A 2018 social media strategy for Whole Foods.

1. Whole Foods
10/8/2017
Maddi Hills

2. Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary, November 2017
2. Social Media Audit
a. Social Media Assessment, November 2017
b. Website Traffic Sources Assessment, May 2017 – October 2017
c. Audience Demographics Assessment
d. Competitor Assessment
3. Social Media Objectives
4. Online Brand Persona and Voice
5. Strategies and Tools
6. Timing and Key Dates
7. Social Media Roles and Responsibilities
8. Social Media Policy
9. Critical Response Plan
10. Measurement and Reporting Results, November 2017 – January 2018

3. Executive Summary
• Our major social media priorities for 2018 will be to continue to maintain our online following
and community as well as grow it.
• The primary focus will be to attract and drive more traffic to our website by sharing more
captivating, relatable content and to build deeper relationships with our customers. Our
brand’s image of a healthy lifestyle through eating natural and organic foods is directed
towards the target market of those ages 18 – 30 who are interested in their health.
• Two major social strategies will support this objective:
1. Post more diverse content on social media platforms.
2. Engage more with customers through easier discoverability of content.

4. Social Media Audit
The following is an audit of Whole Foods social media presence to date. It includes as assessment of
all social networks, web traffic audience demographics, and a computer analysis.
Social Media Assessment
Data as of November 1, 2017
Social Network URL Follower Count
Average Weekly
Activity
Average Engagement
Rate
Instagram
instagram.com/wholefoo
ds 2.4 million 25 posts per week 30%
Facebook facebook.com/wholefoods 4.2 million 12 posts per week 40%
Twitter twitter.com/WholeFoods 4.86 million 16 posts per week
Average interactions / post =
5000
LinkedIn linkedin.com/wholefoods 209K 1 post per week 1%
Social Media Assessment:
At present time, the highest number of interactions per post occurs on Facebook. Little to no
interactions occur on LinkedIn.

5. Website Traffic Sources Assessment
Timeframe: Monthly average, May 2017 to October 2017
Source Volume % of Overall Traffic Conversion Rate
Instagram 400K unique visits 40% 6.4%
Facebook 700K unique visits 70% 8.3%
Twitter 600K unique visits 50% 7.2%
LinkedIn 100 unique visits 1% 0.50%
Traffic Summary:
At present time, Facebook is the biggest driver of traffic to our website. The conversion rate
(conversion goal = ticket purchase) of Facebook is in the lead at 8.3%, in front of Twitter’s 7.2%
and Instagram’s 6.4%.

6. Audience Demographics Assessment
Survey distributed in March/April via email and upon visitor registration. Total applicant
responses: 20,000
Age Distribution
Gender
Distribution
Primary Social
Network
Secondary Social
Network Primary Need
Secondary
Need
50% 18-30 53% Female 53% Female 45% Instagram To eat healthy through eating To live a healthy
30% 31-40 47% Male 47% Male 30% Facebook natural, organic foods lifestyle
10% 41-55 50% Facebook 15% Twitter
10% 56-80 30% Instagram
15% Twitter
Audience Demographics Summary:
An overwhelming majority of survey responders are in the 18 – 30 age group. Facebook and Instagram are our core
social networks. Healthy, natural and organic are primary motivators for shopping at Whole Foods. Energies should be
dedicated to further develop Instagram and Twitter content and engagement.

7. Competitor Assessment
Competitor Name Social Media Profile Strengths Weaknesses
Trader Joe's Instagram: TraderJoes
Strong brand image with a
dedicated fan base that follows
each distinct, captivating post.
#TraderJoes is used a lot by
customers.
Does not make use of user
generated content.
Kroger FB: Kroger
Frequent Facebook posts that
each differ from each other. The
diversity helps keep customers
interested.
Comments on posts from
customers do not get
answered.
Sprouts Farmers Market TW: SproutsFM
Great professional-looking
photos captivate the eyes of
many customers. Short videos
that are simple and to the point
interest many.
Not enough posts. Posts
are inconsistent and don‘t
follow any sort of pattern.
Competitor Assessment Summary:
The above analysis focused on three major competitors with a strong social presence on Facebook, Instagram and
Twitter. High quality visual content is a main driver of each social media platform. The use of unique brand
hashtag generates many brand mentions on Twitter. Areas where these competitors have room for improvement is
2 way communication and consistent postings.

