Essay Sample with Social Media Proposal

My idea of a social media marketing plan is based on The Maids of Aurora, Illinois. The Maids is a cleaning company that offers its services for houses and offices in areas within Illinois. The company has a team of maids who conduct themselves professionally and are sure to leave the place completely clean to the owners liking. They offer recurrent cleaning services for busy clients as well as the occasional cleanse where much regularity is not required. Fall and spring cleaning are another of their business models that I found quite impressing. The maids are thorough, and the service is excellent, which implies that the experience should be sold to other people. The company has much potential for growth if it takes advantage of the available platforms to market its services.

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Objective

An online search of the company reveals a company website that illustrates what their business is about, complete with pictures and explanations. The Maids has a presence on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. The numbers were, however, not impressive to suggest substantial returns from the social media marketing endeavors. The company Facebook page has a total of over 130,000 likes, and slightly below 800 followers on Twitter. The Maids could gain a lot from intensifying its social media efforts to drive its message and services to a broader market. I aim to formulate a business plan to help the company with its online marketing via social media platforms. The personal nature of the business requires dealing with homeowners and businesses hence an online platform makes perfect sense.

Scope

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Yelp, and Google+ are the only platforms utilized by The Maids in their marketing plans. There are many other social sites that the business could use to increase the number of potential customers. Instagram is one of the dominant platforms that could improve the brand's visibility in the Aurora area and beyond. The other possibility includes YouTube.

Marketing Plan

It is made up of several stages:

Set Goals

The initial step is to identify the core objectives of the social media campaign. It is vital to understand the intended purposes to help in setting marketing goals. The new social media platforms should be able to show some substantial progress once they are utilized. In the case of The Maids, the marketing will increase public awareness of the brand leading to more business opportunities and a loyal fan base. Increasing the number of followers on other platforms like Instagram is a critical factor in ensuring that more people are aware of the business. I will ensure that the Instagram page is up and running with posts consisting of before and after pictures of different projects. It is important to post these different pictures to show viewers the high-quality cleaning done by the company. I will set a follower target on Instagram and calculate the number of views and reactions on YouTube videos.

Audience Research

I will then consider the core market for the company and use statistics to see the go-to social media platform for these people. The idea is to concentrate my efforts in the areas that will reach the target customers. The core market for house cleaners like The Maids will primarily include young professionals and college students in residential locations. This demographic is likely to be on Instagram and YouTube, and hence the chances of gaining positive feedback are increased. It is vital to understand the characteristics of the audience to gauge the effectiveness of the marketing agenda.

Establish the Critical Metrics

These are the figures that show how the marketing campaign is proceeding over time. The number of likes on Facebook and Instagram is not sufficient in telling the entire story, and hence we should consider other measures:

Reach- the specific number of users who saw the content across all platforms.

Clicks- the number of people who open website links, pictures, and other material. This metric helps in explaining the thought process behind the visitors' decisions.

Engagement- this metric measures the number of people who saw and reacted positively to a social media post.

Hashtags- Twitter and Instagram use hashtags extensively. It is essential to consider the hashtags associated with The Maids to determine the people who view the brand.

Sentiment- understanding the overall feeling of a marketing campaign. Going through the comments and online discussions will give an idea of how public perceive the online marketing efforts. It becomes easy to make improvements.

Paid and organic likes- the chances of gaining organic likes are higher on Instagram than Facebook due to the personalized nature of the latter.

These metrics make it easier to track growth and effectiveness of social media marketing.

Research the Competition

Understanding the social media activities of competing businesses is a useful step in the marketing plan for The Maids. I will consider the content used by the competition and seek ways to go a notch higher in terms of creativity. Monitoring the rivals will also help to eliminate instances of duplication of ideas. I will opt for the top companies since they are likely to have substantial social media traffic. I will conduct a competitive analysis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using Sprout Social to see how The Maids compares with other players. I will also be able to learn from the companies with high engagement figures to improve my marketing strategy.

Create Unique Content

Content creation will be done in line with the customer base demographics to maintain brand identity. It must reflect the values of the business apart from attracting the social media visitors. I recommend Instagram pictures of before and after cleaning, to illustrate the effectiveness of The Maids work. Well-edited YouTube videos will show the cleaning in progress and other associated activities. Understanding the desire of the market will help in creating the right content. In the case of The Maids, people want clean homes and offices without any of the hustle. It is essential to regulate the amount of material to avoid excessive promotional messages, which may irritate the social media followers.

Engage Audience

Replying to comments on Facebook and Instagram will boost the image of The Maid. People will feel that they are engaging with the company and their issues are addressed across the social platforms. It is also best to post content during times when it will generate the most engagement. It is a marketing strategy coupled with customer care, and it will improve customer loyalty. Building positive relationships with customers reduces the chance of failure in any social media marketing effort.

Social Media Platforms

The Maids has a substantial following on Facebook, but I will still pay attention in the area of content creation and lead generation. I believe that the Twitter followers could be increased by putting a link next to the content of influencers or using Hootsuite for scheduling tweets. I want, however, to focus on Instagram and YouTube to create a new following for the Maids thus broadening its online community. The visual impact, and significant membership, of these two sites, will sell the brand to a broader audience than it currently enjoys.