How to Build Your Social Media Plan

As a new quarter begins, everyone has planning on the brain. If you’ve been avoiding putting together a formal social media and blog editorial calendar, now is the time to stop procrastinating! Summer is a great time to formulate your plan while you have more downtime. Why is it so important to plan your social media efforts in advance? While sometimes the best laid plans come spur of the moment, like our #LoveWins campaign that received a ton of Twitter engagement, planning ahead for the things you can anticipate will take your social efforts to the next level. When it comes to talent acquisition and employer branding, the importance of social media is undeniable – 79% of job seekers are likely to use social media in their job search, while two in three say their employer does not (or know how to) use social media to promote job openings. Additionally, nearly three in four say their employer does not promote their employer brand well on social media. Still intimidated by the social media planning process? Here are five tips to keep in mind when building your own social media plan: 1. Plan ahead. Seems self explanatory, right? It should be, but many organizations underestimate the initial planning phase. It’s important to think daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly with your plans. And it’s never too late to start planning! Summer, as I noted, is a great time to plan your social calendar, as it tends to be less hectic than other seasons. First, think about today and the rest of this week. What’s the top priority? Are there any big initiatives that have to be pushed out right now? Then, think about this month and quarter. What’s coming up that will need your attention? Lastly, think about your goals for the entire year. Related, what needs to happen before people check out around the holidays? Take all of these factors into consideration when planning your social media strategy. 2. Set reminders. There are countless social media tools out there – some free and some paid – so use them! Staying organized is the key to any social media planning strategy. Using an editorial calendar (CoSchedule is great for this) will help you visually map things out for the week, month and year. SproutSocial, a publishing and reporting tool, will help you schedule in advance and stay on top of your publishing calendar. Also, setting reminders on your editorial calendar or in your email client will help you stay on top of launch dates. 3. Brainstorm with your team. The best ideas come from teammates, so even if you’re completely confident in a particular social campaign, messaging strategy or timeline, run it by your team! On our marketing team, we have weekly team syncs, ideal for reviewing ideas and upcoming campaigns, soliciting feedback and asking for help, if needed, for big ticket items like webinars, events or eBook launches. 4. Stay in the loop with other teams. Do you know what initiatives other departments have coming up that you should be aware of? It’s a Social Media Manager’s job to stay in the loop with many different teams – namely Marketing, PR, Communications, Recruiting, Sales and Product. To stay in touch, schedule monthly syncs with cross-functional teams. Set agendas for meetings – note exactly what you want to accomplish. For example, do you want Product’s input on new product launch graphics? Or Recruiting’s feedback on new tweets promoting open positions. 5. Scope your competition! The best social media plans include competitive intelligence. When was the last time you checked your competition’s social media, blog and email campaigns? While outright copying is never cool, some of the best inspiration for social media plans can come as you’re scrolling a website or perusing tweets. See a blog post that you can do better? Write the topic idea down and make it your own. See a Twitter campaign that would work well with a new job you’re recruiting for? Twist the copy to make the promotion your own.