8. Social Media Objectives
In 2018, the primary focus of our social media strategy will be to attract and drive
more traffic to our website through our social media channels. In order to do so,
our social media priorities will be maintaining and growing our online following by
sharing more captivating, relatable content and building deeper relationships with
our customers.
Some specific objectives include:
1. Increase Instagram followers by 400k in 6 months.
2. Increase unique visitors from social properties to website by 40% in 6 months
via:
a. Increased use of brand hashtags on all social media platforms
b. Increased brand awareness through increased mentions on Twitter
3. Increase volume of visual content published on Twitters and Facebook by 40%
in 6 months.
Engagement
Instagram Facebook Twitter

9. Social Media Objectives
KPIs
1. Number of Facebook, Instagram and
Twitter followers
2. Number of weekly photo and video
posts to Facebook and Instagram
3. Number of unique visitors from
Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
Key Motivators
• Appreciating the Difference Natural
and Organic Products Can Make in
One’s Life
• Providing Healthy Eating to Empower
Stakeholders to Make the Best Food
Choices

10. Online Brand Persona and Voice
Adjectives that describe our brand:
• Quality
• Natural
• Organic
• Diverse
When interacting with customers we are:
• Friendly
• Delightful
• Satisfactory

11. Strategies and Tools
Paid: Every Sunday boost most popular organic Facebook
posts for the upcoming week. The posts must have a
minimum organic reach of 25K, as well as a minimum of 800
likes or 400 comments.
Owned: Introduce the use of #FunWithFood to Instagram
posts. Encourage engagement with customers and source a
minimum of 1 piece of user-generated content per week to
regram. Promote hashtag using all social media networks as
well as email newsletters.
Earned: Monitor Twitter for keywords: organic, natural,
healthy, wholesome, lifestyle. Extend 300 discount codes to
warm leads/prospects over the course of 3 months –
unexpected delight.

12. Tools
Approved Tools
• Buffer
• Hootsuite
Rejected Tools
• N/A
Existing Subscriptions/Licenses
• Photoshop
• Vimeo
• Qualaroo

13. Timing and Key Dates
Holiday Dates
• Easter
• Earth Day
• 4th of July
• Labor Day (Long Weekend)
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
Internal Events
• April 22 – Whole Foods Market Workshop: Responsibly
Grown Program
• October 8 – Community Food Drive
Reporting Dates
• Reporting will occur once a quarter in March, June,
September and December. Dates TBA.

14. Social Media Roles and Responsibilities
Marketing Director – Emily Rollins
Responsibilities: Development and implementation of the brand strategy. Developing the marketing strategy for
new and existing products.
Social Media Manager – Megan Martin
Responsibilities: Manage social media marketing campaigns and day-to-day activities including: develop relevant
content topics to reach the company’s target customers. Create, curate and manage all published content.
Social Media Director – Natanya Anderson
Responsibilities: Oversee the social media strategy for the company ensuring it aligns with the company’s brand.
Engage with customers through the use of social media.
Social Media Coordinator – Mark Wright
Responsibilities: Research audience preferences and discover current trends. Create engaging text, image and video
content. Design posts to sustain reader’s curiosity and create buzz around new products.
Supporting Social Media Team Members – Tom Samuels (customer support) & Ryan Bolles (social ads support)
Responsibilities: Resolve complaints via phone, email, mail or social media. Use telephones to reach out to
customers and verify account information.
Responsibilities: Create social media advertisements and oversee any problems that may occur.

15. Social Media Policy
Social media is deeply integrated into our organization. We use social media to spread our brand’s messages,
to communicate and connect with our customers and to share our personal activities, ideas and plans. As an
employee and representative of Whole Foods, you are expected to demonstrate the best practices and a
sense of etiquette in your use of social by following guidelines:
• Use common sense
• Be nice and respectful to all
• Don’t slag competition
• Act helpful and kind to customers
• Stay out of trouble
• Be the solution, not the problem
• Don’t be rude
• Be polite
• Feel free to share positive word to your networks about our company.
• If unsure about your social messages, ask us before you post.
Whole Foods is serious about the appropriate use of social media
by our employees. Violation of Whole Foods social policy may
result in corrective action, up to, and including, termination.
You may also be subject to legal action, including criminal
prosecution. The company also reserves the right to take any
further action it believes is appropriate. Should you have any
questions or concerns please speak to your Manager or anyone
on the HR team.

16. Critical Response Plan
Scenario 1 – Inappropriate Tweet Posted by @WholeFoods
1. When Tweet is detected:
• Take a screenshot
• Delete the tweet
• Alert Natanya Anderson (Social Media Director). If Natanya is unavailable, alert Mark Wright (Social
Media Coordinator).
2. Natanya to sync with Mark to discuss impact and reach, and evaluate further action.
3. Natanya to develop appropriate follow up tweet, Mark to approve.
4. If media has picked up the Tweet, Mark to manage all direct contact. If Mark is
unavailable, Craig (Owner) will manage all contact.
5. Mark and Natanya to sync with employee responsible for publishing the Tweet to see if
disciplinary action is required.

