Social media can accelerate the spread of branded messages by making it convenient for people to share with friends and family. The right mix of content and execution can drive astronomical results, while paradoxically barging into a conversation like an elephant can adversely damage a brand’s online reputation.
Particularly in today’s economy when budgets are being slashed a lot of brands and agencies want to move into social media. My experience has taught me seasoned marketers often approach social media like they do any other media buy. This is fundamentally problematic because online influencers don’t like most marketing.
Napoleon became one of the most celebrated generals in history because he learned in the field how to divide armies with precise artillery. He subsequently built strategies for tactical military strikes that his enemies simply could not account for or adapt, and won many victories against sizably larger foes. Social media experts must push back against recommendations from above that they know will not be effective. Napoleon complexes are good things in social media, and here’s what brands should do to find their tactical generals and win the battle to connect with consumers in meaningful ways:
- Seek out experts from the field and listen to their recommendations. When they seem wrong, push back for clarification, what you perceive to be intuitively right might in fact be a bad fit for social media.
- Just because someone spends a few hours on Facebook, Twitter, and watches YouTube videos does not qualify him or her to execute on behalf of a brand. In fact, they may be lazy potheads who do not follow directions well (if so, this should not necessarily preclude you from hiring them).
- Stop thinking about metrics, seriously. Most people likely tuned out your media buys, so the truth is, most of your existing metrics based on eyeballs probably lead you to make erroneous assumptions about your ROI. Think creatively about how to create new Key Performance Indicators and less about how to adapt old media buying models.
- It’s not about you. If you don’t add value to a conversation, then be quiet and stay out of it. And conversely, if your legal department has problems, then hire other attorneys. You can defend against a misrepresentation on Twitter easier than you can a rumor turning into 100,000 people participating in negative word of mouth.
- Publish or perish. People are talking about you, and soon every site will have social media functionality. Remember 10 years ago when reporters used to say “live via satellite?” They don’t any more because it’s just what every network does now when reporting. It was once amazing that a steam engine beat a horse in a race. Don’t be the horse.
- It’s what people do – it’s not media. People go online to connect with one another, learn and exchange opinions, make informed purchase decisions, etc. They don’t think “hey, I’m going to use social media!” It’s just what they do. Don’t get caught up in industry vocabulary that makes you sound smart or transforms social media into something experimental.
- The biggest social media partner is not necessarily the best. This is the heart of the Napoleon complex. Look at case studies of potential partners and think if they can scale based on your needs. If they can, move forward.
- Always On, Not Always Planned. Social media engagement is a process of dynamic discovery – engaging in conversations, learning what people are saying, then acting based on the needs of online consumers. Campaign-focused approaches do not work because the goal of social media is to build relationships, not to serve media. If you spend too much time trying to plan, you’ll miss your opportunity.
- Trust Your Team. You may not understand social media, but your team will. Hire experts and trust them to execute. This corresponds with the need to stop planning, let them report and push messages but not be beholden to multiple agendas. The same core audience online might be the target for multiple campaigns in a given year. Social media does not always line up with other media channels.
- It’s not rocket science. Things change, people change, technologies change, life and communities change. There are best practices to tip the scales in your advantage but social media engagement is not science.
- Be bold, be loud, and be funny. Don’t’ water down your message. Most creative goes through a series of edits and revisions, and often the best ideas get dumbed down and somehow become, well, dumb. Trust your gut and go with it, if it doesn’t work, at least you have your integrity.
I hope this helps. This post is intended for those who control marketing budgets considering entering social media. It is based on extensive experience working with global agencies and brands when I was at Heavy, Spongecell, Visible Technologies, and M80, and is not written specifically for any of my clients, past or present.
Things sure have come a long way since the news rooms of the old days! Over 500 publications went out of business last year, and an additional 100 in 2009.
