Why some social media strategies fail

Over the last twelve months I’ve been quizzed more and more by clients about social media strategies. What should we be doing? What are our competitors doing? Have we missed the boat? My answer to each has been different, but as to the nautical question, my message is pretty clear; no.

The social media environment is constantly evolving so there is no right or wrong time to take the plunge. Having said that, if a company decides to embrace social media without giving enough thought to what it is trying to achieve then the results can be damaging to both brand and reputation.

On a very basic level social media should be viewed as a new way of connecting with customers and prospects. Therefore, you initially need to decide what channels you are going to use and what you are going to say. If we accept the premise that social media is all about collaboration, then the information you disseminate has to have value. If it doesn’t, then you will quickly bore your audience and any social media aspirations you might have had will become dead in the water. Also remember that you are opening up a dialogue that could potentially result in criticism. I’m not advocating censorship, but beware there are spoilers out there who will take great pleasure in destroying good intentions, a degree of gate keeping can sometimes be appropriate.

Crucially, don’t rush your strategy. You are making yourself more accessible to the outside world, so take a considered approach as to what you want to say and when you say it. This means planning ahead and keeping to a schedule. This will give your campaign substance, whilst enabling you to integrate more off the cuff content. Remember, engagement can be secured through repetition, so avoid long awkward silences. If you have a captive audience, a lack of content is criminal.

This is important; it’s not about what you want to talk about, it’s about what your audience would like to discuss. From a PR perspective, I’ve seen a number of campaigns fail because they focus too much on product specifications, rather than detailing what’s in it for the customer; we all have a tendency to become self obsessed at times. And the same is true for an effective social media strategy. You need to establish what content will generate discussion, a bit of old fashioned customer research might help here.

I’ll be honest with you I’m not sure where social media fits. Is it PR? Is it marketing? Is it a separate entity? PR seems to be taking the lead at the moment, but as social media becomes more widely accepted by business this could change. However, in many respects ownership is irrelevant, if your strategy does not consider the needs of your audience it will fail.

1 Comment

• 
  Eric LEBOEUF March 24, 2011 at 11:04 am

  Good article. I would also add that it is important to select the right media depending on the audience to be reached, for example professional, general public, students, kids. The measure of the Return of Investment is not always obvious due to the indirect path information can take.

  Reply