Chapter 10 ties together all the strategic social media planning pieces and shows how you prove your work matters. It walks through why measurement and evaluation aren’t optional but instead they’re the backbone of demonstrating impact. The chapter breaks down how to choose the right metrics (beyond vanity stats), connect them to SMART objectives, and use tools and KPIs to actually understand what’s working. It also digs into outcomes; cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral, so you can tell whether your content is informing people, shifting sentiment, or driving action.

Budgeting and calendars get framed as practical, real‑world necessities: social media isn’t free, and chapter 10 outlines what to invest in (tools, content creation, analytics, paid promotion, training) and how to justify those costs with data. It also emphasizes the role of a structured content calendar in keeping strategy on track, aligning timing with goals, and making room for evaluation checkpoints. Overall, the chapter works like the “operational glue” for a strategic social media plan helping you stay accountable, intentional, and adaptable.

Freberg, K. (2018). Social media for strategic communication: Creative strategies and research‑based applications. SAGE Publications, Inc.

If I were creating a $10,000 campaign for Epic to engage local high schools, I would build the entire strategy around social media because, like Freberg notes in Chapter 10, effective communication starts by clearly defining what you want your audience to think, feel, and do, and then choosing the channels that make the most sense for them. For high school students, the most natural and impactful place to reach them, and expose them to a new company/future career opportunity is through social media. So my first goal would be building strong awareness online among students and educators. Many know Epic by name, but they do not always understand what Epic actually does or the types of opportunities that students can grow into. Boosted posts and targeted ads on TikTok and Instagram would help get that message in front of the right audience while staying true to Freberg’s point that social media has shifted to a pay to play model where strategic investment matters. I would use the AMEC framework as a guide to make sure our social media efforts move beyond surface metrics and actually demonstrate outcomes, which aligns with the reading’s emphasis on meaningful measurement.

I would want the campaign to generate real interaction. Freberg talks about measuring meaningful outcomes, not just vanity metrics, so I would look for signs that the social content encouraged action. This could include students clicking through to a dedicated high school landing page, signing up for virtual sessions, or asking questions in comments or direct messages. Those interactions show that the message is resonating. Ultimately, I would want students to take a step deeper and actually attend something, like a virtual Q and A or an in person workshop at Epic. This aligns with Freberg’s discussion of conative outcomes and encouraging behavior change based on strong calls to action.

While the campaign is centered on social media, I think hands on learning still plays an important role. Instead of telling students about health tech, I want them to actually try something. Freberg emphasizes creating messages and experiences that match the audience’s natural way of engaging with content, and for high schoolers, that means activities that are visual, interactive, and fun. One way to do this would be to have students testing mini workflow challenges or simple hands on demos that connect directly back to how Epic impacts healthcare. Videos/images of these trials can be used to further the connection between students and epic and the social media plan I would put into place. Even though the experiences happen offline, the storytelling and promotion would be driven online too to pull students into those moments.

With those outcomes in mind, I’d invest the budget in tools that deliver the most impact without unnecessary spending. This is where my nonprofit experience really helps, because I’ve had to stretch much smaller budgets into big results. I would invest primarily in high performing social media tactics. This would look like boosting TikTok and Instagram content, producing short form videos that feel authentic and relatable, and using tracking tools to measure clicks, conversions, and engagement. Freberg stresses the importance of using measurement tools from the start, so I would build in tracking links and a simple analytics dashboard to show which posts drove the strongest outcomes. I would also budget for school friendly materials like QR codes, posters, or simple print and digital packets for counselors that support the social push. Incentives, even small ones, can also help drive participation. Coming from nonprofit work, I have learned how far a small amount of money can go, and how important it is to stretch every resource. Even simple giveaways or a small budget for snacks during an event can increase participation significantly without taking away from the digital strategy. Overall, my plan would focus heavily on social media as the main driver of awareness, engagement, and conversion, supported by strategic hands on elements that help students understand the real impact of Epic’s work. With thoughtful budgeting and consistent measurement, this campaign could reach the right audiences, inspire curiosity, and create meaningful connections between Epic and local high schools.

