Success Starts with Strategy

“Planning without action is futile; action without planning is fatal.”

That might be my new favorite quote. Far too often, businesses and nonprofits start some kind of PR, marketing or social media effort without taking the time to develop a smart strategy. If you don’t have a strategy, how do you know that what you’re doing actually works? I’m not suggesting that you need to spend months and months developing the perfect plan. But, at a minimum, take the time to develop measurable goals, think through what messages will resonate with various audiences and what “next steps” you want someone to take, and do some research to identify which tools will be most effective. in helping you achieve your goals. (There’s really a lot more to it, but this is as bare bones as I can make communication planning. Trust me, the extra time put into developing a road map will yield dividends in the long run.)

This morning, I had the chance to present to the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce about how to create a social media strategy. I broke the process into five easy-to-follow steps:

1. Create measurable objectives.
2. Research and listen.
3. Develop a network.
4. Integrate online and offline communication.
5. Measure ROI and ROE.

For a small business that knows it needs to engage in social media, but isn’t quite sure where to start, I’d suggest thinking through those five basic steps first. From there, you’ll be well on the way to developing a smart approach to social media. Here’s the rest of my presentation, if you’re interested: