Social Media – No, “Anybody” Can’t Do It

We’ve talked about this before. Companies get all tied up in the idea that social media is “social.” This can result in the underestimation of the power of social media and companies dismissing its execution to the lowest rung of their in-house staff, or to people already so busy that social media gets short shrift. If it is social it must mean anyone can do it, right? So wrong!

This approach is a huge disservice to your brand development. As we talked about in an earlier blog, there is no better tool for brand development than social media. It is a way to touch customers and prospects frequently, with smaller bites of wisdom and service that create a continuous flow of awareness and attention. Plus, your prospects get to interact immediately, which is a rare commodity in marketing. If you remember the old adage that it takes people ten touches to actually create awareness, then social media is a way to get those touches done fast and cost-effectively – but not if it is just a random barrage of recycled ad material or meaningless “social” posts. Social media, like all good marketing, takes planning, orchestration and consistency of message, and dead-on persistence. It is not something to be done as an afterthought in people’s spare time.

Despite misunderstandings of the “social” term, which makes companies believe that social media should only be done by in-house staff, in fact, social media can be done as an outside service. If it is, however, it needs to be from a provider who is willing to make the commitment to a deep understanding of your company’s brand promises and messaging strategy. If you can get that, an outside social media firm may be your best choice, because they provide a central control of consistent messaging and posting frequency. An outside service also oversees a balance of messages between company departments and markets and keeps the story user-oriented. If your social media program stays in-house, make sure that your best marketing minds are overseeing it, even if they aren’t doing all the posting.

Strategies has developed and maintained social media programs for clients big and small. Doing a good job needs a balance of high-level strategy and the most nitty-gritty detail.

Want to talk about how social media can work for you?