Social Media Plan
Bridget Reardon
Evan Gibbon
Sarah Daniel
Taylor Glazebrook
Black Sheep Coffee 2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………..………..2
Brief Overview…………………………………………………………………………………………..……….3
Social Media Presence………………………………………………………………………………………3-4
Sentiment Analysis……………………………………………………………………….…………4
Competitive Analysis……………………………………………………………………………….………4-6
SWOT Analysis………………………………………………………………………………….……..5
S-O Strategy……………………………………………………………………………………….…….6
Goals……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….6
Strategies…………………………………………………………………………………………………………6-8
Target Market……………………………………………………………………………………………..………9
Tools…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10
Implementation…………………………………………………………………………………………………10
Platform-Specific Tactics and Tools…………………………………………………....10-15
Instagram……………………………………………………………………………..……..10
Facebook………………………………………………………………………………..……11
Content Development………………………………………………………………11-14
Assignments………………………………………………………………………...….14-15
Monitoring………………………………………………………………………………………………..………15
Tracking…………………………………………………………………………………….…………..15
Measuring………………………………………………………………………………………….15-16
Tuning………………………………………………………………………………………………...………..16-17
Budget………………………………………………………………………………………………………….17-18
Return on Investment……………………………………………………………………………...…………18
Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………………………………….19
Black Sheep Coffee 3
Executive Summary
The primary focus of this social media plan is to attract and interact with
customers in the community. In order to do so, we suggest that Black Sheep Coffee
utilize Facebook and Instagram to create a strong social media presence. These
social media platforms will fit best with the target market and, when utilized
correctly, will allow Black Sheep Coffee to meet their marketing objectives.
Social Media Goals for Black Sheep Coffee include:

Improve overall brand awareness in the Harrisonburg community

Strengthen brand awareness within the JMU student community and
encourage students to come in.

Increase Black Sheep Coffee’s overall social media presence on Instagram
and Facebook interactions with followers.

Increase foot traffic into the store from customers walking around the Ice
House

Improve overall coordination and utilization of social media platforms
In order to reach the aforementioned goals, this plan contains our suggested
strategies and social media tools for Black Sheep Coffee. These strategies include
deactivating the twitter account, incorporating a hashtag, and using HootSuite.
Additionally, this plan describes measuring tactics in order to evaluate the progress
of Black Sheep Coffee’s social media presence. Lastly, our budget conveys the costs
of utilizing this plan. Chance Ebersold will be responsible for approving,
implementing, and monitoring this plan.
Black Sheep Coffee 4
Brief Overview
Black Sheep Coffee offers a wide range of coffee shop favorites that appeal to
a variety of consumers. Embodying the typical coffee shop atmosphere, Black Sheep
Coffee creates the perfect environment for customers to grab coffee, socialize, work,
and relax. Black Sheep Coffee should embrace the Harrisonburg locals and the JMU
community, as they value supporting local businesses.
Currently, Black Sheep Coffee uses Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. All
employees are given access to these accounts with no formal training. Black Sheep
Coffee is getting a moderate amount of customer interaction from Instagram, a fair
amount from Facebook, and a very limited amount from Twitter. Due to the
aesthetic appeal of the shop and its products, we can conclude that social media
platforms that focus on or emphasize images will be more successful for Black
Sheep Coffee, as opposed to those that focus on text. After assessing Black Sheep
Coffee’s current social media presence, as well as taking into consideration the
company's goals and objectives, we suggest the following social media plan.
Social Media Presence
Black Sheep Coffee began to utilize their social media in November 2014 as
they were breaking ground for their shop in Harrisonburg, VA. Over the past year,
their social media presence has grown and has increased engagement over time.
The chart below shows an analysis of the company’s performance based on the five
key metrics.
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Sentiment Analysis
Competitive Analysis
After in-depth evaluation of the company’s social media resources we
conducted a SWOT analysis to identify the company’s strengths and weaknesses on
their social media platform, along with the opportunities and threats the company
faces from their competitors.
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SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
 Black Sheep Coffee currently has a
 Black Sheep Coffee’s existence on
brand presence on Facebook and
Twitter is subpar. Rarely any
Instagram platforms
posts are made solely for Twitter
 Instagram is their strongest presence
 Very little customer interaction on
online (content/engagement wise)
Twitter
 All company employees are involved
 They do not have a consistent way
in posting on the social media
of monitoring feedback, progress,
platforms
or success from social media
 The owner, Chance, oversees the posts
 Response times to customers are
and provides insight
inconsistent and often nonexistent
 Customers frequently post positive
 No advertising on JMU’s campus
reviews about their experiences at the
 Very minimal brand awareness in
coffee shop along with the quality of
the JMU student community, a
food and coffee sold
huge potential market
 Black Sheep Coffee’s cozy atmosphere,
wide variety of coffee, teas and sodas,
along with their homemade baked
treats is enticing to Harrisonburg
residents, and is currently satisfying
the needs of their target market.
Opportunities
 Advertise on the JMU campus and
encourage students to post photos
and comments about their
experiences at Black Sheep Coffee
 Offer discounts/freebies to JMU
students that post brand related
content on social media
 Encourage customers in store to
engage in social media activity
 Hold contests that encourage
customers to post pictures on
Instagram and Facebook, awarding
the post creative post with a free
drink
Threats
 Local coffee shops (Cinnamon
Bear, Shenandoah Joe,
Greenberry’s, Earth & Tea Café,
Heritage Bakery & Café, The
Whole Bean Coffee Company)
 Chain coffee shops (Starbucks,
Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s)
 Starbucks’ rewards program
encourages repeat visits.
 McDonald’s low prices and
 drive-thru makes it easier to get
coffee on the go
Black Sheep Coffee 7
SWOT Strategy
We encourage Black Sheep Coffee to pursue a S-O Strategy. Black Sheep
should utilize the current strength of their Instagram account to their advantage by
aligning it with the untapped JMU student population. An incentive to post brand
content on Instagram will work to increase brand awareness both in the online and
offline community.
Goals

