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Chamber of Commerce 20 Point Social Media Checklist

Barbara Rozgonyi

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Kathy Jacobs Design & Marketing

Graphic Design, Website Design, & Online Marketing

5 More Social Media Do’s and Don’ts for Chambers of Commerce in 2022

February 23, 2022

As you head into your social media planning and content creation for 2022, here are five more things to do and not do to encourage engagement, highlight your members, and grow your Chamber.

#1 DON’T share a ton of posts from other businesses on a Chamber page

I will argue that your Chamber of Commerce Business page is not the place to continuously share the specials, deals, events, and announcements from your members – at least not individually and not all the time.

You have to think about the primary audience for your Chamber’s Facebook Page. Is it the general public? Is it your members? Or is it tourists? Or is it all of the above? Then, you have to plan your content to serve each of these audiences best or focus on your primary audience the most.

While sharing these posts from member businesses helps promote those businesses – you’ll likely see very low engagement rates with these posts and, as a result, see your organic reach plummet.

I have a few suggestions for this type of content.

•  If you’re using Chambermaster or GrowthZone – post these on the Hot Deals feature . You can enable the Hot Deals newsletter which automatically sends it out to those who sign up for this email list. This automated email service is great. It serves both those that are interested in finding local deals and the businesses that have the deals. Hot Deals are also placed on your website automatically – you just have to promote this feature in the community.
• Select one day of the week where you gather all of the business news and deals and post them as one single post with images each week. This is training your audience to look for this information at a certain time while also keeping your member businesses happy. You might consider creating a blog post on your website weekly with the same information.
• Create a Facebook Group that the Chamber manages where the goal is to allow businesses to share their own deals and announcements in the group. You’ll need to have some volunteer business leaders to help you monitor and manage this community.  A Facebook Group has great possibilities for engagement and for allowing your member businesses to post their own information – but it can be a lot of work.

#2 DO create and post videos

Video content is the number one thing viewed on social media.

Chambers of Commerce have a lot to share about their member businesses, town, staff, and what a Chamber does. So, create some videos about these things!

Your videos don’t need to be highly edited or well-polished; you can use your iPhone, a microphone, and a ring light, and you can be ready to shoot!

Here are some ideas for video content to get you going:

• Highlight unique places in your community with a quick video tour
• Highlight your member businesses with a video tour and interview with the owner
• Welcome your new members each week or month with a video welcome on your social media channels (don’t forget to tag the businesses in the text)
• Have a weekly video tip on how to get the most out of your Chamber membership
• Shoot some behind-the-scenes footage of your next event to get people excited about it

Posting video content is more about being consistent with creating it and getting comfortable behind the lens.

You can start shooting videos you won’t post to get comfortable with the process.

#3 DO share user-generated content

Share it on your page when someone says something positive about the Chamber or an event! This is the best form of endorsement – because it is authentic.

When sharing user-generated content, it is good to contact the individual or business first to make sure they are ok with the share. Then, you can ask to take a screenshot and repost it or share the original post – but get it out there!

Keep the non-digital format of user-generated content in mind too. For example, if you get a note or letter from someone, take a photo and share it.

Who better than other Chamber members to talk about the great things the Chamber is doing?

#4 DO respond to comments and DMs promptly

Relationship building is essential – even on social media. You can help build that know, like, and trust factor among your followers by responding to comments and direct messages, eventually turning them into members.

Try to respond to comments and messages as quickly as possible. If that means in a few hours or the next day, so be it, but do the best you can.

Communicating with the people who interact with your Chamber helps build community.

#5 DON’T try to do it all yourself

You can’t do it all by yourself.

You can’t have a presence on every social media platform while creating great video content, writing great blog posts, planning and scheduling all your social media, taking photos, and creating a conversation on social media.

It’s just too much for a small staff to handle.

So, be strategic.

Figure out where your members are spending their time. Which one or two or three social media platforms should you focus on?

Once you have determined where you will have a presence, focus on planning and making the most of your time.

By scheduling out everything you need to do well in advance, you can batch create content; you can shoot tons of photos in one outing, create several videos in one sitting, and more.

For those things that aren’t your forte or that you don’t have time for – hire it out. Find a contractor or hire another employee to fill the gap.

Here is one tip that can help you create content without starting from scratch: curate content on some topics.

Find excellent content written by experts, carefully review and vet that content, and share it with your members. You can include a link to an article in a newsletter or even create tips in an image format to share on social media.

While unique content that you have written yourself is important, you can also help your members by creating lists of curated content on specific topics and saving them the research work.

If you liked the content from this article,  sign up for my newsletter  to get tips and ideas for Chambers of Commerce delivered straight into your inbox!

Need help with social media, content creation, planning, or content ideas? We can assist you with creating a content calendar or write the content for you! Just submit an entry on my  “Let’s Talk” form  and we’ll be in touch.

If you would like help with social media marketing, content creation, content marketing, email marketing, or web development for your Chamber of Commerce or Tourism Organization, get in touch with us today!

Kathy Jacobs Design & Marketing, LLC

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Chamber Of Commerce Marketing Plan Template

Are you a Chamber of Commerce looking to boost your marketing efforts and drive economic growth in your community? Look no further than ClickUp's Chamber of Commerce Marketing Plan Template!

With this template, you'll be able to:

• Develop targeted marketing strategies and campaigns to attract new members and promote your services
• Foster relationships with local businesses and stakeholders to create a thriving business community
• Organize engaging networking events to connect professionals and facilitate collaboration
• Showcase the unique benefits and opportunities offered by your specific region or industry

Don't miss out on the chance to take your Chamber of Commerce to new heights. Get started with ClickUp's Marketing Plan Template today!

Benefits of Chamber Of Commerce Marketing Plan Template

A Chamber of Commerce Marketing Plan Template can offer numerous benefits to your organization, including:

• Streamlining your marketing efforts by providing a clear framework and structure for developing effective strategies
• Helping you identify your target audience and create tailored messages that resonate with them
• Facilitating collaboration and alignment among team members by outlining specific marketing goals and objectives
• Providing a comprehensive view of your marketing initiatives, allowing you to track progress and make data-driven decisions
• Enhancing your organization's reputation and credibility by showcasing the value and impact of the Chamber of Commerce in your community
• Attracting new members and stakeholders by effectively communicating the benefits and opportunities of joining the Chamber of Commerce
• Promoting economic growth and development within your region or industry through targeted marketing campaigns and initiatives.

Main Elements of Chamber Of Commerce Marketing Plan Template

ClickUp's Chamber Of Commerce Marketing Plan template provides all the essential elements you need to effectively plan and execute your marketing strategies:

• Custom Statuses: Keep track of the progress of your marketing tasks with 6 different statuses such as Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, and To Do.
• Custom Fields: Utilize 6 custom fields including Quarter, Task Type, Impact, Progress, Percent Completion, and Effort to add important details and track the specific attributes of your marketing plan.
• Custom Views: Access 5 different views to gain a comprehensive understanding of your marketing plan. These include Key Results view, Timeline view, Getting Started Guide view, Objectives view, and Progress Board view, each providing a unique perspective on your marketing efforts.
• Task Management: Use ClickUp's task management features to assign tasks, set due dates, collaborate with team members, and track progress towards your marketing objectives.
• Reporting and Analytics: Measure the success of your marketing plan with ClickUp's reporting and analytics features, allowing you to monitor key metrics and make data-driven decisions.

How to Use Marketing Plan for Chamber Of Commerce

If you're looking to create a powerful marketing plan for your Chamber of Commerce, follow these steps using the Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp:

1. Define your target audience

Start by identifying the specific group of businesses or individuals that your Chamber of Commerce wants to reach with your marketing efforts. Consider factors such as industry, location, size, and demographics. Understanding your target audience will help you tailor your marketing messages and strategies to resonate with them.

Use custom fields in ClickUp to create categories for different target audience segments and gather relevant data.

2. Set clear goals

Determine what you want to achieve with your marketing plan. Are you looking to increase membership, promote events, or raise awareness about the benefits of joining your Chamber of Commerce? Setting clear and measurable goals will help you stay focused and track your progress.

Use Goals in ClickUp to set specific objectives, assign them to team members, and track their progress.

3. Develop your marketing strategies

Once you have your target audience and goals in mind, it's time to brainstorm and develop the strategies that will help you reach them. Consider a mix of online and offline marketing tactics such as social media campaigns, email marketing, networking events, partnerships with local businesses, and advertising.

Use the Board view in ClickUp to create cards for each marketing strategy and move them through different stages, from planning to execution.

4. Create a timeline and allocate resources

To ensure the smooth execution of your marketing plan, create a timeline that outlines when each strategy will be implemented and completed. Assign team members responsible for each task and allocate the necessary resources, such as budget, tools, and materials.

Use the Gantt chart in ClickUp to visualize your marketing plan timeline, assign tasks to team members, and track progress.

By following these steps and utilizing the Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp, you'll be able to create a comprehensive and effective marketing plan for your Chamber of Commerce.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Chamber Of Commerce Marketing Plan Template

Chamber of Commerce organizations can use this Marketing Plan Template to effectively promote their services, attract new members, and boost economic growth within their communities.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create an impactful marketing plan:

• Use the Key Results View to set specific goals and track the progress of your marketing initiatives
• The Timeline View will help you plan out your marketing activities and ensure timely execution
• Refer to the Getting Started Guide View for step-by-step instructions on how to implement each marketing strategy
• The Objectives View allows you to define clear objectives for your marketing plan and align them with your overall organizational goals
• Utilize the Progress Board View to visualize the progress of each marketing campaign and identify any bottlenecks or areas for improvement
• Organize tasks into six different statuses: Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, To Do, to effectively manage your marketing activities
• Update statuses as you move through each task to keep your team updated on progress
• Monitor and analyze the performance of your marketing plan to ensure maximum effectiveness and ROI.

Related Templates

• Construction Project RACI Chart Template
• Ethnic Restaurant Social Media Marketing Plan Template
• Podcasts Marketing Plan Template
• Membership Growth Marketing Plan Template
• Food Delivery Service Marketing Plan Template

Template Includes

Expand to see 6 statuses.

• CANCELLED, COMPLETE, IN PROGRESS, NEEDS INPUT, PLANNED, TO DO

Expand to see 6 Custom Fields

• Percent Completion

Expand to see 5 View Types

• Key Results
• Getting Started Guide
• Progress Board

Sign up for FREE  and start using ClickUp in seconds!

51 Marketing Ideas For A Chamber Of Commerce (2023)

Chamber Of Commerce Marketing Ideas

Wondering how to market your chamber of commerce?

Marketing your chamber of commerce is certainly not easy, but there are many ways to promote and advertise your chamber of commerce.

We put together a list of the best marketing ideas for your chamber of commerce, so you can get your small business out there.

Content marketing is a marketing approach where businesses create and distribute valuable and consistent content to attract and retain their target audience.

Relationships

Relationship marketing is a long-term strategy based on building and growing strong relationships with customers.

Sales refer to all activities and strategies that lead to the selling of products and services.

Email marketing is a strategy used to promote a product or service through email while developing relationships with customers. Email marketing can include newsletters, updates on the company, or promotions of sales and discounts for subscribers.

Social Media (Organic)

Organic social media marketing is any social media activity with no paid promotion. This type of marketing is very effective and can be done using free social media tools.

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing where a company compensates a third party for each visitor or customer brought as a result of the affiliate's marketing efforts. Businesses typically pay per sale or per click/impression.

Word Of Mouth

Word of mouth marketing is a strategy used to generate organic discussions about a brand, company, or event. These discussions are typically a result of an extraordinary customer experience.

SEO, otherwise known as "search engine optimization" refers to the practice of increasing website traffic through organic search results.

Social Media - (Paid)

Paid social media marketing refers to any social media effort that is influenced by advertising dollars.

Print + Traditional

Print marketing includes advertising through magazines, newspapers, and other media publications.

Event marketing (both online or offline) promotes a brand, product, or service through hosting or attending a real-time event.

Buzz Marketing focuses on creating excitement among consumers about a particular product, service, or brand. The goal is to leverage word-of-mouth marketing across a wide audience.

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Chamber Of Commerce Marketing Ideas To Increase Memberships

There are many benefits associated with belonging to a Chamber of Commerce. A Chamber of Commerce’s underlying mission is to drive a community’s economic growth by supporting local businesses. Fortunately, many ways exist to accomplish this goal while overcoming the industry’s challenges. The information below sheds light on these challenges and marketing ideas that can yield a high return on the Chamber of Commerce’s investment and its members.

5 Challenges Chambers of Commerce Face

1. unmet member needs.

When a business or professional decides to join a Chamber of Commerce, they do so because of the benefits of being a member. However, when the membership starts to drop off, sometimes it’s because needs are unmet. This can be resolved by first identifying what each member needs. You can use free surveys sent by email or provided on social media to obtain helpful information. It’s an excellent way to make data-driven decisions instead of conclusions based on assumptions. The bottom line is that you can’t meet members’ needs if you don’t know what they are.

2. Cost of Marketing

The marketing cost can become problematic for the local Chamber of Commerce depending on the methods used. Fortunately, there are many ways to market the services offered, and not all are costly. Several free marketing ideas can be used to optimize results. Content and video marketing are two methods that often yield remarkable results.

3. Outdated Member Information

As a Chamber of Commerce administrator, there is a constant effort to maintain updated member information. Even when there is a concentrated and ongoing effort to ensure the contact details are accurate in member profiles, it doesn’t always yield the desired results. One way to overcome this challenge is by placing ownership on the members and providing multiple opportunities for them to provide updates. What’s great about current technology is that most membership directories are online, and changes can be reflected in real-time. You don’t want stale data to remain in a database.

4. Scheduling Conflicts

When scheduling meetings and planning events for Chamber of Commerce members, ensuring the event is worth their time and fits within their schedule is important. This is easier said than done, especially when ensuring meaningful and beneficial meetings and events. They should also be brief and have a clear agenda that’s provided in advance. When attracting busy entrepreneurs and business owners, you must value their time.

5. Limited Communication

Like any other organization, communication is critical for every Chamber of Commerce. Many experiences the challenge of limited communication with their members, which results in an “out of sight, out of mind” situation. Communicating with members consistently doesn’t have to be complicated. Some marketing ideas listed below will provide cost-effective tips for staying in constant communication. Just keep in mind that some communication methods should be offline. Although it might seem like a lot, there should be some form of communication with members daily. Since this can occur through social media, there is often no cost involved.

7 Chamber of Commerce Marketing Ideas

Along with having a great chamber of commerce website design, and implementing a local SEO strategy to help grow website traffic, below are seven additional marketing ideas for your chamber of commerce:

1. Email Newsletters

Newsletters for email marketing have become a staple of businesses worldwide. Why? Because it’s effective and doesn’t cost anything except the time it takes to develop and send the email. With the right software, you can automatically produce a series of newsletters based on members’ needs. The best part is that you can send email content that’s targeted and customized. Various email newsletter templates can be found online to get you started.

Pro Tip: Make sure the subject line is catchy and creative and you’re not making any of these common email marketing mistakes so that members open the email.

2. Educational Seminars

The use of educational seminars for marketing should be stable in the marketing strategy of every Chamber of Commerce. It’s because most members join exclusively to learn what they don’t know to stay in compliance with regulations and learn ways to grow their business. Therefore, weekly educational seminars should be held so members know they can always gain value from their Chamber of Commerce membership. This includes educational opportunities in accounting, leadership, human resources, business licensing, and many other topics.

3. Social Media Engagement

Increasing engagement on social media is critical because building a robust online community can attract more members. You can provide useful information through social media engagement and drive potential members to the Chamber of Commerce website. Social media engagement isn’t just about the number of followers you can get or the number of likes you can curate; it’s about how many people are genuinely engaged through comments and other communications. This means you’ll have to post on your chosen social media platforms with some frequency.

4. Webinars

Given the busy schedules of most professionals, a webinar is often a preferred way to receive training. Hosting a webinar to promote the services the Chamber of Commerce provides is a great way to get the attention of potential members. You provide them with an example of what they can gain by becoming a member.

5. Blog Articles

Blogging is one of the best ways to promote any business. For a Chamber of Commerce, writing relevant and valuable articles, such as search engine optimization (SEO) and other marketing requirements is important. You can keep readers returning to the website with tips on achieving business success.

6. Networking Events

Frequent networking events should be held to attract new members to the Chamber of Commerce. Whether it’s an event held in person or virtually, members should be able to connect with other professionals because it adds value to their business.

7. Member Business Card Drawing

Everyone enjoys winning something for free. A great Chamber of Commerce marketing tool has a business card drawing for a service or product that’s highly beneficial. For instance, you can give away free consulting services on a topic of interest.

When you provide members with what they need, you’re more likely to keep their attention. The tips are win-win solutions for the Chamber of Commerce and its members.

Chamber Social Media Post Ideas

If your feed is running stale, here’s some ideas for your chamber social media posts. It’s a good idea to try out different things and styles to see what goes over well with your community, so feel free to experiment!

