This post is part one of four from our Social Media Guide, a companion post to our presentation "Self-evolving eCommerce: Using Consumer Generated Content for Fun and Profit" at the Shop.org Annual Summit in Las Vegas.
Planning is the coach of a social media campaign. You must understand the field and generate a strategy for scoring.
1. Buy-in
- Brand advertisers have an easier time with this (way more viral campaigns for brands than retailers)
2. Generate ideas
- Keep a notebook (Google Notebook is useful, so is pen and paper)
3. Identify angle
- Humor: Jockey Stop Squirming
- Controversy: Dove Evolution campaign
- Contest: Target dormroom contest in Facebook
- Amazing: Ray-ban sunglasses
- Emotional: 1-800-Flowers mother's day
- Informative: Sephora makeup how-to's
- Timely: Ice.com - Mr. Cupid
- Ongoing: Blogs (Ecommerce Blogs of the Top Online Retailers)
4. Pick channel (blog, video, podcast, interactive)
- appropriate to budget
- appropriate to timeline
- appropriate to angle