Beyond planning: The importance of strategic planning

The longer we run our business, the more emphasis and priority Lara and I put on planning. And I don't mean just laying out a plan for what we want to do. Every year, we take a more strategic approach to setting goals, developing products, and creating content. It's making us better at what we do, better at helping our clients, and understanding our clients' needs. 

We have started having 3-4 planning days per year to set priorities, plan timelines, discuss ideas, etc. It's time we spend away from doing any work for clients or product development. However, it's absolutely critical to the short- and long-term progress and success of our business.

So much of what we do as business owners applies to planning and using social media in a strategic way. Imagine, if you will, a person who has what they feel is a fabulous idea for a business. Remember the jump to conclusions mat from Office Space? (Warning: there's a little four-letter language in this clip.)

Starting a business without clear goals, research into marketability of products and services, or realistic view of what's involved can lead to a rude awakening. I think every business owner has experienced this to some degree - whether a product or service completely bombs or they have to rethink their entire business model. That's usually when you come to the fork in the road and you have to decide which new direction to take.

Strategy is just as important to social media success

We make every effort to simplify social media for our clients. It's not rocket science. We know this. However, between using the actual tools and crafting messages with a strategic focus and tying it all in to your business objectives, the process can get overwhelming. Small business don't need a 100-page strategy document, but they do need to start with identifying goals, audiences, and key messages. Once they know the what and the why, then they can move on to tactics (the how). The "how" is pretty easy once you've established "what" and "why".

Answer these questions for your business

• Why do we use <insert social network>?
• Is our presence effective?
• Are we using it to our advantage?
• Have we gained any customers through that channel?

They aren't easy questions, but it's worth reflecting. This is the time of year that we all start looking at a fresh start in the New Year. We all want to be more organized, focused, productive. 

You can do all of those things, but it starts with a plan. I'm personally terrible at setting goals for our business in the areas that I am responsible for - Lara is pushing me and reminding me to be better (or just do it). I know the importance. I know why I struggle with it. I'm working on a solution that works for me and our business because without setting those goals, even knowing my audience and key messages, I'm holding myself and my business back from being the best we can be.

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Webinar - Get Results in 2015 using Social Media with a Plan!

Lara and I are going to talk about planning tips, advice, and resources during our December 9th webinar. Sign up here!

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Do you struggle with staying focused in your day-to-day use of social channels? That can derail your plans for social media AND other areas of your business. Our Daily Social Media Checklist can help.

Just enter your email address and we'll send you this free tool to help you focus your efforts. You'll also receive weekly emails from Lara and I with valuable tips and information about how to grow your business using social media. 

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Why you need to set social media goals

Social media is an important tool for business owners.  Unfortunately what often happens is that business owners are convinced of the need to use the tools, they set them up, and then they scramble to come up with content.

While social media can make an incredible difference to your business, jumping in without any thought or a plan can lead to some discouraging results. 

Why you need goals

Setting goals for your social media efforts not only allows you to take a look back and see if you were successful, they help with the creation of your content. 

For example, knowing that you are hoping to increase sales of a specific product means that you can create content that highlights the knowledge within the product, or link to articles that highlight the importance of knowing more about the topic of your product.  Then, in six months, you can look to see if there actually was an increase in sales of the product over that time period.

What should your goals be?

Your goals for using social media can vary a lot.  Pick a variety that help you achieve your overall business goals for the year.  Some examples include:

Financial

Financial goals can include increasing the amount of clients you work with, selling more overall, increasing the revenue from specific portions of your business.

Reputation

Reputation goals can include becoming a thought-leader in a specific field, or being known as a great speaker, workshop leader or coach.

Community

Community goals can include increasing the numbers of followers you have for each channel, increasing the amount of engagement on certain channels, or increasing the amount that your community shares your content to their networks.

You could create a never-ending list of goals, but take the time to choose 3-4 that align with your business priorities and let them guide the direction you take when using social media to promote your business online.  

Leave us a comment or send us an email sharing what some of your social media goals are for the next 6 months!

Three words for 2013

Last year I chose three words to help me guide 2012.  It’s an idea of Chris Brogan’s that has really taken off and many people have followed in his footsteps.

Last year my words were Focus, Organize and Produce.  I think I was fairly successful at all three, the biggest focus of all being that I formally joined forces with Karen to create Wellman Wilson Consulting.

Together we built a business with a clear focus and created/produced new courses and programs. We also started plans for many other programs that will launch this Winter. It was a very good year.

Words for 2013

As we jump into 2013 I am ready to focus even further and the three words I’ve chosen demonstrate that.  

Create

It’s not that different from produce except that it takes imagination into account.  We don’t all learn in the same ways and we aren’t just producing material for you.  A lot of what we have planned for this year is different than anything else we’ve produced in the past.  It will involve video and audio and worksheets and e-books.  We’re creating new products that we know will help people move forward with social media for their businesses.

Teach

It’s something we strongly believe in.  We want to help you learn the why and the how of social media.  You may not choose to do all of the work yourself in the end, but you’ll understand how social media works, and what to do to move forward. We want to empower you in a safe and straightforward environment. We want to make sure you understand and never feel like you can’t ask a question. We want to teach you to fish!

Help

Beyond teaching you, we want to be a resource and a support system for you. We are growing our coaching program which is quickly becoming an amazing group of people that all support each other. Tell us how we can help - it’s what we love to do.

2013 is going to be a great year - I have such great and positive feelings about it.  

