Why You Should Have A Social Media Plan AND Ten Ways To Get Started

You know you should be active in social media. It’s good for your personal brand and your business. But you just don’t have time to do all those posts. One way to help you get organized is having a social media plan. A social media plan or mapping out what your posts will be on a weekly and even monthly basis helps you think strategically about what you should share with your audience. The social media plan includes a daily breakdown of what you should post most days of the week.

Yes, I said most day so of the week.

Consistency is the key in social media. Don’t ride the social media wave unless you can commit to a consistent schedule that your followers can depend on.

I tend to use themes to map out the days of the week on my social media plans. I am also a big fan of iteration. Below is an example of a Monday through Friday Twitter and Facebook social media plan. I developed this weekly plan for my client, AmeriCorps VISTA. It helped guide my posts throughout the week. You’ll see the days of the week divided up into five categories:

• Mission Monday
• Tip Tuesday
• Webinar Wednesday
• Throwback Thursday
• Follow Friday

To get started on your plan, think about the content you have to share. If you are new to the social space, focus on one social media site at a time. I would recommend you consider getting starting with Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.

Twitter – Without a doubt, Twitter is the best way to share and discover what is happening in the moment. To grow your audience, think about following and sharing popular hashtags and TweetChats.

Facebook – Most of your friends and colleagues are on Facebook. So are your clients and customers. Why not join Facebook Groups that support your mission and vision? Better yet start a group of your own. It’s a great way to connect and engage with the people that mean the most to you or the people you are trying to reach.

YouTube – Everyone has a story to tell. YouTube provides a forum to allow people to connect, inspire, entertain and inform. If you are comfortable in front of the camera or have a lot of video content, YouTube is a great place to start. Consider producing a web series of your most popular content. 

Here are ten tips to keep in mind once you are ready to start your social media plan:

1. Determine which platforms you will use – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or all four
2. Devise a daily, weekly and monthly social media schedule that incorporates each platform
3. Monthly posts should reflect recurring dates such as holidays, celebrations or conference dates
4. Determine who will manage your accounts and how often they will post
5. Build upon the content you already have (photos, video, press releases)
6. Come up with a regular posting schedule and stick to it
7. Use a social media management tool such as Hootsuite to schedule your posts
8. If you are cross posting from one site to another, factor in a few organic, original posts for each site
9. Remember that it is a plan, a guide, so leave room for unexpected breaking news stories or changes
10. Engage, engage, engage and then engage some more

 If you need help developing your social media plan, I’m here to help!