Chamber self promotion

• Benefits of membership & how tos
• Sponsorship opportunities
• Member testimonials
• Chamber awards – post a group photo first, then schedule out individual award winners
• Community reinvestment
• Email newsletter sign up
• Chamber blog posts
• Advocacy meetings and progress

• FAQs about large chamber event
• Event sponsorship thank you
• # days until chamber event
• Events happening this month
• Photos of door prizes, decor, or other event prep
• Creating a Facebook Event
• Facebook Live introducing a speaker, sponsor, volunteer or host
• Social media contest
• Interesting article/video relevant to event theme
• Publications/ads/etc. that you’ve made to promote your event
• Last chance for discounted tickets or to register
• Design of an event t-shirt
• Photo album after an event (this is consistently one of the highest performing posts on my Chamber’s page)

Member promotion

• New member welcome
• Industry spotlight
• Member milestone renewals
• Seasonal businesses now open
• Member deals, news releases, job openings, or events
• Ambassador of the month
• Business of the week
• Facebook Live interviewing a member or going behind the scenes in their business
• Congratulating a member on their award
• Themed lists of what to do in your city involving chamber members
• Specific business highlights or offerings

Your community

• Pretty pictures of your area
• Local weather forecast
• #TriviaTuesday or #ThrowbackThursday
• Local news story
• “Caption this” contest
• Real estate market report
• 2 truths and a lie
• Pending legislation & how to take action
• Local celebrities or famous celebrities that are from your town
• Holiday Events in City
• Silly holidays
• Reuse past photos you’ve shared in a video or collage

Free: Meme Templates in Canva aimed at small businesses:

• Tool/app recommendation
• How pending legislation would affect local businesses
• Business articles
• Motivational quotes
• How to start or grow a business in your city
• Share an article by the US or state chamber
• Shop local campaigns

More ideas:

• Chambers Posting Instagram Reels & Videos
• 12 Examples of Chambers of Commerce on TikTok
• Chamber-specific social media templates
• 15 Social Media Ideas to Showcase Your Town
• 11 Social Media Post Ideas for Chambers

The 80/20 Rule

All social posts should be interesting, informative, or inspiring.  And if that’s not enough, content marketers say no more than 20% of your posts should be about yourself.

But it’s a little different for chambers, isn’t it? Chamber Master recommends that your social media posts be 10% self promotion, 20% event promotion, 30% member promotion, and 40% every thing else. Not sure what % group a post falls under? No worries. Categorize it how you want and move on. It’s only a guideline, and as long as you’re sharing useful or interesting things, you’ll be fine. 💕

That’s great, but it sounds like a lot.

How do I organize it into something actionable?

I’m so glad you asked.

I’ve recently launched an online course – How to Plan a Recurring Monthly Social Media Calendar for Chambers .

In it, I show you step by step exactly how I created my chamber’s communication calendar. After following the tutorial you’ll be able to create a one-and-done printable task list , and check off each post after you schedule it.

By having a social media plan set up like this, you’ll:

• Stress less about what you have to post
• Stop forgetting what you already have or haven’t done
• Save time through batch scheduling similar posts

Related Posts:

• My Social Media Secret to Look More Active
• The 7 Most Common Types of Lead Magnets to Increase Email…
• No Ad Space Left Unused: Promoting Your Chamber for Free

My First Experience with a Social Influencer

Which social media platforms should your chamber be on?

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5 Ways Your Chamber of Commerce can Use Social Media [and be more effective]

Every business that is using social media is wanting to have business growth.

That is given.

And Chambers of Commerce are no exception.  Many Chambers are non-profits but still, they have decisions that need to be made and operate like a business, regardless of their tax status with the government.

In this blog post I'll share with you 5 Ways Your Chamber of Commerce can Use Social Media [and be more effective].

As of this year (2016), 76% of Americans have a social media profile. This is a 5% increase from 2015. 66% said that they go to social media for their news. As a Chamber of Commerce, social media is an excellent opportunity to be where the younger generation is hanging out. If the 25 – 35 year olds are the next generation of business people, entrepreneurs and society leaders, it’s important to be where they’re at and showing up in a relevant and engaging way.

The bottom line, from the start, is use photos and videos in ALL your posts. Posts with photos receive an 87% interaction rate versus 4% for all other posts.

Funny photos, statistics or data photos (even better if it’s your own research!) and inspirational photos are among the top posts that are responded to and receive the most likes and shares. On average, videos and photos are shared 12X more than posts that include text only. Use pictures of your town, local people from events or use resources such as Pexels  or Librestock for stock photos. You also can utilize a tool such as Canva to create appealing social media graphics for free.

Yes, we said free. All of the above referenced resources have a free version that work quite nicely. In fact, we use them every single day.

Aspen, CO Chamber did an excellent job in posting this picture. When you live in Colorado you’ve got a lot of great content to work with.  When in doubt, post a photo.

USE HASHTAGS

Hashtags are mostly used on the social media platforms (or channels as some refer to them) Twitter and Instagram. Hashtags are incredibly helpful for people to find conversations or topics they may be interested in. Hashtags will drive people to your account and will increase your followers when your info is relevant to what they’re looking for.

It is important to use hashtags that are relevant to your industry, business or town. Another great way to think about hashtags is the concept of keywords all together with no spaces. Don’t go over the top and use too many hashtags just to gain followers. Be responsible and use those that are applicable to your business.

• NINJA TIP: CREAT YOUR OWN HASHTAG

Have a hashtag that is specific to your chamber and town?  It is a great way to research the social space and see who is mentioning your Chamber.

The Greater Des Moines Metro Partnership is a great example of using an original hashtag (#SeizeDesMoines) to gain followers and momentum. They were able to grow their Twitter feed to 26,000 followers! Creating a personal hashtag brings a sense of family, pride and ownership to what’s happening in one’s town.