17. Critical Response Plan
Scenario 2 – Building Collapse, no injuries
e.g. Whole Foods building collapse/structure failure
• Action Plan
1. Site crew to alert Craig (Owner). Craig to alert Emily Rollins (Marketing Director).
2. Emily to sync with Craig and Natanya (Social Media Director) and evaluate the number of social
media mentions of the situation.
3. If media has picked up the incident, Emily to manage all direct contact. If Emily is unavailable,
Craig will manage all contact.
4. Natanya to push messaging to social channel where the news broke first. Continue to monitor
the spread of the news to other social channels and push messaging there as necessary.
5. Emily and Craig to evaluate the need for a longer statement and if necessary, write one.
6. Emily, Natanya and Mark (Social Media Coordinator) to continue monitoring the situation and
bring in supporting social media team members as needed.
Pre-approved messaging:
Twitter: ”We are happy to report there were no injuries that occurred in today’s incident. This specific Whole Foods location
is closed. We will let you know when it re-opens.”
Facebook: “An incident occurred today with one of our buildings. We are happy to say that no one was injured. In order to
protect the safety of our customers and staff, the building will be closed for the rest of the day.”

18. Critical Response Plan
Contact Information:
Owner Name Telephone Alt. Telephone Email
Marketing Director Emily Rollins (307)448-9080 (307)764-9908 erollins@yahoo.com
Social Media Director
Natanya
Anderson (452)966-4535 (452)766-9043 n_anderson23@aol.com
Social Media Manager Megan Martin (561)224-5324 (561)313-0994 meganmartin@gmail.com
Social Media
Coordinator Mark Wright (301)995-0745 (301)334-9687 mwright66@yahoo.com

19. Measurement and Reporting Results
Quantitative KPIs
Reporting Period: 3 months
Data as of February 1, 2018
Website Traffic Sources Assessment
Timeframe: Monthly average, November 2017 to January 2017
Source Volume % of Overall Traffic Conversion Rate
Facebook
18K unique visits +
10% growth 27% 2.60%
Instagram
16K unique visits +
15% growth 30% 2.30%
Twitter
20K unique visits +
20% growth 23% 1.70%
LinkedIn
5K unique visits + 10
growth 3% 0.03%

20. Measurement and Reporting Results
Social Network Data
Timeframe: as of February 1, 2018
Social Network URL Follower Count Average Weekly Activity
Average
Engagement Rate
Facebook
facebook.com/who
lefoods
4.5 million + 15%
growth
30 posts per week + 150%
increase 5%
Instagram
instagram.com/w
holefoods
2.5 million + 30%
growth
18 posts per week + 75%
increase
average
interactions / post
= 900
Twitter
twitter.com/whole
foods
4.9 million + 20%
growth
20 posts per week + 125%
increase 7%
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/whol
efoods 211K + 10% growth
5 posts per week + 30%
increase 1.50%

21. Measurement and Reporting Results
• Our Instagram following has grown by 500k; just surpassing our goal of 400k in 6 months.
• Our social content team has done a fantastic job of creating visual content. We have
surpassed our goal of increasing visual content on Facebook and Twitter by 40% in 6 months;
we have had a 150% increase on Facebook and a 125% increase on Twitter.
• We have seen a 10% growth on our LinkedIn channel. We plan on devoting more time to this
social media network and have decided to post more.

22. Measurement and Reporting Results
#FunWithFood Hashtag Performance
• Between November 1, 2017 and February 1, 2018 the hashtag was mentioned 200k times on Instagram.
• 40k Instagram posts published with the hashtag yielded higher than average numbers of comment interactions.
Qualitative KPIs
Sentiment Analysis – An analysis of the interactions on 100 Facebook posts, 100 Instagram posts and 100 Tweets
revealed the following:
• The biggest issue dealing with negative sentiment is directed towards our pricing. Customers express frustration
about the prices of our foods and products.
• Our positive sentiment all came from our customer service. Customers had mainly positive experiences with our
employees in stores and revealed this through sharing their experiences on Facebook and Twitter.
• Proposed Action Items
• Continue #FunWithFood Campaign
• Consider #LovingMyLunch campaign to gift 200 tickets to social followers.
• Prepare a content strategy for LinkedIn.