The dynamic nature of social media and site management requires
an active approach. What works,
keep. What hasn’t earned high
marks or remains on your to do list requires attention and strategic
vision. Anytime is the right time
to review social media strategies and outline updated implementation plans
especially as a new year begins.
Several considerations for your social media strategy
include:
#1: Leadership. All employees
should have a confirmed understanding of your organization’s social strategies
and expectations. With one person
leading the charge, vision can be managed, disseminated and overseen. Each employee should have a clear
understanding of how social media is to be used. Train to enhance skill sets for those tentative or
unfamiliar.
#2:
Analytics.
Assessment is critical to determine which social media sites and formats are most
relevant and effective to your unique audiences. Doing so provides insight into how one can utilize and
monetize data to hone future tweets, posts, infographics, length of messages,
and tweak direction for greater influence. Tap into social media management assistance with vendors
like HootSuite, Radian6, VerticalResponse, Sprout Social, Postling, etc.
Conduct a routine review of analytics to determine your most
successful social media programs.
Monitor metrics and trends for greater awareness of triggers among
employees, consumers, vendors, competitors, etc. Who are your primary and ancillary demographics and how are
they being courted? Whether
communications are B2B or B2C, it’s all about 1-on-1. Social chatter is valuable. Past buzz topics guide future areas of interest and follow
up forums. Listen carefully to
what is and is not said.
#3: Content. Which of your creative
assets can be mined for additional use?
Review creative content to determine 1) what can be additionally
exploited, 2) through which media platforms and 3) prioritize storytelling
based on ratings leaders and greatest gainers. Further, what subjects do you wish to introduce in
2013? How will you create and
share content to additionally support your brand and increase engagement?
Industry issues should be researched and monitored to clarify position
and build marketplace influence in accordance with your strategic vision. Do not be bound by what exists or how
things have been done. Tomorrow
belongs to the creative. Be
proactive and responsive with your social media campaigns. Encourage dialogue to build
relationships. The goal is to shift
mindset with message.
Power-browsing demands engaging content to increase CTR and
CVR. With decreased attention
spans, branding happens at hyper-speed, or not. Unique content hedges your odds and offers exclusive options
to build an inclusive community.
Stories engage. What is the
story your content tells? What
feeling does it convey? How are
you curating content and tweaking stories for glocal consumption? Are messages
across various formats i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Blogger or Wordpress, Pinterest or Tumblr, Reddit, Google+, YouTube, Vevo, etc.
appropriately tailored?
Add an emotional connection to
storytelling. What happened to who and how did the brand contribute to quality
of life? Highlight stories of good
corporate citizenship and sustainability. Include photos, video, and other
stylistic variations for freshness.
#4: Goals. Actions should
consistently facilitate goal realization and positively correlate to consumer
engagement, follows, RTs, site traffic, sales, etc. Enhanced communications and more personalized interactions
with consumers allow for: excellent client service; increased branding and
consumer awareness, positive value assessment, successful viral promotions, and
firm establishment of thought leadership.
Do not be timid as you tailor communications. As you determine your audience, build
outward. Speak to the known
quantity first as you increasingly incorporate overlapping and concentric rings
of influencers and consumers.
#5: Digital Personality. Have one.
Actually, have different DPs for various platforms while maintaining thematic
consistency. Don't be scattered in your approach or brand
representations. Do
tailor messages across platforms. Branding
is strengthened with recognizable consistencies whether offline or online. Post PR messages on press release sites
while tailoring for Facebook, Twitter, etc., for site appropriate messaging.
Social media is about communication and interaction. Create relationships in this space to
inspire loyalty, build business, encourage repeat business/referrals and build
brands.
#6: Protocol. Consider the ripples
triggered by the C-level executives of Papa John’s, Chil-fil-A, and elsewhere,
who opined about matters political and personal. Once filtered to mass media, their statements hit a bevy of
targets, intended and not.
It’s important to discuss a range of issues and have the
appropriate protocols in place to facilitate corporate growth and communications
with minimal potential for negative impact. Such messages require careful
communiqués. What is your process?
Be prudent but it is OK to have a position. Timidity is for prey, not thought leaders. As we see from Chick-fil-A, overall, there
was a positive bottom line benefit despite the initial controversy.
#7: Assess
SEO. How
are you maximizing SEO programs and search results? As social media
cheerleading chant goes, “Be effective!
B-E effective!”
#8:
Apps. Consumers are increasingly
utilizing mobile platforms. Are you fully compatible to
enhance consumer experience and facilitate engagement across tasks, locations,
carriers, devices, etc.? What apps are you launching to make access to
and navigating your business easier? If apps are not already a bullet on
your social strategy agenda, they should be. Apps should be smart, fun, useful, effective, engaging, feel
essential, and compliment the vibe of your digital personality.
#9:
Dual-Screening. Maximize dual screened multi-tasking with messages
reinforcement and expansion of the discussion. Review platforms to ensure your content is consistent with
timely updates across devices.
From tablet to smartphone to laptop to desktop, your message should be
consistently accessible with unique talk points per format. Don’t just rehash media across formats.
#10:
Community is king. Just as
“Beliebers” and “Monsters” are faithfully committed to Justin Bieber and Lady
Gaga, respectively, so should brand loyalty be actively, unabashedly
cultivated. Keep giving followers
a/k/a consumers a reason to like your content and promote brand with contests,
trivia, photos, feedback, etc.
Your social platforms should facilitate obtaining and keeping friends
and followers and rippling. Implicit
understanding of your client is critical to keeping and attracting your
clients.
Take a look at your demographics. Is there any aspect of your consumer base which has
changed? Are your demographics
consistent across genres, formats, technology access points, etc.? Are messages suitably tailored? Tweak as needed. Know your audience, their needs and close
gaps to meet those needs.
#11:
Interconnect networks. Cross-pollinate social
networks through mentions, posts, comments, RT, etc. Use hashtags to start an
ongoing conversation about #youramazingbrand. Be clever in how you interject
brand into current events and the social media stream. This is an excellent forum
where you can engage consumers and transition their status from ambivalent to
advocate. Ideally, you want to actively transition consumers into fans and
followers.
Another network to consider is
fundraising sites. Monitor crowd-sourcing
sites for more innovational ideas and philanthropic opportunities. Be legal. If you’re coming to snatch and grab, you will lose goodwill
and generate legal entanglements. Based
on project support, such sites provide an open window through which to gain
insight and get a sense for what others consider important or could represent
an emerging bubble.
#12:
Feedback. Defriending is a distinct communication type as
compared to negative posts, and speaks volumes in terms of a directional shift
or situational response. This is a clear consumer statement that should be
investigated. Today's communication is direct. Fans can tweet about celebrities
and get a responding tweet, RT, maybe even a DM without going through any
gatekeepers. Consumers are increasingly expect the same brand access and
responsiveness.
When feedback goes beyond negative to vitriolic and viral,
trolls must be managed. Personalized interactions and promotion of the positive
sets the tone for online communities and may prohibit naysayers. Be proactive when addressing issues
that cause individuals to lash out online to avoid being to blasted in
perpetuity in cyberspace, an unfortunate reality of social media.
Of course, you can’t please everyone and some specifically seek
the anonymity of the online world to really lash out. Proactively respond to potential contentions. The goal is to please the majority with
a personalized interaction style and promote the positive to set the tone for
your online community.
#13: Innovate.
Always look for ways to examine and expand the boundaries of communication,
messages and methods. Social media is constantly evolving. Tap in and
tweak as needed to benefit your strategic vision and short and long-term
implementation plans.