BLOGGING AS AN EXPERT

Having a blog on your website is a smart strategy when it comes to growing engagement for a Chamber.  Especially when you are using social media to let people know about the latest blog post you have available for people to read.  It also continually gives people a reason to be checking out your website.   What you don't want to do is have a website that is launched and created and then never touched again.

Continually creating content that is valuable to your audience sets you up as expert in your field. It builds trust with your audience that you are knowledge and know what you’re talking about. Having a blog is a great way to get information out there about who you, what you’re doing and what’s going on in your city, town or community.

FEATURE A MEMBER OR BUSINESS

Social media is a great place to feature your members of your chamber. Consider this a ‘perk’ for your members. The more followers and subscribers you have, the more people will see each of their businesses, ultimately driving more traffic to said business and feeding into the local economy. A great cycle, right?

The L.A. Chamber of Commerce has the start of something great here. I would, personally, take it a step further and feature each business separately with compelling and engaging photos (just as we said earlier) that give your audience a real taste of what that specific business is all about.

In this example below, the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce in South Carolina made great use of visual content on their Facebook page.  They captured a Chamber member giving them a quote as to why they enjoyed being in the Chamber and then created a testimonial graphic spotlighting both the member and it positively represents the Chamber That is what we call a double hitter.

In social media we don't always have to be doing everything out there that comes out. But what we do need to do it maintain our focus on whom it is we're trying to serve and make sure that the content we create appeals to them. Social media for Chambers does not need to be a process of reinventing the wheel.  When Chambers are able to see what businesses are doing that gets results they absolutely should test it and see what works for them too.

My suggestion is for you to take the top 3 from this list that you think best are a good fit for your business or Chamber and go ahead and brainstorm for 5 minutes on what type of changes you could make and be ready to implement.

DO ONE THING TIP – Rather than getting overwhelmed that you can't implement all the things you like, pick one thing that you could accomplish in 30 minutes and make it happen.

In the comments below, tell me which of the above ways would be helpful for you or your Chamber to start making some changes to get more engagement and more exposure on social media? I can't wait to see your responses. If you aren't with a Chamber of Commerce, let me know if you think you can apply these to your business too.

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How to Create a Basic Chamber Marketing Strategy

If you’re like most chambers, your resources are very precious to you. You’re probably always looking for ways to stretch your budget and guard your time. If you are the only employee of your chamber and you’re in charge of the day-to-day operations as well as the marketing and new memberships, you may be maxed out. But you’ll be happy to know that creating a basic chamber marketing strategy can help you do more with less time and money. You just need to invest the time in setting up the process in the beginning.

There are five basic steps to creating a chamber marketing strategy. These include: 

• Creating member personas.
• Identifying membership goals and required tools.
• Accounting for existing resources (people and pieces).
• Creating and planning campaigns.
• Implementation, measurement and review.

At first glance, these steps for establishing a chamber of commerce marketing strategy may seem overwhelming and more than you need. But if you take the time to create a strategy, everything you do in the future will be plotted against it. You’ll have a tool to help measure against whether this is something that is part of your strategy and bringing you closer to your goals or contrary to your strategy and, thus, taking you further away from your goals. Strategies save time and resources in the long run.

Step One: Creating Member Personas

You needn’t spend a lot of time on this. Just take a quick look at who your current members are. Examine the data of your most loyal and successful members. 

• What do they have in common?
• How old are they?
• What industries do they come from?
• What business or service do they provide?
• How long have they been in business?
• Are they from a particular part of town?
• What is the reason that they joined?

All of this data can be used to create your ideal member.

Crunch the numbers quickly, come up with averages,  and now you’ll understand what kind of common denominator your most successful members have. You’ll use this information to make sure that you’re marketing to the right people.

Maybe your most successful demographic isn’t the one you want to target. One of the reasons you may decide to do this is because you’re looking to expand who the chamber helps. For instance, your most successful and loyal members might be businesses that have been around for between 5 and 10 years with owners and employees in their  50s and 60s.

Upon looking at that data you may decide that you need younger entrepreneurs to ensure the chamber continues to thrive over the next several decades. If that is the case, you may want to create two-member personas, one for the most successful members that you currently have and one for the type of members you’re looking to attract. Write these personas out and keep them handy so that every time you are posting or creating content you can think about who it is that you’re writing to or creating for.

Learn how to master creating member personas.

Step Two: Identifying Membership Goals and Required Tools

Now that you know who you’re speaking to (or creating content for) you want to decide what it is you want them to do. Much of your chamber marketing we’ll target either bringing on new members or retaining old ones. Most likely you’ll have a mixture of both. However, in some situations, your marketing may be targeted at getting people to attend a one-time event or a monthly event the chamber offers such as morning networking. 

Before you begin any marketing strategy or campaign, you want to be clear about your goal with the actions you’re laying out. What you want to accomplish will affect how you get there and the tools that are required, just as your ultimate destination on a road trip will affect whether you turn left or right, north or south.

Before creating a strategy, narrow down 1-2 goals. Make sure they are measurable and time-bound. For instance, imagine you want to recruit three members this month. Is that possible? There’s nothing wrong with creating a goal that is difficult to reach but it should never be impossible. If it is, you’re setting yourself up for failure in front of your board. For instance, three members in one month seems like a good goal unless you haven’t recruited three members in a decade .

A goal should always be a little bit of a stretch but not something where you don’t have enough hours in the day or resources to accomplish it.

More Ideas: Tips for Setting Chamber Social Media Goals

Once you have a goal lined up, plot out how you’ll get there. If you want to recruit three new members this month how many do you actually need in the pipeline? How many people should you be actively talking to in order to end up with three members signing paying their dues?

Next, ask yourself what you need to get there. For example, you may decide that in order to recruit three new members you need to implement a newsletter and host an open house.

Make note of the things that you think are necessary to recruit your three new members including any of the costs, tools, or resources  required.