Improve overall brand awareness in the Harrisonburg community

Strengthen awareness within the JMU student community

Increase Black Sheep Coffee’s overall social media presence on Instagram
and Facebook by encouraging interactions with followers

Increase foot traffic into the store from the Ice House

Improve overall coordination and utilization of social media platforms
Strategies
Primarily, we propose that Black Sheep Coffee deactivate their Twitter
account and focus solely on Instagram and Facebook. Compared to other platforms,
Black Sheep Coffee’s Twitter account does not create nearly as much engagement.
Numerically, Instagram followers outnumber Twitter followers nearly six-to-one. As
far as content, the majority of posts on Twitter were recycled or repeated
Instagram/Facebook posts. After speaking with Chance, Black Sheep’s owner, he
made it clear that Twitter was not a primary focus of their social media presence
and he did not find success in utilizing it. We feel it would be most beneficial for the
Black Sheep Coffee 8
brand to remove the page rather than have an underdeveloped account. This will
allow them to focus their efforts on their Instagram and Facebook accounts, which
are currently far more successful at engaging their audience.
To further strengthen the brand’s Instagram account, we suggest that Black
Sheep Coffee utilize the hashtag “#BeABlackSheep” in their posts as well as
incorporate the hashtag where appropriate inside their store. The premise behind
this hashtag is that Black Sheep Coffee, as their name suggests, is unique. This
hashtag’s purpose is to inspire people to embrace the “black sheep” inside them.
Specifically, instead of going to the huge coffee chains like Dunkin Donuts or
Starbucks, #BeABlackSheep suggests they try something a little different. This
hashtag not only promotes the actual name of the brand but also supports what it
stands for.
In order for #BeABlackSheep to be effective in Black Sheep’s social media
plan, customers will have to build a link between the hashtag and the brand itself.
To do so, we propose creating stickers in the shape of the brand’s logo with the
hashtag on it. These stickers can be used in-store (on tables, chairs, to-go cup
sleeves, and to-go bags) or placed around Harrisonburg. This will work to improve
awareness in the community while also provoking interest in their social media
presence. Simultaneously, we stress the importance of flooding the JMU campus
with these very same stickers. If there is suddenly a #BeABlackSheep sticker on
every bulletin board on campus, the buzz will start in no time. It is also extremely
common for students to place stickers on their books, bags, and laptops; an
Black Sheep Coffee 9
attractive looking sticker may serve as almost completely free advertising in the
student community.
Our next goal, increasing foot traffic into the store from the surrounding
locations in the Ice House area, also coincides with the sticker campaign. We suggest
Black Sheep reaches out to other local businesses and ask them to place a sticker in
their store. Being in such a close-knit area, the other small businesses seem willing
to support each other. Black Sheep can also offer an incentive such as a free coffee or
pastry in return for permission to leave a stack of stickers in their store.
Finally, we are proposing the purchase of a 12-month subscription to the
Hootsuite Pro Plan in order to optimize Black Sheep’s social media accounts.
Through Hootsuite, Black Sheep’s employees will be able to monitor which posts are
generating the most customer engagement. Additionally, Hootsuite will provide
notification anytime the brand is mentioned on social media. This will allow the
brand to respond to questions or complaints in a timely fashion. Even more so,
filtering by a word or phrase on Hootsuite, employees can explore what is going on
in the industry. For example if they were to search “#CoffeeContest”, they could see
if anyone has done any time of promotion with that hashtag. Black Sheep can use
Hootsuite to uncover successful marketing techniques its competitors may be using,
and use them to its own advantage. In conclusion, Hootsuite is a low-cost
investment that will begin to offer returns from the very start.
Black Sheep Coffee 10
Target Market
Currently, Black Sheep Coffee targets the Harrisonburg community as a
whole. We propose that narrowing the focus to a particular persona would be
beneficial to Black Sheep. Specifically, they should target Harrisonburg locals
between the ages of 20-35 who enjoy trying out and supporting local business.
According to an annual survey conducted in 2014, 94% of Americans believe that
supporting small, local businesses is important (Sophy). The Harrisonburg
downtown area offers many quirky, one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants that locals
enjoy supporting. Black Sheep Coffee fits in nicely, and benefits from the support of
Harrisonburg citizens.
In addition to the local community, we suggest Black Sheep Coffee target the
JMU student population. According to a 2012 study done by the National Coffee
Association, 40% of 18 to 24 year olds drink coffee every day (Olsen). This statistic
alone shows the potential market share Black Sheep Coffee could gain by targeting
JMU students. Statistics aside, as students we see the demand for coffee on campus
every single day. Whether in the dining halls or outside at the Starbucks truck, there
is an impressive line at almost every hour of the day. It’s obvious that college
students drink coffee and with a little strategic advertising and some great tasting
flavors, Black Sheep could expand their market potential enormously by targeting
JMU students.
Black Sheep Coffee 11
Tools
After evaluating the specified target markets, we’ve determined Black Sheep
Coffee should primarily focus the JMU community on Instagram. Instagram is an
extremely popular platform among students. Instagram provides Black Sheep Coffee
with an easy way to not only communicate but also visually appeal to this market
segment. Additionally, we propose that Black Sheep Coffee use Facebook to market
to Harrisonburg citizens. This suggested target market includes locals between the
ages of 20-35. This age group is largely concentrated on Facebook, providing Black
Sheep Coffee an excellent outlet to connect with this segment.
Implementation
We used the defined goals, strategies, target market, and tools to design the
following social media examples to be posted on the company’s Instagram account
and Facebook page. An example of a sticker to be posted around Harrisonburg and
the JMU campus promoting the new hashtag can be viewed in the content
development section.
Platform-Specific Tactics and Tools
Instagram This is Black Sheep Coffee’s most prominent form of social media. Today,
Instagram is the most applicable form of social media based on the “coffee shop
type.” These type of people are art enthusiasts who enjoy local coffee shops due to
their cozy atmosphere, wide variety of coffee, teas and sodas, along with their
homemade baked treats.
Black Sheep Coffee 12
Below are the key tactics that will be implemented on the Instagram account.

