Seven ways to doom a Social Media program.
This week’s social media blog posts:
Monday: Seven ways to doom a Social Media program.
Tuesday: Co-Creating with Social Media.
Wednesday: Building Brand Evangelism through Social Media.
Thursday: Social Media and Reputation Management.
Friday: Now that you’ve engaged, it’s time to re-engage.
(This is the eighteenth in our series of Social Media posts for the month of October. We look forward to your feedback on this series.)
For marketers, these are exciting times. Never before in our lifetime has their been a sea change quite like we are seeing today with the rise and influence of Social Media.
As when other major changes in marketing came about (the advent of TV, the commercialization of the Internet), there is a steep learning curve for those on the forefront. In an attempt to help you flatten this curve somewhat, we present a handy list of things that could conspire to doom your nascent Social Media efforts:
- Starting too big. You don’t have to eat the apple in one bite. Start out with the platforms you are most comfortable with. Don’t think that because Ashton Kutcher has a million Twitter followers that you need to be on Twitter. While you want to stay in your comfort zone, examine how others you know or follow use various social media outlets. Start a personal Facebook page and Twitter account and play around with them to see how they work. As you become more familiar with them, you may feel more comfortable sticking your big toe into them.
- Focusing on platforms, not content. We’re on Facebook. We have six microsites. We have an email list of 100,000. So? The real question is, what are you using these platforms for? How are you using each to get fresh, relevant content to your followers? Each platform has its relative strength. Random, unfocused usage of tactics more often than not will deliver poor performance. There’s a lot of crap out there, and being on Twitter for the sake of being on Twitter isn’t going to build a following for you.
- Viewing the online space as “another medium” for off-line tactics and content. Off-line media at its core is about intrusion: we will sneak this TV spot by you while you’re busy watching “Desperate Housewives.” That type of intrusion doesn’t work in the opt-in world of Social Media. Banner ads that lead to a corporate web site that provides no real value to the user is a case-in-point of a wasted engagement opportunity.
- Not being transparent. Some organizations just don’t have it in them to cede the control of the communication to the user. Yet to be successful, you have to. Acknowledging only positive posts, or heavily moderating user created content is the fast track to digital irrelevance.
- Not being available. Remember Motrin Moms? Sharing information via social media without someone there to interact is a giant NO NO! A “must have” when branding on social media is being available to your public.
- Running out of steam. The landscape of Social Media is littered with abandoned blogs, inactive Twitter accounts, fanless Facebook pages and RSS feeds that go months without fresh content. Don’t just stake a flag across various platforms and move on. It says you’re not serious. Take an honest objective look at where your brand can make the biggest impact from a Social Media standpoint, while providing value to your target audience (remember, value is in the eye of the beholder). Even the best of intentions won’t create a blog post everyday, or a meaningful newsletter exchange every two weeks. Not every follower you have will find every posting or every new piece of content useful. The goal is to keep your platform presence relevant over time. Consider broadening your definition of “relevant content.” Redirect content created by others you have commented on. Invite others from your organization to contribute. Link to articles or content you think your audience may find interesting. Put together questionnaires or surveys for your followers to participate in, then report your findings back to them. Consider anything that will help you provide a solution for your followers.
- Not being committed. For some, Social Media will represent a giant leap forward in connecting with customers, building loyalty and developing new avenues for brands to grow. For others, Social Media will represent an ill-timed dalliance into platforms they never quite understood. Their initial excitement will ebb as they come to see that building and maintaining a meaningful presence in Social Media requires real effort and commitment. They won’t give their Social Media profile enough resources. They won’t give it enough time. They won’t give it enough attention.
This is sort of the “bookend” post to the one earlier this month on the Social Media Manifesto. Keeping these two on hand and referring to them during the design and implementation of your Social Media program should give you confidence as you move forward.
Posted by Mickey
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