Step Three: Accounting for Existing Resources (people and pieces)

Now that you know what is required to reach your goals, note your existing resources. How can they be leveraged to fit what you need? Are there volunteers you can put in roles to help out? Is it possible to find something in the budget for what you want to accomplish?

Consider the role of technology. Would having membership software help you be more efficient? Do you need marketing automation software to help you do more and reach more people with less effort? 

If you need board approval for any of these resources that you uncovered in the previous step, make sure you show how meeting your membership recruiting goals will help offset the costs of these resources or help you attain these goals more efficiently saving you resources in the end.

Step Four: Creating and Planning Campaigns

Now we’re at the step that most people overlook. Social media and content marketing can be powerful tools in the hands of chambers. However, when you don’t place a chamber marketing strategy behind them you end up exhausting your time with very little to show for it. That’s where campaigns come in.

Take your list of goals and who it is you’re trying to reach. In creating your member personas you figured out certain things about their online behavior. Things like what social media platforms they use and what types of content they want to interact with.

If you’re unsure of these preferences, do some quick research based on the demographics you have for your ideal member. For instance, if your ideal member is a 30-something-year-old, search online for the most popular social media sites for people in their thirties. Find out if the average 30-year-old watches more videos or reads more articles.

Use this information to create a posting and content plan of how you will reach your ideal member. At first, your plan might be largely guessing based on the research you’ve done. As an example, you may find out that your 30-something spends a lot of time on Instagram and so you might decide to increase your posting from once a week to two posts a day. 

You’ll also want to consider how to stay in touch with people who don’t join the chamber after your initial efforts. Creating a nurture or drip marketing campaign will help you stay in contact with people who may be interested in the chamber but aren’t quite ready to join.

5 Ways Your Chamber Could Use Drip Marketing

Step Five: Implementation, Measurement, and Review

At this point, you have an ideal demographic, a goal you’re targeting, resource needs, and a plan on how you will meet them. The next step is implementation.

Create an editorial calendar where you will schedule not only your content creation but your social media posts as well. Creating a document that will allow you to see the broader picture of your content creation will  give you insights into what is needed and where your content strategy holes are. 

Since you want to tightly align your content creation with your marketing goals you want to make sure that you have content that moves people down the sales funnel. The sales funnel may be membership sales related or event sales related. The sales steps are based on what your goals are. For example, if your goal is to recruit a new member the sale steps may look something like:

• awareness of the chamber
• interest in what the chamber does or can do for the business
• decision-making about whether the chamber is a good fit for the business
• action or becoming a member

Ask for the Sale Deeper in the Funnel and How to Get More Chamber Members with Video (funnel and content tie-in).

Once you’ve implemented a plan, you want to check back to see how effective your content and post have been. Examine things like shares and interactions. Consider boosting posts for greater reach. Make the necessary adjustments to increase engagement. Things you might play with include:

• time posted
• frequency of postings
• social media platform
• tone of post
• using emojis versus not using emojis
• using hashtags  and how many

All of these things contribute to the number of shares and engagement you get with each post. Sometimes even changing a few words on a post causes more people to pay attention to it. You may also try using different types of images. You might use a basic image in your blog or you might place the blog post title over the image. Either of those design elements may change the level of engagement you attain.

This stage is all about experimentation in getting to know what format your audience responds to. If something’s not working, try something else. If something is working, do more of it and apply what you’ve learned from that post to your others.

There’s a lot of setup work in creating an effective chamber marketing strategy. But once you’ve taken the time to do the research on your ideal members, you’ve created the type of content they find worthwhile, and you learn from your audience when and how they prefer to receive the content, you can reach your ideal member much more effectively and in an efficient manner improving your return on investment of time and resources.

By: Christina R. Green 

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Social Media Marketing Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Social Media Marketing Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their social media marketing businesses. Many have used our startup business plan template , but on this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a social media marketing business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your social media marketing agency as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.  

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a social media marketing business or grow your existing company, you need a business plan. A social media marketing business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your business in order to improve your chances of success. Your business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your social media marketing agency grows and changes.  

Sources of Funding for Social Media Marketing Agencies

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a social media marketing business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for social media marketing agencies.  

How To Write a Business Plan For a Social Media Marketing Agency

If you want to start a business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Below we detail what should be included in each section of your own social media marketing business plan:  

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of social media marketing business you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a social media marketing business that you would like to grow, or are you operating social media marketing in multiple markets?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the social media marketing industry. Discuss the type of social media marketing business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of social media marketing business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of social media marketing businesses, or a full-service agency:

• Paid Ads : this type of marketing business focuses on creating social media ads and optimizing social media ad campaigns. A social media marketing agency may specialize in ads for one platform in particular or across all platforms.
• Content: this type of business focuses on creating content, either for specific platforms or across all platforms.
• Strategy: this type of marketing is where campaigns are created around specific goals that help businesses or individuals tailor where and how to best achieve results that will help them succeed.

In addition to explaining the type of social media marketing business you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of customers served, number of positive reviews, total campaigns, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the social media marketing industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the social media marketing industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your social media marketing business plan:

• How big is the social media marketing industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your social media marketing business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: corporations, small business owners, nonprofits and individuals. Customers may also be segmented by industry, such as healthcare, technology, beauty, restaurants, music, B2B, and more.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of marketing business you operate. Clearly, individuals in the music industry would respond to different marketing promotions than corporations in the healthcare industry, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Only select social media marketing agencies primarily serve customers living in their same city or town. However, if your niche is to provide social media services to local businesses, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.    

