What came first, the chicken or the egg? Without knowing it, this same dilemma seems to plague many C-Suite and marketing professionals as evidenced by their continued fixation on the latest trendy social media technology. Usually at the expense of good communication strategy.
When called by clients to consult on marketing strategies, the questions that seem to be asked the most are technology-based: Should my business communicate through Twitter or LinkedIn? Is Facebook Places the future or should I stick with FourSquare?
Should I kill my Wiki page in favor of Quora? The same seems to apply to the RFPs they issue, which provide budgets and award criteria for social technologies and ignore the pre-requisite social communication strategy.
To those people, let me state emphatically: the technology or network you choose is a distant secondary consideration. You should first ask me:
- Who and where your audience is online?
- Who are the influencers of my audience?
- What are my audiences motivators online?
- What is the best communication strategy for my brand?
- Should all my business’ departments communicated with the same strategy and through social channels?
- What should my goals & expectations from social media engagement be and how do I measure success?
- Who should be held responsible for maintaining our online communications?
- How do integrate social media marketing into my overall marketing and communication plan?
Further, if you wish to drive a measurable return on your investment, budget for this analysis, consulting and research first.
Social Media Cause and Effect
Brands have a lot to thank social media technology developers for. The availability andsimplification of technology has caused more content to be developed, more opportunities to speak to your audience and have them speak to you. It’s caused a whole new role for PR in the business’ marketing plan. It’s breathed new life into WOM marketing. Marketers (and their customers) can now get real-time feedback, which impact product & purchase decisions.
However, for all it’s benefits social technologies have effected people’s perception of brand reality. Social technologies have ushered in a whole new branding paradigm for marketers. Your corporate brand is quickly becoming the collective commentary of the masses as shared through social and mobile technologies.
As a result most executives I engage seem to be focused on how to “control” the medium and manipulate the technology. This shift in control over your brand perception should highlight the importance of concentrating on your content strategy before embracing any technology.
Pandora’s Box
Consumers have embraced their new-found power and won’t give up the voice it has given them. You cannot close Pandora’s Box. Trying to manage social engagements by managing technologies is like swimming upstream. Your better strategy is to lead that conversation by understanding the audience’s needs, what motivates them and then provide the fuel required to maintain your social ecosystem.
Unlike the chicken/egg conundrum, in social media marketing we know what came first: communication. Let that lead your marketing strategy, not the technology.
By Sam Fiorella
Feed Your Community, Not Your Ego
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