Let’s Think Strategy
October 6, 2009
It’s obvious by now that integrating social media can be very beneficial to a company, and knowing that, is leading many companies to dip their toes in the water. Some chose to hire an agency, a social media consultant, or delve in by themselves depending on their needs. My concern is not how they go about getting involved but the actual implementation itself.
I’ve noticed company after company starting a Twitter account and a Facebook page and updating them for the first few weeks ‘check out this sale we’re having’, ‘look at our great new products’ and having no interaction but mostly, no plan. But it’s not only the companies that do it themselves, but their agencies are setting this up too. There seems to be no strategy behind a lot of it, they just set up the platforms, show the client how to update and send them out blind. It’s a fact that the level or participation and engagement and the choice of platforms differs for each individual companies objectives but there still needs to be some sort of action plan, some type of means to achieving goals. And goals, there needs to be goals. I’m not trying to say the strategy needs to be the next big thing, but I do think there needs to be a strategy in play that meets the goals and objectives. An agency or consultant should be doing more for their clients than just setting up one of two platforms and showing them how to update. There should be a level of training on engagement and strategy and most off all there needs to be commitment. I’m not by any means saying that the agency should be updating/blogging for the client because I do not believe that at all but I think the agency should work together with the client to help meet the goals and objectives and ensure the most is being made of the social media implementation.
Of course setting up a Facebook and Twitter account to showcase your specials might meet your objectives but it’s not harnessing the essence of social media and so what’s the point.
So my question to you is this: How important is strategy in social media and do you think a one or two platform set-up with no strategy can be succesful?
October 6, 2009 at 5:00 pm
whether or not it’s social media, strategy is a critical element in *any* biz undertaking that seeks tangible results for biz development (new biz, lead generation, conversions , etc.) and/or validate metrics for return on investment (ROI).
you allude to the notion of empowering others by showing them how to implement long-term tactics for managing online engagement and interaction. this can’t be emphasized enough to anyone leveraging social media—one of the metrics associated with its ROI is based on how well online relationships are nurtured and grown over the long-term.
as for this: “I’m not by any means saying that the agency should be updating/blogging for the client because I do not believe that at all..” — meh. i know many social media droolers—er, i mean experts—have rallied and debated over the ethical notions of ghosting for clients or someone else, yada yada.. while i appreciate the attempt to examine the level of integrity associated with ghosting, i feel it’s a necessary reality for some organizations and can be done with full and fair integrity, provided the “ghosters” do *consistently embody* the principles and intent of said org/content provider, AND that the audience is made aware that the social entity with whom they are inteacting may be ghosters interacting on behalf of..[ya i know, i should probably write my next post on this]
thanks for the share Char..i encourage you to continue the dialogue..keep ‘em coming! – autom
October 6, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Thanks for commenting Autom, love hearing from you as always!
I know that ghost blogging can be done effectively if the blogger is maintaining the principles or the company which is where the agency and client and work together. And it’s definitely understandable that some companies don’t have the time to spend blogging and tweeting but then maybe social media is not the right route for them? I just feel that …although going off topic..it’s important to represent yourself or at least be upfront if you’re not going to.
As far as strategy, you’re right in saying it is a crucial element in every aspect of business. It is, and going into something like social media without a strategy seems like a misleading approach. And it seems like there are many businesses out there that are jumping in without any kind of strategy and I just don’t see how that can work.
October 6, 2009 at 5:02 pm
[...] Let’s Think Strategy « Table Talk lovecharli.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/lets-think-strategy – view page – cached It’s obvious by now that integrating social media can be very beneficial to a company, and knowing that, is leading many companies to dip their toes in the water. Some chose to hire an agency, a… (Read more)It’s obvious by now that integrating social media can be very beneficial to a company, and knowing that, is leading many companies to dip their toes in the water. Some chose to hire an agency, a social media consultant, or delve in by themselves depending on their needs. My concern is not how they go about getting involved but the actual implementation itself. (Read less) — From the page [...]
October 6, 2009 at 6:29 pm
This is a super post, and one that is totally relevant to what some of us face everyday. It’s a huge challenge to encourage a client to use SM effectively. I’ve found that the reality is that even with a strategy designed, it often takes a lot of time before there’s buy-in with the client. You might think there is at first–there’s certainly excitement–but the reality quickly changes course.
I don’t love the idea of ‘ghost’ tweeting/blogging/facebooking, but the alternative is often an underutilized platform, that as you mentioned, goes blank after the first few weeks. Helping a client along isn’t something I have a problem with, as a result. Because if we don’t give a hand now and then, then who looks bad–us for ‘not strategizing’ (even though we provided it) or them for not using the forum?
I don’t want any of us to come out the loser. I try to ease clients into their own accounts, and seem to have more success that way. I have to put myself in their shoes. I remember a time when I didn’t really see the point of Twitter, and I’m in marketing and communications. How can I expect them to get it right away being in a totally unrelated field?
October 6, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Thanks Bryna,
You are so right in saying that enthusiasm is certainly up in the beginning but can die down rather quickly as time is an element. I think that it’s crucial to make the client aware that commitment is essential in making social media work. There is a large participation factor on their end that needs to be kept up. I think that having a strategy can provide them with guidance as to what content they should be providing because as well as time, just the notion of not knowing what to post/write/tweet can turn them off. And I agree with what you said about helping the client out here and there – I don’t have a problem with that either. My issue with ghost blogging is when it is taken completely out of the companies hands and third party is staging as the company.
It is intimidating and so you have hold the clients hand so to say. Show them how to be sustainable on their own. Guide them, teach them, mentor them through it and be honest with them about the requirements and commitment to make the social media relationship work. It’s like a real relationship when introducing it. You have to let the client get to know social media, flirt with it, be intimitate and open with it and nourish it so that it can blossom. (That might be going too far.. but I think you get the point).
It really does take time and commitment, as you and I have learned, to build a community and give and receive from social media and that’s what clients need to know.