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other social media marketing agencies.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes digital freelance platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr. You need to mention such competition as well.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will have a similar niche audience.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What types of social media services do they provide?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide better social media strategy, content and ad services?
• Will you provide services that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a social media marketing business, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of social media marketing agency that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to social media marketing, will you provide web design services, copywriting or any other services?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your agency. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your business located in a busy professional district (good if targeting local businesses), or is it fully remote (good if targeting clients that aren’t place-specific). Discuss how your location might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local websites
• Social media marketing
• Local radio advertising

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your business, including discovery calls, onboarding new clients, attending campaign meetings, managing employees and working on campaigns.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to take on your 10th client, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your social media marketing business into a new market.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your social media marketing business’ ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing social media marketing businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing social media marketing agencies or successfully running small businesses.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you gain one new client per month or per quarter? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your social media marketing business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a social media marketing business:

• Location build-out including design fees, construction, etc. (if there will be a physical location)
• Cost of equipment and supplies (including hardware and software)
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or outlines of campaigns you are currently working on.  

Putting together a business plan for your social media marketing business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the social media marketing industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful social media marketing business.  

Social Media Marketing Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my social media marketing business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Social Media Marketing Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of social media marketing business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a social media marketing business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of social media marketing businesses?

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Social Media Marketing business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.

Click here to see how Growthink’s professional business plan consulting services can create your business plan for you.  

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Social Media Marketing

Using social media to advertise a brand , products, or services. Social media marketing allows a brand to insert itself into ongoing conversations on channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Best practices for effective social media marketing include creating interesting content that links back to your website as well as publicly replying to questions and comments. Although you can rely on social media advertising, posts can be organic, meaning you don’t pay anything to “boost” them, or they can be promoted with media dollars. Learn the fundamentals of effective social media strategies in this social media marketing guide for small businesses for a positive return on investment and a successful social media presence.

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What is social media marketing?

Social networking is an inescapable aspect in the lives of today’s consumers. The average internet user has over 5 social media accounts , which they check almost daily. Users also spend close to 2 hours a day across their social presence.

While these social platforms were founded on the idea of making it easier to connect and share life’s moments with friends, family members, and followers, they’ve quickly become an invaluable and necessary digital marketing tool for businesses looking to reach their target market.

As AdWeek reports, 91% of retail brands utilize at least 2 social media platforms to communicate and reach their customers, using social media as part of their online marketing strategies. To help you take full advantage of these powerful social media channels, this guide will outline how to run successful campaigns with tips for small businesses on major social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We’ll take a look at:

• Why your business needs to be on social media
• Which social platforms make the most sense for you to use
• How to create social media goals
• When to post your social media content

Let’s begin:

Why social media marketing?

If the statistics above weren’t enough to persuade you that social media is right for your small business, here are a few other benefits to consider, that go beyond connecting with your community through social media followers and influencers.

A social media presence and campaign can help you to::

• Stimulate brand awareness and discovery
• Find new leads and customers and refer them to your website to improve sales and traffic with an advertising campaign.
• Build hype for upcoming events, product releases, sales, and more through influencer marketing.
• Collect reviews and give customers an accessible way to ask questions at any time
• Enhance your reputation and power in the market with valuable, helpful content

Besides these benefits of social media, it is also important to highlight how unique it is from other digital marketing channels because the value travels in both directions, meaning you and your customers will benefit from communicating and engaging with one another. Having these multiple touchpoints in a social media site can fuel a stronger, more loyal customer base .

What social media platforms are best for my business?

There are a lot of social media networks for you to choose from. Some businesses create accounts on as many platforms as possible in the hopes that they cover all bases.

But this can make it difficult to deliver great experiences on each platform, especially for smaller businesses with a limited marketing budget .

You need to think critically about how many social media accounts your business can properly manage and maintain, then choose the right networks where your target audiences and current customers are most active. It’s one thing to manage your resources, but you also need to make sure those resources are where your potential customers spend the most time, taking into consideration your business goals and types of content, as well as the potential for organic reach and budget for paid social.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common social media platforms that businesses use

Facebook is at the top of many business owners’ lists for the best social media network to use. Not only does it have a lot of users (over 2 billion), making it great to build brand awareness, it’s also one of the most well-developed platforms for businesses.

Facebook has a number of features that allow businesses large and small to create engaging pages that share a lot of detailed information. It also offers retargeting options in advertising to boost engagement, the ability to link to a website within a post, and a messaging system that allows you to chat directly with customers.

When it comes to business-to-business (B2B) marketing , Twitter is really powerful. The platform can connect leads with resources, notify them of new products, and much more.

It’s also a great channel for consumers looking to ask questions, raise concerns, or communicate directly with their favorite brands.

If you’re looking to use the channel, being active and timely with responses is key. If you’re not able to maintain an active presence and speedily respond to customers’ tweets, it can actually be more damaging than rewarding.

To help with this, you can install the free Twitter app on your phone to receive notifications and respond right away no matter where you are.

This channel quickly emerged as a great gathering place for professionals and is a must for B2B companies.

LinkedIn users are employees and business owners interested in making new connections in their field and consuming content related to their industry. This makes it an optimal place to share blogs and other resources that offer solutions to industry-related issues.

This platform is ideal for businesses that create a lot of visual content, such as restaurants, boutiques, and retailers. It’s a compelling way to showcase exactly what your business offers through pictures and video content.

Plus, if you use Instagram stories, you can take viewers on all sorts of journeys, whether it’s a behind-the-scenes look or store update.

An alternative (or addition) to Instagram is Pinterest, which also features visual content that you can “pin” to boards you create. Some of the most common industries you’ll find on this platform are beauty, fitness, home goods, food, and retailers.

Pinterest does have fewer users than larger channels like Instagram, so you might find that it’s less competitive. This can be beneficial to your business if you feel like your messaging gets lost in users’ feeds on other platforms.

Work smarter, not harder, with SMART goals

SMART goals are objectives that follow 5 key criteria: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Creating these goals for your social media marketing strategies can help keep your efforts focused and effective.