Post once every day

Post their daily deals

Monitor the contest related posts using the hashtag #BeABlackSheep in
order to choose a weekly winner (to win a free coffee)
Facebook We suggest Facebook be utilized in Black Sheep’s social media strategy.
Facebook should act as an additional form of creating brand awareness within the
Harrisonburg and JMU communities. Facebook should be used to introduce new
menu items, describe current deals, and interact with customers.
The following are the key tactics that will be implemented on Facebook to help build
the company brand:

Post interesting content to Facebook once per day

Host giveaways once per month to gain likes and shares

Respond to customers who comment on the Black Sheep Posts
Content Development
Below, we have developed the following examples of content to be used for
the social media plan. First, there is an example of the custom sticker to be created
in order to promote brand and social media awareness. The sticker will link the
hashtag to the logo and the brand, making the connection between the three clear.
Black Sheep Coffee 13
Next, there is an example of a Facebook post created to introduce the social
media contest. The hashtag #BeABlackSheep is displayed on the post and further
connects the brand and the hashtag. The goal of this post is to inform customers
about the contest as well as stimulate interest. We have also provided a cover to be
used when the contest is introduced. Finally, we provided a potential status Black
Sheep can post to promote new or existing products.
Sticker:
Black Sheep Coffee 14
Facebook Contest Post:
Facebook Cover Photo:
Black Sheep Coffee 15
Example Facebook Post:
Assignments
Currently, Black Sheep Coffee grants all employees access to all social media
accounts. Employees are given no formal training, but are told to keep the content
appropriate. In order to keep the marketing message consistent and aligned with
the marketing objectives, we suggest that employees receive some form of training
before having access to social media accounts.
Employees should demonstrate understanding of the marketing goals and
objectives prior to having access to social media accounts. We suggest that Black
Sheep Coffee issue a “social media guide” to employees. This guide should give an
overview as to what content should be posted, how often, and how to respond to
Black Sheep Coffee 16
customers on social media. We believe this will make employees feel more
comfortable posting and lead to more frequent, better quality posts.
Monitoring
Tracking
Utilizing Facebook and Instagram will enable Black Sheep Coffee to track
posts relevant to their company. In order to track the #BeABlackSheep campaign,
Black Sheep Coffee should track the hashtag daily and reply to consumers on both
Facebook and Instagram, which can be done most effectively by HootSuite.
Furthermore, Black Sheep should be tracking relevant keywords within a 25 mile
radius surrounding their location. These keywords should include
“Coffee,” “Coffeeshop,” and “Black Sheep Coffee.” We suggest that Black Sheep
Coffee respond to these posts quickly and appropriately.
Measuring:
The chart below displays Black Sheep Coffee’s qualitative and quantitative
key performance indicators (KPIs). The quantitative KPIs for Instagram include a
25% increase in the number of followers, 35% increase in the number of likes,
obtaining 3 comments per post, and 30% increase in posts Black Sheep Coffee is
tagged in. On Facebook, we suggest working towards a 25% growth in fans, 30%
increase in likes on posts, obtaining 3 comments per post, and a 30% increase in
company response time. Overall, these quantitative KPIs focus on increasing overall
