Keeping Social Media Real Simple

Keeping Social Media Real Simple

Some of my clients are getting overwhelmed with the range of social media models and channels, which are available to help them engage with their target audience, and drive traffic and revenue, as each channel fights for market space and claims to be the ideal social medium. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, DIGG, Delicious, Blogs, Foursquare, YouTube, and the ever expanding universe of channels, categories of tools and services, and analytic tools, of which there are way too many to mention.

See a glimpse of the social media universe here: http://bit.ly/bVrqyE

and here: http://bit.ly/cQg20z

300 channels and counting, and so many different categories and uses. Scary isn’t it?

In this case, the social medium is not a very good message, it is a confusing mess, as clearly you cannot use all of these social media channels and methodologies and expect anything that remotely resembles success. I tell my clients to step back from the social media fray, analyze and pick a few popular channels, which support their strategies and goals, and leave the rest until their KPI’s or measurements of success are achieved. Only when they are comfortable with the results should they move ahead and pick a few more social media channels and models to deploy. The deployment should be done in measured steps, do not follow the hype, and above all, trust your analysis and strategy.

What many new media marketers, and social media mavens forget, is that most business people are maxed out in the current economic environment, barely have time to get the job at hand done, let alone think about the latest social media craze, or new Facebook or Twitter feature. They are traditionalists who understand conventional marketing concepts and values, and all they care about is reach and exposure to improve the the ROI for their content, product, or service they offer.

Over the last several years, I have developed a series of guidelines to help me quickly explain the benefits of social media to my clients:

1. Although tempting, do not inundate your client with your Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogging and LinkedIn prowess
2. Start simple and show a couple of tangible examples of social media (i.e. Mr. Obama’s Facebook site, which effectively connects him with his stakeholders)
3. Forget the social media jargon, leave that for L8R, discuss social media in traditional marketing terms (ROI, KPI’s, reach, analysis, strategy, etc)
4. Start with the most popular and proven social media channels to get the biggest bang for the buck
5. Show demographic usage of the most popular social media channels (i.e. 5.5 million Facebook users in Ontario, Canada. Big WOW factor, and WOW is not World of Warcraft, WOW = wow)
6. Define the measurements of success, ROI, and KPI’s should be attached to all social media models
7. Develop a simple plan for deploying social media channels and models, with integrated traditional media, which support your clients current business strategies and goals
8. Be respectful of the client resources required to help analyze, deploy and maintain social media PR and Marketing
9. Like traditional media, explain that social media requires continuous experimentation, maintenance and modification, new campaigns, new channels, etc
10. Analytics will prove whether a social media channel is successful or a waste of time, but you can run small quick tests to test a model
    

Following these guidelines will help you manage your social media initiatives and keep the various participating teams in check to ensure your social media projects do not spin out of control and turn into a time vampires.

If you would like more information on analyzing, developing, deploying and maintaining your corporate social media channels, and integrated Web 2.0 PR and marketing, please contact Steve Cohen at (905) 330-3570, stevecohen@electriceffect.com, or visit the Electric Effect web site at http://www.electriceffect.com