You can create all of the thought-leading content that you want, but it won’t be effective if you don’t have a plan for distribution. Social Media is hands down the most efficient way to disseminate information to interested audiences. That’s why it’s time to take the steps towards creating a healthy social media plan.

Bring in Internal Team Leaders
To define the true value of social media for your organization and begin to formulate a strategy, get your department leaders together. Remember this is about being social, positioning your brand as a thought leader, and breaking down those pesky silos. Whether it’s through group brainstorming sessions or private interviews, understanding the goals of your Development Director, C-level Executives, Marketing/PR Directors, Sale Managers, Educational Director, etc. is key. Are there specific areas of research you want to grow? Are there educational opportunities that you want to bring more awareness to? Does your biomedical nonprofit have specific recruitment goals? These answers will help you formulate tangible goals that you can bring into a realistic social media plan.

Dedicate the Proper Resources
Those doing social media well have dedicated staffing resources and created a daily plan for how social media benefits their overall marketing efforts. So, whether you have one person or a team, to be effective it’s important to create formal social media positions and responsibilities, rather than adding them on as a side dish to someone’s full plate.

Review Your Social Media Approach
If you’ve been on the social media scene for a while take a look at your efforts. What activity stands out? What are your strengths/weaknesses? Did you have set goals in the past and, if so, were they attainable? What platforms proved to be most effective? If you are new to social media, take a look at similar or competing nonprofits. Use the information you find in your research to help form possibilities for your strategy.

Reconnect with your SEO
Social media drives online activity to your website and blog where hopefully targeted conversions are taking place. Review your online analytics as well as your specific keywords to see how well your intentions are working.

Develop Your Social Media Strategy
Elements of a successful strategy can include: list of tangible goals and a plan of action for how social media can help your biomedical nonprofit achieve those goals; team members who are responsible; schedule of activity; frequency of posts; where content comes from; platforms used; types of posts; blogs/organizations will you follow, contribute to, and share; and, most of all, a general philosophy for how your institution will be “social”, interact and grow your followers.

Get Your Internal Team Onboard
Once you develop a plan, share it with department leaders to help them take ownership and encourage internal participation. This should be a fairly easy task given that you included those VIPs early on. You may also include them in your quarterly review process and make adjustments as their needs have changed.

Review Your Progress Regularly
Quarterly reviews are a smart way to see if you are still on track. Don’t hesitate to make adjustments. The organic and immediate nature of social is part of its beauty.

Happy Trails!
Sure, at the very least social media can simply continue to reinforce your marketing efforts and enable your biomedical nonprofit to grow interest from potential donors, research investigators and the media. It is a more personal and immediate vehicle for keeping your circle informed and excited about what’s happening right now.

Imagine where it could take you if intentionally built your own road map.

Have questions? Contact me at 866-960-9220 or email karan@cushmancreative.com.