How to create a social media strategy

First, a big thanks to: Jeremy Flint (@jeremyﬂint) IPSA (@ipsaonline) Shift Workspace (@ShiftWorkspace) For hosting this presentation on quot; June 4, 2009.

Social Media Clients

So why create a quot; social media strategy?

Without a clear direction, quot; social media can pull you quot; in all directions.

Clear goals and realistic expectations can help avoid: Wasted time Wasted effort Backlash Social media fatigue Missed opportunities

It starts with asking yourself a few tough questions.

Question 1: What are you after?

Sales? Client leads? Awareness? Proving your brand? Buzz? Thought leadership?

Can you distill your quot; social media mission down toquot; one sentence?

quot;Anything that creates positive lasting memory is customer service.quot; — Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO

Zappos live chat excerpt: (done entirely in 3rd person) Timmy: Timmy thanks Jonathan for good help. Jonathan: Jonathan welcomes Timmy. Can Jonathan do anything more for Timmy? Timmy: no that is all timmy needs Timmy: timmy happy Jonathan: Good. Does Timmy have an account set up with Zappos yet? Jonathan: Jonathan will upgrade Timmy’s account. Source: Twitter.com/Zappos

“Humanize the Ford brand and put consumers in touch with Ford employees.quot; — Scott Monty, Ford Motor Co.

quot;Instill trust in the brand, and highlight that the people behind the brand are parents too.” — Lindsay Lebresco, Graco

A core philosophy gives you a daily focus and helps deﬁne your goals.

Question 2: How will you know quot; if it’s working?

Social media gives you a chance to set metrics that quot; suit your philosophy.

Graco’s mission: Reach 1,000,000 parents online

What can be measured? Blog posts Inbound trafﬁc Reader comments Clickthroughs Twitter mentions Video views Twitter followers Channel subscribers Facebook fans Video embeds Links SlideShare views RSS subscribers Tags Google trends Diggs Alexa rankings Stumbles Search results App downloads Nielsen BuzzMetrics Podcast subscribers

What about impressions? CPM? Those still have a place, especially in winning over quot; the old guard.

Measurement tools: There are lots out there. My favorite? Google Docs.

Most data can be easily tracked and graphed with simple spreadsheets.

Once your scope (and budget) expands, consider paid monitoring services such as Radian6.

Question 3: Who’s responsible for reaching these goals?

Social media is a murky mix of PR, marketing, interactive, customer service and more. But try to make it everyone’s job, and it becomes no one’s job.

Now’s the time to quot; take ownership, quot; take responsibility and take the credit.

Social media will never be quot; a real part of your business quot; until it’s included in job descriptions and expectations.

Set your goals and live by them, even if they seem arbitrary at ﬁrst. Prove to your colleagues that this is work, not screwing around.

Question 4: What’s in it for your customers?

Corporate social media is hollow if it doesn’t create some sort of valuable content for the reader.

Provide your customers with insight, sneak peeks, discounts, support, a good laugh, etc. Make yourself worthy of their time (and, hopefully, their money).

Question 5: Where do you go from here?

Once you build momentum, quot; don’t squander it. Use your successes to justify bigger budgets, more stafﬁng and cooler projects.

And once you’re a blogillionaire, don’t forget the little people, like… david.griner@luckie.com Twitter.com/griner TheSocialPath.com SlideShare.net/Griner

http://www.thesocialpath.com	264
http://www.slideshare.net	193
http://www.trinetizen.com	79
http://www.scoop.it	47
http://aurasmihai.ro	36
http://businessspeak.wordpress.com	33
http://museusdospuntzero.blogspot.com	26
http://socialpr.blogspot.com	20
http://www.peppertt.com	19
http://www.ecademy.com	18
http://picoteando.blogspot.com	16
http://www.socialmediabiz.com	11
http://mj89sp3sau2k7lj1eg3k40hkeppguj6j-a-sites-opensocial.googleusercontent.com	10
http://jenniflyworld.wordpress.com	9
http://passport2india.wikispaces.com	8
http://socialmedianow.wordpress.com	7
http://www.johansetiawan.com	6
http://weecloud.blogspot.com	6
http://mercuryseattle.net	6
http://aledis2009.wordpress.com	5
http://trinetizen.blogspot.com	5
http://sueanstiss.blogspot.com	4
http://blog.trinetizen.com	4
http://www.walteradamson.com	4
http://museusdospuntzero.blogspot.com.es	4
https://ccccblackboard.blackboard.com	4
http://pinterest.com	3
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	3
http://www.ebookfreedom.com	3
http://paper.li	3
http://picoteando.blogspot.com.es	2
http://www.socialmedia.biz	2
http://trinetizen.com	2
http://www.bounceit.net	2
http://b1ward.blogspot.com	2
http://www.mindtalk.com	1
https://logancc.blackboard.com	1
http://picoteando.blogspot.com.br	1
http://pradtimes.com	1
http://207.46.192.232	1
http://feeds.feedburner.com	1
http://socialpr.blogspot.sg	1
http://brieuc.tumblr.com	1
http://twitter.com	1
http://chrisfiteni.backpackit.com	1
http://aztecas.blogspot.com	1
http://www.bounceit.net:8181	1
http://www.sueanstiss.blogspot.com	1
http://127.0.0.1	1
http://localhost:8888	1
http://ckris26.wordpress.com	1

How to create a social media strategy

by David Griner

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

58 Embeds 889

Statistics