Overview
The first step in developing any kind of strategy is doing a little background research. In social media, this means that you need to develop an understanding of your organization and target audience. In this milestone, you will leverage your understanding of planning tools, target audiences, and social media platforms to build the foundation of your social media strategy. Please note that the audience you select in this milestone will be the audience you continue to use in future milestones and your course project.
Prompt
Imagine you work in the Communications department at Southern New Hampshire University as a social media specialist. Southern New Hampshire University has decided to raise funds for St. Jude’s Research Hospital during the holidays as part of their efforts to promote social responsibility and good citizenship. The goal is to raise $15,000 in total for St. Jude’s by reaching three different audiences within the university population: campus students, campus faculty/staff, and alumni. Select one of the following audiences to develop a social media strategy for.
Campus Students: Promote a bake sale being hosted by the student union during the last week of the winter term in December. The baked goods will be donated by the school’s dining staff and local bakeries with all proceeds going to St. Jude’s. The hope is to raise at least $3,000 with this fundraiser.
When analyzing this target audience, think broadly about typical campus college students, who are usually aged 18 to 22 and are actively seeking a degree.
Campus Faculty/Staff: Promote a weeklong fundraiser selling chocolate assortments, purchased by the Business department, to sell to faculty and staff from a local chocolatier just in time for the winter holidays. All proceeds will be donated to St. Jude’s. The hope is to raise at least $2,000 with this fundraiser.
When analyzing this target audience, think broadly about typical campus faculty and staff. Typical faculty and staff members have at least one degree and live near where they work, which in this case would be Manchester, New Hampshire.
Alumni: Promote a black-tie event being held by the alumni association for MBA alumni. The event will be held on December 20 with all proceeds from ticket sales going to St. Jude’s. The dinner will be hosted at the school, with students running ticket sales and a silent auction, and the culinary department will be cooking and serving a five-course meal. The hope is to raise at least $10,000 from this fundraiser.
When analyzing this target audience, narrow your data to individuals with a graduate degree who are at least thirty years old and make at least $80,000 per year.
Directions
As part of your course project, you will develop a social media strategy proposal that will address your chosen fundraiser’s key performance indicators by evaluating qualitative and quantitative data.
For this milestone, you will develop the “Data Analysis” and “Evaluating the Landscape” portions of the Social Media Strategy Proposal section of your course project. Make sure to use appropriate evidence to support your analysis and recommendations. You will continue to add to your social media strategy proposal in Milestone Two.
Data Analysis: Collect and analyze the following data points for your organization and target audience.
Target Audience Data: Briefly summarize the following demographics and psychographics about your selected target audience, as well as the value of considering each data point you include when designing a social media strategy.
Make sure to use valid demographic and psychographic data to validate your summary. Utilize the web resources provided in the Resources area of this module to assist you in completing this portion of your assignment.
Age
Education
Income
Geographic location
Current social media use
Outside interests
Personal values
Evaluating the Landscape: Evaluate the current social media landscape of Southern New Hampshire University by exploring their existing social media presence in relation to the fundraising effort. The Social Media Directory and Campus Faculty pages are great places to start, but you are encouraged to explore other channels that are not listed as well. Once you have explored, summarize your findings by describing the following as appropriate evidence to support your evaluation:
SWOT analysis findings
Organization’s current social media strategies and platforms used
Target audience(s) for specific platforms
Organization’s typical triggers and connection strategies
What to Submit
For this milestone, submit the “Data Analysis” and “Evaluating the Landscape” portions of your social media strategy proposal as a 500- to 750-word Word document. Sources should be cited according to APA style.
