Planning and Strategy, Part 1

Content strategies were the topic of conversation in Thursday’s J412/J512 lecture with Professor Kelli Matthews. Chris Stadler, Sho Ito, and Sharece Bunn led the Twitter conversation as the class discussed the levels of strategy and what they need to do to complete the social media plans for the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW).

The class brainstormed what they should listen and monitor as they develop a plan.

1. When you’re at level one, look for keywords related to the business. Examples are ELAW, names of lawyers, country names, and project names.
2. With level 2, @stadler_cj said Level 2: Use L1 searches to find L2 search topics/issues/term. In level 2, you can branch out of your business, what many students assumed might be the first place to go. But initially, you have to know your business. Level 2 suggestions for listening and monitoring were environment, law, looking for similar and opposing organizations, finding the hot topic environmental issues.
3. In level 3, look for blogs.

But the key to developing a successful social media plan is to be empathetic. Know your audience. @aseits shared, “‘Understanding your audience is the only way you can figure out how to reach them.’ Wise words via @kmatthews.” Before thinking of Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube planners should become intimate with their audience. Know them inside and out, said Matthews.

There are a few more things to keep in mind for your social media plans.

• How do you find someone to be in charge of social media?
• How many tweets do you need to put out in a week? Think about quantity and the level of communication you are striving for.
• How are you planning to maintain your presence in the future, after the initial campaign?

Matthews said on Tuesday, we’ll be looking at objectives. Be ready to think about your plan’s objectives. Are they measurable and specific? We’ll see you then at #j412.

Interesting resources for planning:

• Emphasizes listening: http://bit.ly/izdb. Thanks, @aaronu.
• According to @corywilliamson, listening is right after “preplanning” in SM planning. I’m noticing a trend. http://bit.ly/d81ALZ
• Brilliant: SM plan executed for a wedding. Congrats, @catone. http://bit.ly/izdb
• Entering social media without a plan=immediate failure. http://bit.ly/j8zvG
• Why would you start planning a marketing campaign using social media without understanding your audience? http://bit.ly/9TfYjT Tis Fab
• Social Media Revolution Video from beg of term. http://bit.ly/4mhBmJ Still just as cool!
• @kanter shares planning/strategy tips from a nonprofit perspective http://bit.ly/c6UpJu

Tagged ELAW, listening, planning, SM, social media, strategy