Social Media Strategy

All your social media activities should be based on a solid strategic framework. Always be clear about what you want and what you can achieve. Start by analyzing the status quo, define your goals and your target audiences. Identify relevant topics for your target audiences and Bayer before you select your respective social media channel. Plan your resources accordingly, monitor your progress and keep your goals in check.

 

Plan for Success

A good social media strategy is essential for your success. But what belongs in a social media strategy? What information do I need? The following steps give guidance on how to draw up a social media strategy. The better you know yourself, your market and your audiences, the more likely it becomes that your channel delivers the relevance and results you are hoping for. Here is what you need to succeed.

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Analyze the Status Quo

Before you can decide where you want to go with your channel, you need a clear understanding of where you stand. An in-depth analysis of your (social media) status quo can help you identify opportunities as well as pitfalls. Below are some leading questions to give you an idea of what to look out for.

 

If you already manage social media channels, an audit performed by an external agency/partner can help you to find possible improvements.

  • Has your division/country/corporate function/department already formulated a digital strategy including communication goals or target audiences you need to consider?

  • What is the current state of visibility of the division, project, topic, etc. on the social web? Please check the MIRA database to see if there are any existing Bayer channels similar to the one your are planning. Additionally, get in touch with the internal digital Channels community via Connections (or soon Yammer) to find out if any similar channels are being planned.

  • Which communication activities did you use in the past? Which of these were successful and which were not? 

  • What is the overall state of the market, industry and competition? 

  • What are the behavioral patterns of your target audience’s communication and media consumption, e.g. (prospective) employees, clients, etc.?

  • What are your audience’s (e.g. employees, clients, etc.) behavioral patterns regarding communication and media consumption?

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Define Your Social Media Goals

„If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.“
- William Thomson

 

You need to be clear about what you want to achieve with your social media channel(s) and activities. Make your social media goals as concrete and quantifiable as possible to help you track your progress. 

 

Our tip: Use SMART goals to be as efficient as possible:

  • Specific

  • Measurable

  • Achievable

  • Relevant

  • Timely

A social media strategy is ideal for medium to long term success. To make the most of your strategy, set concrete goals or milestones of what you want to achieve in a specific period of time. You should also make sure any goals are defined in accordance with Bayer’s overarching company strategy.

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Identify Your Target Audiences and Get to Know Them

The better you get to know your target audience(s) and their needs, the better you will be able to successfully tailor your social media presence.
Try to describe your target audience in as much detail as possible. One way of defining your audience is to develop personas. Here are some examples already used at Bayer for our global corporate channels.

Bayer Personas for Global Corporate Channels

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Identify Relevant Topics for Your Target Audiences and Bayer

The basis for good content is its relevance. A lot of social media work actually consists in identifying topics and producing content. The global content wheel – as a master for global corporate channels – is one good example of choosing the focal point of your activities. Always put the interests and needs of your target audience first and take up their perspective when trying to come up with new content.

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Find Suitable Social Media Channels

Choosing a suitable social media channel to implement your strategy depends in large parts on where to reach your target audience and what you are trying to achieve. Your status quo analysis as well as usage data of different platforms and channels will help you in finding the right platform for you. Be aware that each network has its character. You should adjust your content and your visual appearance accordingly.

 

Our tip:

Make sure that social media is the right channel for target audiences. Some are hard to target via social channels or don't even use/like these channels.

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Think About Resources Needed

Social media channels are a great gateway to our target audiences. But they require time, budget and manpower. Starting a blog may sound like a great idea initially but if you have no one to regularly write good content for it, there is not much point. You can however hire agencies to support you in running your social media channel. Before launching your social media channel all roles and responsibilities should be clarified.

 

Closing an account:

If you realize you run out of budget or if your topic/campaign is only planned for a limited time: Make sure that you have an exit strategy:

  • Merge with similar Bayer channels to keep the fans/followers

  • Delete the channel if there is no channel you can merge with

  • Delete the channel in the MIRA database so everybody within Bayer knows that this channel is no longer available

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Measure Your Success And Optimize Continuously

Evaluations help you track your progress towards meeting the goals you initially defined in your strategy. You should have different goals for content, community management and ad-management. Most platforms like Facebook Insights already have in-built analytics functions to help measure your performance. To track analytics on more than one channel, you can use software like Sprinklr.

Available Bayer Social Media Strategies

Bayer has developed overarching strategic goals regarding our social media presence, complete with more detailed strategies to leverage specific social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. You can find more information about these approaches in the Digital Channels Community. If you would like to join the community, please contact Rachel McGrew.

 

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Roles & Responsibilities

 

Find out which roles and responsibilities are needed to manage your channel for long-term success.

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Setting Up a Channel

 

Strategy drawn up? Roles and responsibilities defined? Here is what you need to do next to set up a new channel.

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Downloads
Infographic “Social Media Strategy”
As an example: Global Corporate Bayer Personas
Bayer Global Social Media Strategy
Brandbook Global Corporate Social Media Channels
Youtube Playbook: Guidelines and Tips for using Youtube
Links
Share Your Social Media Strategy as a Best Practice

Most frequently asked questions

CHANNEL SETUP

 

I need help drafting a social media strategy.

A sound social media strategy is the foundation for your project’s success. It is therefore important to devote the necessary time to devising that strategy, and in this context the checklist we have provided can be helpful. Colleagues with whom you can share ideas and experiences can be found in the global Digital Communications Communities. To become part of such a community, and if you have questions, please contact Janine Langlotz.

 
CHANNEL SETUP

 

What are the components of a social media strategy?

The success of a social media channel also depends on strategic planning. You should start by analyzing the status quo so that you can then define the goals you want to achieve. Additional steps are required to reach those goals: Define your target group, identify relevant topics, specify appropriate social media channels, plan for the necessary resources, and finally, assess your success. These aspects are explained in detail in our checklist.

 

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