Developing strategy doesn’t have to be a complicated exercise. It can be simple and fluid. In fact I would argue the more simple and fluid the better.
Over the weekend Lee Oden asked several us why strategy before tactics was so important. He received 44 different answers from some really smart and talented people. As I was crafting my response I thought I’d show how simple it could be to craft a strategy and in the process hopefully show some of the different components.
Here’s a simple example I just made up:
I need people in my town to know about my new pet sitting business in order to grow new customers (Objective: Awareness).
People are very passionate about their pets so I need them to trust me with their pets and know why I’m better than a kennel service (Goal: Brand Positioning).
(Target Audience: People in my town who are passionate about their pets)
I want to grow my business through organic Word of Mouth by building personal relationships with potential customers (Strategy).
I’ll use social media to find people in my town talking about their pets, I’ll then offer tips and advice so they can see that I know what I’m talking about and know that I care about pets as much as they do (Social Media Strategy).
I’m building my website using WordPress so I have a blog and I’ll also start a Twitter account and Facebook page (Tactics).
My Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) will be:
- Twitter: followers, RT’s, @replies and clicks
- Facebook: Fans/Likers, comments
- Blog: subscribers, comments, shares, page views (especially about and contact)
- Business leads: Track where I’m getting the most leads from and who are my best referrers.
There you go. Your very basic social media strategy. What am I missing? Anything else in there I should add?
Obviously this gets more complex the larger the organization but we should always be fighting it from getting too complicated. Because this is something we should constantly be revisiting and adjusting.
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I think this is a great template. I would add a point about challenges, like other market leaders doing creative stuff in the space, timeline, etc.
Posted by Jeremy Meyers | 26. Apr, 2010, 4:15 pmThanks for the great example. Hits the imperatives and demonstrates that complexity does not necessarily equal quality.
Posted by Jeff Hora | 26. Apr, 2010, 4:17 pmGreat post on how to build effective and down to earth social media strategy!
I will try it, I have a new social media goal, and i was inspired to do it using this template.
Thanks Tac,
Sharel
Posted by SharelOmer | 27. Apr, 2010, 12:08 pmIsn't “complexity does not necessarily equal quality” the mantra for the 21st century?
Posted by tacanderson | 27. Apr, 2010, 8:18 pmAs always, glad to be of service.
Posted by tacanderson | 27. Apr, 2010, 8:19 pmAnd we are so honored to receive it
Great community service level!
Posted by SharelOmer | 27. Apr, 2010, 9:40 pmThis is good. It's simple because it's clear: The intent, the target audience, the strategy and tactics. Those are Must have before doing anything. Often what we call “complex” is just something that's not very clear/understandable because the planning wasn't well done and thus the action plan becomes monstrous. As Eisenhower said once: In preparing for battle, plans are useless but planning is indispensable.
Posted by Laurent | 28. Apr, 2010, 3:33 pmThank you very much, you cant imagine how useful I have found this tips. You are 100% right about trying to keep it as simple as possible .
Posted by tatel | 17. May, 2010, 2:44 pmMany people would learn from your post that how to build effective and down to earth social media strategy!It is very useful for the learners and the beginners.
great job…!!
Posted by Jack | 31. May, 2010, 1:28 pm