interaction between Black Sheep Coffee and its target markets.
Black Sheep Coffee 17
The qualitative KPIs we suggest are a 15% increase in brand awareness
within the Harrisonburg community, 25% increase in brand strength among JMU
students, and a 15% increase in generating interaction. These qualitative KPIs
ultimately aim to strengthen the brand and increase awareness.
Black Sheep Coffee's Quantitative KPIS
Social Media
Platform
Quantitative KPIs for the One Year
Instagram
25% increase in the number of followers
35% increase in the number of likes
increase of 3 comments on each post
30% in the number of posts followers tag Black Sheep
Coffee in
Facebook
25% growth in the number of fans
30% increase in the number of likes
increase of 3 comments on each post
10% growth in company's response time on posts
Black Sheep Coffee's Qualitative KPIs
Social Media Goals
Brand Awareness
in Harrisonburg
Qualitative KPIs for One Year
15% increase from the share of voice
Brand Strengthening
among JMU students 25% increase from the sentiment ratio
Generating Interaction
15% increase from audience engagement
Tuning
In order for Black Sheep Coffee’s social media plan to remain current and
competitive it will require consistent monitoring. Factors such as competitors and
Black Sheep Coffee 18
costs can be volatile in the marketplace and the plan must be adjusted accordingly.
HootSuite will be the most important tool in tuning and updating the plan. HootSuite
will provide important data such as what type of content has been effective and
which platform is generating the most customer engagement. Employees should be
tasked with updating the content being posted based on what they learn from
HootSuite. Tracking the content is vital in order to see if posts are continuing to be
successful. It is possible that after a year of posting similar content, engagement may
begin to fall or plateau. An example of tuning and a solution to this potential issue
for Black Sheep Coffee would be the re-activation of their Twitter account with
exciting, new personal content.
Budget
After a discussion with the owner of the company, we discovered Black
Sheep Coffee is currently spending zero dollars on their social media effort. Being
that the company is not even two years old yet, and small in size, this is not
surprising. However we believe the brand is a point where it would benefit greatly
from even a small investment into social media marketing. We are proposing the
purchase of a 12 month subscription to the HootSuite Pro Plan in order to optimize
Black Sheep’s social media accounts. In addition to this subscription we have
outlined a budget for the production of (300) customized, durable, weather-proof
stickers. Stickermule.com will offer high quality stickers at a competitive price as
shown below. All expenses included, the total Social Media cost for the year will be
Black Sheep Coffee 19
$332.88. While it may seem aggressive to go from zero to over three hundred
dollars, this investment boils down to less than twenty-eight dollars a month.
Black Sheep Coffee Marketing Budget
Item
12 Month HootSuite
Pro Subscription
(300) Custom Made
Stickers
Cost
Total
$332.88
$119.88
$213.00
Return on Investment
Although it is difficult and nearly impossible to precisely determine an ROI
figure from social media efforts, Black Sheep Coffee will be able to estimate a return
on their social media invest by observing an increase in social media activity,
customer word of mouth, and engagement.
Black Sheep Coffee 20
Works Cited
Olsen, Nicole. “Caffeine Consumption Habits and Perceptions.” Spring 2013. Web. 1
November 2015.
Sophy, Joshua. “Pulse of Small Businesses in America.” Small Business Trends. May
2014. Web. 29 October 2015.