Social Media Planning

The wide range of social media platforms can be used in various ways to advance marketing communication goals. Paid social media expenditures will likely make up a significant portion of your media budget, and reaching your target audiences with persuasive social media content to drive awareness, interest, and purchase intent will be key to the success of your campaign.

Nonetheless, social media can often “fall between the cracks” in the planning process. To avoid this, the media and interactive director and PR and promotions director should discuss: 1) social media platform/content approach, 2) influencer/partnership recommendations.

Social Media Platform/Content Approach

Be sure to include social media platforms and content approaches in your media strategy & tactics recommendations to your Client. Other aspects may be better suited for the PR and promotions sections, especially the owned social media content. Questions to answer in this section include:

  • Pay attention to what percentage of the overall media budget will be used for paid social media.
  • What platforms do you recommend and why? If any major platforms are omitted, why avoid them?
  • How will key elements from the creative brief/plan be carried over to social media?
  • How will paid ads on the platforms differ from the OWNED brand handles/accounts? What type of content will the owned handles post, and how will this integrate back into the overall campaign?
  • Explain the look, feel, tone, and content for the owned brand handles/accounts. What needs to change to best match the brand in the overall campaign?
  • Explain the key timeline for your social media efforts and how they integrate with the campaign.

Influencer/Partnership Recommendations

What are your influencer and partnership recommendations to your Client, and how will influencer marketing be incorporated into the campaign? Questions to answer in this section include:

  • What is the influencer strategy — are they going from none currently to building a roster of influencers that appeal to the target audiences, or is it a more subtle shift?
  • Explain the approach to identifying the influencer strategy — example: “we know nutrition appeals strongly to our target audience, so the Brand should pursue social media relationships with fitness and lifestyle influencers who lean into healthy diets…”. Lay out the strategic vision for your approach and the rationale for why you think it is the best path.
  • Will the Brand partner with any other brands or organizations as part of the social media strategy? Explain your rationale for any recommended alignments.

*Remember: social influencer/partner payments do not come out of your $50MM paid media budget. Like PR, this is a separate category that we won’t hold you to a specific spending amount! Nonetheless, be realistic in your proposals, and check with the instructors if you are unsure.