If KFC were to build an ambassador program, it should focus less on pushing one spicy chicken and lemonade combo and more on embedding the brand into Gen Z’s everyday lifestyle. Ambassador programs are meant to build long-term relationships and loyalty, not just drive short-term product sales. That means starting with research by looking at current followers and identifying the most engaged, positive, and consistent voices already talking about the brand. The goal would be to recruit people who genuinely love KFC and naturally reflect its fun, bold personality.

Like Freberg emphasizes, the program should also feel exclusive. Instead of opening it to anyone, KFC could create an application process with creative submissions or small challenges to ensure ambassadors are truly committed. This makes membership feel earned and builds stronger emotional investment. Once selected, ambassadors shouldn’t just receive free food though they should gain real insider access. Perks could include early product drops, branded merch, invitations to pop-up tasting events, and even opportunities to give feedback directly to the marketing team. These types of benefits create connection and belonging, which are especially important to Gen Z.

A strong comparison is Tarte Cosmetics, which has built community-driven ambassador relationships by investing in long-term influencer partnerships and immersive brand experiences. Rather than focusing strictly on direct selling, Tarte emphasizes storytelling, lifestyle integration, and exclusivity, making ambassadors feel like insiders and valued partners. I’ve actually seen this firsthand with Samantha Jo, a smaller influencer who consistently shared her genuine love for Tarte in her videos. Over time, her loyalty and authentic promotion helped her get noticed, and she was eventually invited on a Tarte brand trip and became one of their biggest ambassadors. Now she frequently promotes Tarte’s maracuja juicy lip products, which she has influenced me to buy, and it feels believable because she’s already so deeply connected to the brand. That’s the key with ambassadors, they’re established as trusted, authentic voices, they can naturally introduce and promote specific products without it feeling forced.

In the same way, once KFC builds a solid base of genuine brand ambassadors, those individuals could effectively market and promote the spicy chicken lemonade combo because their audiences already trust their connection to the brand. That kind of organic advocacy is far more powerful than a one-time promotional post. So, instead of scripting posts about a spicy combo meal, the brand should give ambassadors creative freedom to integrate KFC into their real lives late-night food runs, hangouts with friends, or “day in my life” content. For activation, KFC could launch a TikTok challenge that encourages ambassadors to start the trend and invite their followers to join in. Incentives like repost opportunities, giveaways, and referral-based rewards would help drive engagement while reinforcing community participation.

Overall, an ambassador program works best when it builds a lifestyle around the brand. The spicy chicken and lemonade can be part of the conversation, but the bigger objective should be making KFC feel like a natural and consistent part of Gen Z’s culture similarly to Tarte in the beauty space.

If you are trying to build an effective social media presence, one of the most helpful things you can do ahead of planning your content and creating a strategic plan is conduct a SWOT analysis. A SWOT is a type of analysis consisting of identifying four main elements: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. There’s also a fifth element to the SWOT that is not part of the acronym, but can set you apart as a social media professional, the strategic implications section of a SWOT. This section is short and basically summarizes the finds from the SWOT and shares what you plan to do about them. (Freberg, 2019). “A SWOT analysis can be used to explore and identify solutions to problems, take advantage of new opportunities and ventures, decide which steps to take to help rejuvenate a community or brand online, or brainstorm new ways of engaging online through social media” (Freberg, 2019, p.237). This tells you where you stand both internally and externally and gives your organization the opportunity to plan ahead.

For example, at my place of work, we recently updated our mission statement to: “Helping the community thrive by providing accessible primary care to the underinsured in Rock County.” A SWOT analysis can guide how we share this on social media:

• Strengths: Trusted reputation in the community, real patient stories, knowledgeable staff.
• Weaknesses: Smaller following, inconsistent posting, limited staff time.
• Opportunities: Highlighting our mission, volunteer support, educating the community about accessible care.
• Threats: Old mission statement is well-known, limited time and funding sources, online misunderstanding, limited promotion budget.

It’s great to identify these elements but it’s even more important to put them to work and use them to create a real plan of action. For example, we have the opportunity to use social media to highlight our new mission and one of our strengths is having real patient stories that we can share. So, planning to post a patient story each week not only showcases our impact but also helps boost engagement and spread awareness of our work and help familiarize the community with our new mission statement.

SWOTs are an essential piece of social media research because they help organizations plan better and grow social media with a purpose.

Freberg, K. (2019). Social media for strategic communication: Creative strategies and research‑based applications. SAGE Publications, Inc.