Social Media Nitty-Gritty

I'm currently helping a friend put together a plan for a social media marketing initiative for a small nonprofit organization. This being my first time working on a social media driven marketing strategy for a nonprofit, I didn't know what to expect or what obstacles I'd run into trying to develop an actionable plan that would result in sucessfully meeting the organization's goals.

As I dove into the project and started outlining the who, what, where, why, and how, I suddenly realized that designing this particular initiative for a nonprofit would be no different than the others that I've concocted for corporate businesses and entrprenuers. That is, the foundation, the backbone, the guts, the heart of ALL social media initiatives should always begin with defining the following four (4) elements:

1.) Chose your AUDIENCE - Be specific. Do I want to engage with retail consumers, doctors, plumbers, working parents?

2.) Know your GOAL - What exactly do I want to accomplish or measure? What is the desired end result? Again, be specific.

3.) Set your STRATEGY - How will I accomplish my goal? Who will be involved on my end? Do I have buy-in/committment from all the players on my end? What 3rd parties will be involved.? What is everyone's role?

4.) Select the TOOLS that fit the strategy - What specific social media tools (when I say "tool" I mean outlets like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon, Bogging, White Label Social Networks, etc) will help me reach my goal?

This concept isn't a new one (see The POST Method). It's pretty much a well known standard among the social media "experts", enthusiats, and influencers. But I think it's important to remind ourselves every now and then that sticking by this process will ensure that your social media marketing initiative - corporate, personal, or nonprofit - is a success.