How social are you? Five steps to the perfect social strategy

In five to ten years time we’ll no longer refer to media as ‘social’ because everything we do will be social by its very nature, argues Danny Watmough. So how well equipped are brands to cope with this über social future? According to him, not very.

We’re already seeing social functionality dominate much of what we do online, from shopping to consuming news, to listening to music. According to the results of a recent study into the social media activities of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the UK, despite an increase in the number of social channels being used the vast majority are failing to use them.

Now in its second year the survey found that, while there had been a substantial take-up of Facebook among B2B companies, only 31 per cent of those with an account used it to engage with users. And of the companies that had a blog, only 20 per cent received comments – and only one company replied to comments received.

Twitter saw the highest levels of engagement overall. Of the 41 companies with a Twitter account, 68 per cent used it to build relationships with followers. However, on average, only 14 per cent of tweets were replies and 14 per cent retweets.

Stuck in the one-way push-marketing techniques of the past, it seems brands are still largely ignoring the explicit function that sets social media apart.

So what is the answer?

Go back to basics with your social strategy

Anyone tasked with managing social media will be familiar with the scenario where a client or CEO says, “I think we need to be doing more on social networks”. The easy answer is to set up an account and start sending out the odd message every now and again. And it seems that’s exactly what many companies do.

I’d suggest a more strategic approach. Here are five key questions to ask:

1. What are your objectives?

From customer service and customer engagement, to driving sales and media outreach, social media can be used for a vast array of different business tasks. So it’s important to think about which ones are important to you.

2. How will you build a ‘community’?

Having objectives is one thing, but if no one is listening to you, you’ll never achieve them. Building or tapping into a community is therefore an important first step. So find where your audience is, listen to what they are saying, and begin to reach out to them.

3. What are you going to say?

Content is key. You could have the best community in the world, but if you’ve got nothing to say, you won’t be able to engage in conversation.

4. Who’s going to manage it?

Deciding who will manage your social media activity will again depend on what you are trying to achieve, and who your audience is. Invest in training and find the right people for the job – internally and/or externally.

5. How will you measure success?

As with all types of marketing and PR, if you can’t measure outputs, outcomes and impact, you’ll never know whether it is working. Agree metrics in advance and review them on a regular basis to help you work out whether it’s working.

There’s no silver bullet when it comes to social media. It takes a carefully thought-through strategy and equally considered execution. Get this right and you’ll be well on your way to capitalise on the social future that is just around the corner.

Editor's note

Find out how our online advertising options will increase your online presence.

 

Author Danny Watmough is account director at technology PR agency EML Wildfire. This article was first published on http://econsultancy.com/uk.

Read the original article by Danny Watmough.

 

Back to top