How will you focus your energy this year?  Can you choose 3 words?  Leave a comment and tell us what they are!

Audience: talking to a specific group helps focus your message

I’ve talked about audience before and the importance of understanding how speaking to your specific audience in a way that they can connect with is crucial. Today I want to talk about segmenting your audience, and not being afraid to really, specifically, target a certain group.

Your target audience is never “everyone”

Time and time again when I ask people who their audience is the answer is extremely broad. Women. Anyone with money to invest. Anyone with a car.

You can’t really connect with an audience that broad. You need to segment your audience and then figure out how to talk to them individually.

Toyota

Toyota is a great example of a company that could say their audience is anyone who wants to buy a car. Although that may be true, different segments of an audience want different things based on price, safety, style, engine, etc.

This is one of my favourite targeted ads ever. It’s for the Toyota Sienna and talks directly to my peers and I. We are in our 30s, we have young kids, and we never wanted to be the “minivan parents”. This ad clearly talks to parents because they are the most likely to need this vehicle (my 60+ neighbours have one; they clearly didn’t buy it for the same reasons I did).

Here’s another Toyota ad talking to a different audience, this time without talking about a specific vehicle. This ad would not work for anyone who doesn’t use their mobile for asking for opinions when out shopping. *I* frequently text photos of clothing I’m trying on when shopping to my friends to get their opinions. I can go shopping with my friends without finding a time we’re all available. My dad doesn’t even have a cell phone.

But I’m not a huge corporation

Who is your most ideal client? Start there, focus on them specifically.  Connecting with one group really well could pay off far more than trying to reach everyone but not really connecting with anyone.

I once had a financial planner who specifically wanted women as her clients. Women who needed to understand how to save and plan financially independently of her spouse.  Her messaging was all to that effect and she primarily went to women’s networking groups.  Would she take anyone who wanted to invest with her?  Of course.  But meanwhile she was out connecting with women on a personal level, gaining their trust, and declaring a niche in her business.

If you’re a realtor maybe you want to focus on clients who are looking to downsize now that they’ve become empty nesters. You can provide specific information on how to declutter, how to decide what to keep and what to get rid of or helping people decide what size home is right for just two people.

Some businesses have a more obvious perfect audience segment and some need to work harder to choose one. Don’t be afraid to take the leap and declare a niche audience. Instead of limiting the potential of your clientele, you’re creating so many opportunities to really reach the clients you most want.

Leave a comment and tell me who your ideal client is. Do you target them specifically?

Strategic Social: It starts with a plan!

Using social media to promote your business isn’t as simple as setting up a blog, a Facebook Page or a twitter account. Creating the right kind of content that is designed to achieve your specific business goals takes some forethought.

A social media plan gives you the opportunity to think through what you want to say and the direction to create content in bulk, eliminating the daily scramble for new content.

Here is a basic outline of what to put in a social media plan:

Who are you?

Write down exactly what it is that you do and why. Have you ever written it down concisely? If so, great, just use that! If not, take the time to write it down.

Who is your audience?

As tempting as it is to say “anyone who will pay me” here, don’t. Who are your primary target audiences? There can be more than one. Describe them as thoroughly as you can (age, gender, type of job, level of income, etc)

What are your key messages?

What do you want people to know about your business? You can have 3-4 and they can range from “we sell a great lightbulb” to “we are committed to the best customer service you can imagine” to “social media doesn’t need to be complicated.”

What are your goals?

Your goals for using social media can vary a lot. Pick 3-4 to focus on for the next 6 months. They can be about increasing sales, but they can also be things like “increase our web presence” “build  relationships with key online influencers”.

Tactics 

This is the real meat of the plan. How are you going to target your audiences with your key messages to achieve your goals?

Give yourself set tasks per week and then fill in an editorial calendar with them. 

Examples could be:

• Write two blog posts a week.
• Acquire two guest posts a month.
• Post daily on Facebook.
• Post three times a day on twitter.

You can then expand on those further:

• Every Monday share a photo of ____ on Facebook and twitter
• Every Tuesday promote a blog post
• Every Wednesday share a useful tip on ______ on Facebook and twitter.
• Every other Friday are guest posts on the blog.
• Every Saturday share a post from the archives of your site.

Aside from your editorial calendar what else could you plan to do to attract your audience?

• Write guest posts for other blogs.
• Offer to be interviewed in podcasts
• Build your newsletter list and commit to sending a monthly newsletter.
• Hold bi-monthly tweetups

The sky is the limit for tactics. Just remember to be realistic and to think about what your audience wants and would find of value.

Measurement 

Based on your tactics and goals, what measurements should you be tracking over the next six months? What is a reasonable result to indicate success?

• List a baseline and decide on a reasonable increase in twitter followers. (50 a month?)
• Increase engagement on your Facebook page by 25% 50% 100% per month (pick something reasonable based on your current engagement levels).
• Increase visits to your site by 20% over 6 months.
• Increase sales by 20% over 6 months.
• Have 6 guest posts published over 6 months.

Implement 

Now take all the above information and put it down on paper. You’re more likely to commit to it and do it if it’s a proper and formal document. 

Then do the work. It doesn’t always pay off immediately, but growing your online presence slowly and authentically is the best way to do it. Ask someone to be an accountability partner if you think that will help. 

Knowing how to get where you want to go is always easier with a map. Your plan is that roadmap to the destination you’re trying to get to (your goals) - make sure you have one.

Leave a comment below giving us an example of one of your key messages, goals, or tactics.