As the year comes to a close and we take a look at the social media whirlwind of 2009, we must definitely think about social media planning and execution for 2010. Although the entire year cannot be planned (a “Twitter” platform might just explode mid-way through the year or Facebook might totally redesign fan pages overnight), we can definitely consider some short and long-term goals in addition to management and cost.

Some considerations companies will consider include:

• Should we consider social media advertising? A growing part of social media campaigns is considering social media advertising. Right now, Facebook seems to have a leg-up with their social and engagement ads, but their metrics and case studies are lacking. For certain campaigns/companies, this could definitely be a useful resource, but it must be within a budget.
• What type of social media tools are necessary? Although Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and portions of Ning are free to use, there are additional social media tools and platforms which might be emerging into the spotlight. There are also paid social media monitoring tools (some affordable and some requiring a much larger investment), which could save time (and money!).
• How will the social media efforts be measured? Is the company trying to build their email list for remarketing or drive Website traffic to specific promotions? The metrics will also coincide with the campaign goals and it is going to be very important to set expectations and tie goals and metrics together to keep social media a marketing priority.
• How will the use of social media be presented to internal employees? Employees should be aware of a companies with social media involvement, but the confusion enters when employees are instructed (or banned) from using these sites while on the job. Policies adhering to specific human resources regulations should be created and explained.
• How much should we spend on social media? This will depend on the type of business, company structure and available assets. Figuring out who is going to lead social media and who will execute, will help determine available funds and a set budget.

These are just some of the considerations to get started with your 2010 plan, but definitely points to get the wheels turning!

Jen Cohen is a social media and marketing maven knocked down many times in 26 yrs. Something Creative http://somethingcreativemarketing.com

Tags: Future Projections, online marketing, Social Media, social media tools, the right way