Chapter

5
Social media marketing

We’re excited about the potential of social media marketing! It’s one of the
biggest opportunities in marketing we’ve seen for years. But, if it’s ad hoc or
unmanaged, it won’t be fully effective and can even be damaging. It definitely
cannot be ignored and warrants its own strategy. That’s why we’ve devoted a
separate chapter showing you how to create a structured plan for social media
marketing.

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5.1 What is social media marketing and why is it
important?
Social media is the term commonly given to Internet and mobile-based
channels and tools that allow users to interact with each other and share
opinions and content. As the name implies, social media involves the building
of communities or networks and encouraging participation and engagement.
(CIPR, 2011)

Social media encourage audience participation, interaction and sharing.

Social media marketing Focuses on social media to achieve marketing

objectives
Protecting and extending the brand
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5.1 What is social media marketing and why is it
important?

Figure 5.1 Social media marketing radar Source:

Chaffey and Sosomworth (2012)

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5.1 What is social media marketing and why is it
important?
The Forrester POST methodology (2007)
Developing a social media strategy for businesses

People Understanding the adoption of social media by an audience.

Setting goals for different options to engage customers across the customer
Objectives lifecycle from customer acquisition to conversion to retention.

Strategy How to achieve your goals.

Technology Decide on the best platform to achieve your goals.

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5.2 Benchmarking and setting goals for social media
marketing
Set business goals for social media using the 5Ss
SELL Using Smart Insights RACE Planning framework

To encourage ongoing engagement and dialogue to find out more about product, to communicate
SPEAK brand perception and key messages, updates about new products and offers, reputation monitoring
and management
To provide information to resolve customer-services issues
SERVE To identity discussed customer issues and resolve them
To encourage web self-service including collaborative self-service

Cost savings are a less relevant part of the 5Ss since managing social media has incremental costs
SAVE for which budget will need to be found from elsewhere.
Cost of social media marketing activity – relatively easy to define
SIZZLE Outcomes achieved through social media which can occur on your site or offline
Value of outcomes online or offline; i.e. leads or sales influenced by social media
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5.2 Benchmarking and setting goals for social media
marketing

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 5.2 Benchmarking and setting goals for social media
marketing
Review consumer demand and engagement for social media marketing
• Alternative approach to the
Ladder of Engagement

Figure 5.1 Social technographics for US and EU, 2011 Source: Forrester (2012)

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5.2 Benchmarking and setting goals for social media
marketing
Review consumer demand and engagement for social media marketing
• Alternative approach to the Ladder of Engagement
Benchmark competitor use of social media
• Share of voice
Reach and influence KPIs
• Sentiment

• Network size and growth

• Social sharing Engagement KPIs
• Engagement

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5.3 Create a strategy and plan to manage social media
1. Listen and manage reputation

2. Transform the brand through social media

3. Acquire new customers

4. Deliver customer service

5. Harness insights to develop the brand using social media

optimization (SMO)

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5.3 Create a strategy and plan to manage social media

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5.4 Social listening and online reputation management
• Market understanding
• Brand mentions
• Influencer identification
Social monitoring • Partner development
• Content and campaign ideas
Social research • Negative comments
• Sale opportunities
• Product and service development

Listen to… With…

Brand conversations about you Search engines
Competitors conversations Specialist social monitoring
Market conversations and analysis
Customer communities
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 5.5 Develop the content marketing and engagement
strategy for your brand
Key content marketing principles (Pulizzi and Barrett, 2010)
1. Content must have intrinsic value
2. Understand what content customers value
3. Content marketing strategy may completely or partially replace traditional advertising and
marketing
4. Get your customers to participate
5. Make it easy to buy
Chaffey and Bosomworth (2012)
• Do we have an overriding purpose for our content to deliver commercial goals through delivering
relevance for the audience?
• How do we differentiate from the bland pack by having a perspective, a position, or if appropriate, a
real attitude?
• Can we develop a personality that can shine through our online content, but really irrespective of the
media?
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5.6 Define social media communications strategy
Structuring your social media communication strategy around PRACE
Chaffey and Bosomworth (2012)

Management of social media marketing including reputation management and

Plan defining a content strategy.

Reach How to increase the reach of your content that is shared.

Encouraging interaction and participation within our own blogs and sites and
Act within social outposts.

How to make the transition from customer brand engagement with social media
Convert to generating more leads and sales.

Engage Ongoing communications with consumers

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5.6 Define social media communications strategy

When new content is created,

it should be automatically
syndicated to the different
social channels using these
tools.

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5.6 Define social media communications strategy

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5.7 Define approaches for the core social media platforms

• Review your strategy for brand-related communications

across social platforms
• Select the social media platforms to prioritize on/find
Developing customer interaction preferences
independent • Profiling the audience for different social platforms
communities • Define the proposition for your social outposts
• Getting the sell-inform-entertain balance right
• Don’t forget the other popular social networks

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5.7 Define approaches for the core social media platforms
• Do our social messaged add value to the audience?
• Is each channel offering its own unique value?
• Are our profile pages communicating this value?
• Is our profile findable?
Creating an • How valuable are our messages compared to competitors?
editorial plan for • Are we interacting?
• Is the frequency right?
social channel • Is the timing right?
communications •
•
Do we send reminders about the good/important stuff?
Are we using the facilities of the network for a viral effect?
• Are we integrating channels?
• Are we using the right tools to make us efficient?
• Are we using the wrong tools/approach?
• Are we responding to customer comments?

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5.8 Social media optimization (SMO)
SMO Structured approach to improving social media through a ‘test-learn-refine’ approach

A/B testing
Five rules 1. Test effectiveness of sharing and content types on
Bhargava (2010) business outcomes
1. Create shareable content 2. Review how well your content marketing supports SEO
2. Reward engagement 3. Review preferences of different audiences using different
3. Proactively share content social media platforms to convert and share different
types of content and offers
4. Encourage the ‘mashup’ 4. Optimum frequency for initiating sharing
5. Best methods for identifying influencers and seeding
content
6. Approaches to integrate sharing of content through
different social platforms, web, mobile, and email
channels

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Chapter summary
• Social media encourage audience participation, interaction and sharing.
• Social media marketing can be defined as “Monitoring and facilitating customer interaction, participation and
sharing through digital media to encourage positive engagement with a company and its brand leading to
commercial value. Interactions may occur on a company site, social networks and other third-party sites” (CIPR,
2011)
• Social media marketing should start by listening to online conversations and should be driven by customer needs
and business goals rather than the social platforms. The Forrester POST mnemonic emphasizes this.

• The Forrester Social Technographics Ladder suggests you should develop strategies to engage users according to
their level of interaction with social media.
• Social media marketing, social business and social CRM require a transformation in many staff.
• Ensure appropriate tools are in place to listen to and follow up on different ‘social mentions’.
• Social media engagement should be based on a sound content strategy
• Use the PRACE framework to help develop a social media strategy.
• Success in engaging an audience on each social network involves finding the best range of content and frequency for
each network.
• SMO is a structured approach to increasing engagement and sharing within social media marketing.
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