Week 14 More Social Strategy (part 2)

What's the Plan Stan?

A social media marketing plan is dependent upon many variables.  In the case of the small home-based craft business that I chose to promote the variables influencing the marketing plan include the fact that it is a very small business (a retired husband and wife), and they have no budget for marketing.  Additionally, they will be the primary marketers once they are trained, but they have limited experience with technology, so that will also limit the types of platforms they will use.

I think this business will most likely need the owners to spend as many as 6 hours a week. I think two hours 3-times a week would be manageable. Some of that time will simply be due to the fact that they will be learning as they go.  I plan to have them use Facebook and Constant Contact as their primary marketing tools. I chose these two platforms for this business because they are the most common and are both relatively simple to use and maintain.  I would have them use these platforms for six months while monitoring the growth of their Facebook presence. I believe that if they are increasing their Likes and their engagement and if they see increased traffic and sales at the fairs and art shows they attend, then we will know that the marketing strategy is working.

The rough draft marketing plan for the next month:

1. Get their website up and running
2. Develop a newsletter introducing their company, which highlights the company background as well as the craft.
3. Maintain Facebook posts 3-4 times a week using scheduled posts which should include posts such as:
• Photos of their new pieces
• A video or explanation of a ceramic technique or style
• Feature/share an article about a professional artist, or from a well known ceramics publication
• News about local events or artists

Although this seems like a minimal plan, I think it is what is manageable for the company owners. This is primarily a fun project for them as they are both retired and don’t have a significant interest in growing the business too large.