Here are some questions you can answer and additional information to get you started:

Specific: Why is your small business on social media? You should have a direct and specific objective in mind for your strategies and find out which channel will help you accomplish them. Some business owners simply want a place to connect with customers, while others are more focused on increasing conversions or traffic to their website.

Measurable: What data point or metric is most valuable to your business? To tell how effective your strategies are, your goals need to be measurable. Each social media network has a number of metrics for businesses to measure their efforts. There are also tools that help track engagement and conversion metrics for you, such as Google Analytics , as well as specialized social media listening tools.

Attainable: Is your goal attainable? It’s difficult to go viral or become an overnight internet sensation, so you need goals that your business can reasonably obtain.

Relevant: Are your goals relevant to the overarching objectives of your company? Also, are your strategies pertinent to your customers? If your content isn’t relevant, users will scroll right past it.

Timely: How long will you expect to reach your goal? Choosing a timeframe for social media can be tricky because you might need time to see what tactics are working. To make sure you don’t commit to an ineffective strategy for too long, quarterly goals are a good starting point. That way you can evaluate what happened in the last quarter on a regular basis.

When should I post?

Some marketers choose to evaluate the “timely” aspect of their goals and focus on specific times of the day and week when posting on social media. This is a really important—and often forgotten—aspect of winning on social media.

Because your target audience checks social media intermittently throughout the day, timing your posts to match up with their activity can yield positive results, as well as align with your content marketing calendar.

Every channel is different when it comes to the best times to post social content. For example, Tuesday is one of the worst days for Facebook content, but it’s one of the best days for LinkedIn posts. If you want to know the best times for each platform, this is a helpful resource .

Your competitors may also post at these peak times, so your content needs to really stand out. You can also look for other periods throughout the day when your audience is active and there’s less competition.

If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to your social posting schedule, try posting 3 different times throughout the day for a month. At the end of the month, take note of which days and times received the most engagement to form your social media calendar.

Bring it all together to form your social media strategy

Now that you know what social platforms businesses use to attain their goals, you can start planning what social channels to use to set social presence and what content to post to deliver an exceptional customer experience , building relationships with your audience while achieving your marketing goals.

It’s important to note that you should always be adapting to the latest information you’ve learned. Every time you post to social media, for instance, you learn more about your customers. These insights should be constantly shaping your tactics and pushing your efforts towards greater success.

For some businesses, success on social media takes months—even years! But if you’re committed to learning from your past experiences and applying those insights to future strategies, you’ll have no problem conquering social media marketing.

To learn more about how Mailchimp can help with your social media strategy, check out our social media marketing tools .

Written by Ashley Segura for Mailchimp. Ashley is an expert in social media marketing.

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Start » startup, how to use ai tools to write a business plan.

These tools use artificial intelligence to generate full business plans you can take to investors.

Writing a business plan is an important, if arduous, task. Most investors and financial institutions will ask to see your business plan before providing startup capital. But, for many entrepreneurs, putting pen to paper to detail your idea can be burdensome.

AI tools can speed up the process of writing a business plan by providing the framework and initial content. However, you’ll need to go through the plan in detail to make sure it accurately reflects the financial modeling, mission and vision, and other elements that you’re starting to put into motion. Consider any business plan generated by these AI tools as a starting point from which to finesse your plan to perfection.

[Read more: Writing a Business Plan? Here’s How to Do It, Step by Step ]

ProAI is built to generate custom business plans that include financial projections, market research, and a SWOT analysis. These detailed plans can be edited in the app or exported to Google Docs and Sheets for further editing. Simply answer some questions about your business information and goals; AI will create a custom plan with financials. The report can be ready in a few days, depending on the depth and level of customization required — something you determine when you go through the initial process. ProAI can also provide pitch decks and business funding. Pricing for ProAI starts at $199/month.

[Read more: 4 Effective Ways Small Businesses Can Leverage AI ]

Simplified offers a unique AI generator for small businesses. Like ProAI, you simply enter your small business details and objectives, or work off one of their existing templates (such as for a gym, food truck, or real estate service). Simplified’s artificial intelligence can generate market analysis, financial projections, and a clear value proposition for your plan. It can be edited within the tool. The best part? Simplified is free up to 2,000 words.

LivePlan Assistant is the company’s AI writing tool that can help you create a business plan. With this option, you can select one of LivePlan’s business plan templates and get help filling in each section from the Assistant. LivePlan’s database of 550 free sample business plans gives you a good starting point. The Assistant’s “Help Me Write” function will then generate ideas for each section of your plan according to the information you give it. It includes financial forecasting functionality, too. Pricing for LivePlan starts at $20/month.

WriteCream develops generic business plans that can be customized to fit your vision.

Upmetrics ’ AI Assistant can autowrite sections of your business plan, adjust the tone of your content to be more persuasive or professional, and reformat sections to make the plan flow. Unlike other tools on this list, Upmetrics also offers well-designed cover pages so you can make your document stand out. The platform lets you collaborate with different users on the same document so you can stay organized and coordinate better. And, instead of using a set template, Upmetrics has a drag-and-drop builder so you can determine what sections you want to include. Upmetrics starts at $7/month.

IdeaMaster.io

IdeaMaster uses ChatGPT-3 to create fairly basic business plans; if you’re looking for a short two-pager to share with investors before fully developing your concept, this is a good starting point. Simply tell IdeaMaster your industry and product type to get started. Plans include the basics, such as market size, MVP features, value proposition, sales and marketing channels, and key resources, among other things. Best of all, IdeaMaster is free.

WriteCream develops generic business plans that can be customized to fit your vision. It’s less sophisticated than other tools on this list, and it can be used as a blank canvas if you have a great idea but no time (or patience) to write a full business plan. It doesn’t come with the bells and whistles of other tools, but it is affordable: WriteCream is free-to-use for up to 10,000 words per month.

CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.

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