Mr. Eric Mills, president of National Institute for Social Media presented Social Media Strategies for Entrepreneurs at Tamkeen Expo 2013.

1. Eric Mills
Founder and President of the National Institute
for Social Media (NISM), USA
Social Media Strategies for
Entrepreneurs

2. A Strategic Failure

3. Learning Outcomes
We Will Discuss the Building Blocks of Creating Social Media Strategy
• Audience Identification
• Content Planning
• Relationship / Community Management
• Platform Selection
• Critical Resources
• Critical Processes
• Partnership Opportunities
• Cost Projections
• Revenue Goals

4. Strategy vs. Tactics
• Strategy is a Big Picture look at a problem that focuses upon the entire
forest and not individual trees.
• Tactics present a Small Picture perspective where individual trees are in
focus but the Big Picture of the forest is not.
• Strategic planning drives a natural action plan (tactics) that stems from
identifying your preferred key performance indicators (strategy).

5. Social vs. Business Objectives
Social media strategy is not independent from organizational strategy.
There are core questions to be considered:
• What is your organization’s mission and vision?
• What are your current organizational strategic objectives?
• How can social media best compliment those objectives?

6. Building Blocks of Social Media Strategy

7. Audience Identification

8. Audience Identification
• Who are our customers?
• How do we segment our customers?
• Create a Customer Profile for each Segment

9. Customer Profile
Thoughts
Learn how your customers
think. Learn what their
perceptions of your brand have
been, and what you want them
to be. Sights Sounds
Understand what they’re
looking for and what you can
do to answer their needs -
leads to new service and Wants Needs
product opportunities.

10. Audience
Content Planning

11. Content Planning
• Align Content with Business Objectives
• Observe the Competitive Landscape
• Evaluate Internal Resources
• Create a Content Team Structure

12. Types of Content
• New vs. Curated Content
Will the content been created specifically for the
campaign? Or has it already been created?
• Brand vs. Common Interest Content
Will the Content be Driving People’s Interest in Your
Brand? Or Will it Reach a Deeper Level of Interest?

13. Content Audience
Platform Selection

14. Selecting the Right Platform
• Depends upon the Type of Content
• Know Your Audience
• Seek Dominant Platforms in the Industry
• Understand the Functionality of the Platform(s)

15. Example Platforms
• Blogs / Microblogs (ex. Twitter, Tumblr)
• Social Networks (ex. Facebook, Linkedin)
• Photo / Video Sharing (ex. YouTube, Pinterest)
• Social Q & A (Yahoo Answers, Quora)

16. Content Audience
Platform(s)
Community Management

17. Building Online Communities
• Define a voice and persona brand representative
• Add value to each engagement
• Respect those whom you’re engaging
• Take accountability for your actions
• Under-promise and Over-deliver

18. Content Audience
Relationships
Platform(s)
Critical Processes

19. Processes & Procedures
Documented procedures for your social media activities that
capture best practices (including the time to complete tasks).
• Should be a “living” document that is easy to change
• Eliminates wasted efforts by recording best practices
• Forms a baseline for future improvements on processes

20. Action Planning
• Each action plan you develop should answer the following
questions:
• What activities or action items will occur?
• Who will carry out these changes?
• When they will take place, and for how long?
• What resources (i.e., money, staff) are needed to carry out
these changes?
• Communication (who should know what?)

21. Content Audience
Processes Relationships
Platform(s)
Critical Resources

22. Critical Resources
• Physical technologies needed to perform essential processes
(ex. Computer, tablet, mobile phone)
• Project management software to distribute time and
resources amongst a team (ex. Basecamp, Microsoft Project)
• Multimedia devices used to develop content for social media
campaigns (ex. Video camera, sound equipment)
• Social media management tools to reduce time needed to
monitor social media platforms (ex. HootSuite, Sprout Social)
• Customer relationship management tools to enhance
customer relationships (ex. Nimble, Salesforce)

23. Content Audience
Processes Relationships
Resources Platform(s)
Partnership Opportunities

24. Vendor Questions & Qualifications
• What social media services do you provide?
• List and provide links to social media communication
channels for your company (i.e. blog, Twitter account,
Facebook group, etc.)
• What is your social media strategy process?
• Provide case studies in the following format: Client
Requirements, Challenges, Approach and Value Delivered
• Senior social media staff bios, including links to social media
profiles.

25. Partners Content Audience
Processes Relationships
Resources Platform(s)
Cost Projections

26. Real Costs of Social Media
• A study was performed in September 2012 study by Duct Tape
Marketing & cloud based marketing firm Vocus.
• 36% of small to mid-size businesses surveyed spend (on
average) $845 (USD) per month to manage their social media
messages.
• 32% surveyed spend $1,000 or more per month on social
media management.
• 22% Outsource these functions to another firm or consultant

27. Where are the Costs?
• Human Capital – The time spent creating content, managing
processes, and providing customer service.
• Physical Resources – Technologies, Multimedia Tools, Office
Supplies, Etc.
• Electronic Resources – Online software for CRM, SMM, and
Project Management
• Partnership / Affiliate Costs – Training, Consulting, Affiliate
Arrangements

28. Partners Content Audience
Processes Relationships
Resources Platform(s)
Costs
Revenue Goals

29. Online Revenue Drivers
• Leads – Those who have indicated interest in paying for your
products or services, but not yet made the purchase
• Conversions – Total leads who have made the final purchase
• Loyalty / Retention – Total converted leads who return to
purchase your product or service again

30. Social Analytics
• Leads – On landing pages for products or services, or other
lead generating content, how many come from social media
platform content?
• Conversions – What percent of your total conversions
originated on a social platform? How does this compare to
traditional conversion rates?
• Loyalty / Retention – What percentage of converted leads who
return to purchase your product or service have been a
participant in a social platform?

31. Partners Content Audience
Processes Relationships
Resources Platform(s)
Costs Revenues
Social Media Strategic Plan