule, brand voice, and content themes, which can help build trust with your audience and keep them engaged.

Lastly, a social media plan also tells you which social media metrics you should track, such as engagement, reach, and conversions while helping you identify what is working well and what needs improvement. It allows you to adjust your strategy based on data and improve your social media results over time.

Developing your social media plan: What to include in your social media plan

Now that we have covered the “why,” let’s answer the “what” and take a look at the ten elements that your social media plan must have.

Start with an executive summary

An executive summary is a brief overview of the social media plan, outlining its goals, objectives, target audience, and key messages. It helps bring on board anybody who first picks up the social media plan and is instrumental in setting the tone for the content ahead.

Conduct a situation analysis

A situation analysis is a review of the current social media presence of the business, including an analysis of the competition, social media metrics, and trends in the industry.

Also, research your competitors’ social media presence to identify what is working well for them and what you can learn from their successes and failures.

Define your goals and objectives

You can’t have a plan without a purpose. Your social media plan should include specific and measurable goals and objectives that align with the business’s overall marketing strategy.

Determine what you want to achieve with your social media presence. Is it to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or drive sales? Your goals and objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

Identify your target audience

Your plan should have a detailed description of the business’s target audience, including demographics, psychographics, and behavior patterns among much more. The more detailed, the better!

Brainstorm who your target audience is, what their needs and preferences are, and what social media platforms they use. This will help you to create content that resonates with your audience and choose the right social media platforms to focus on.

Outline your content strategy

Not having a plan for the type of content that will be created, the frequency of posting, and the channels where it will be shared can quickly become a recipe for disaster. Your content should be relevant, informative, and engaging.

Determine what type of content you will create (e.g., blog posts, videos, infographics), how often you will post, and what topics and themes you will focus on. Make sure you include the fine print of all of this in your plan and that your content strategy aligns with your goals, target audience, and brand voice.

Choose your social media platforms

Based on your target audience and content strategy, a list of social media platforms that will be used, including the reasons for their selection and the specific tactics that will be employed on each platform, is a must-have on every social media plan. Without that, your social media plan is as good as non-existent.

When choosing your platforms, consider factors such as the platform’s demographics, features, and engagement levels so that you don’t end up making the wrong choices.

Create a posting schedule

Your posting schedule needs to be consistent and aligned with your content strategy. Make sure that your plan has a specific schedule for posting content on each social media platform, including the days and times of posting and the frequency of the posts. 

Include your budget

No business has unlimited money, especially small ones. Make sure your plan has a budget tied to each social media activity, such as costs associated with content creation, influencer marketing, advertising, and tools for measuring and analyzing social media performance.

Don’t forget to assign team responsibilities

Often ignored, having a clear delineation of responsibilities for the team members involved in executing the social media plan, including who will be responsible for content creation, posting, and analysis, is a very important part of any social media plan. This allows people to take charge and be accountable for their own roles without prompting.

List down your KPIs

KPIs are a list of metrics that should be tracked to measure the success of the social media plan. They should be specific, measurable, and tied to the business’s goals and objectives.

Track your social media metrics (e.g., engagement, reach, conversions) to determine what is working well and what needs improvement. You can use this data to adjust your social media plan as needed.

Having KPIs in your social media plan will also ensure that everyone on your team monitors the same metrics and works in tandem when making changes.

Developing a social media plan is only the first step. But this comprehensive guide is enough for anybody (including the newbies in your organization) to quickly get familiar with your social media publishing culture. Make sure you don’t skip it!