We know you’re probably sick of reading about Social Media, and yet you probably still don’t have a handle on what you should be doing, where you should be doing it, and who in your organization should be responsible. We get it.
So instead of telling you, for the umpteenth time, how very important Social Marketing has become, and how critical it is that you be engaged, and all the things you’re missing out on, we’re going to share the five ugly truths that no one talks about: the landmines, pitfalls and challenges that make this medium so difficult to embrace for an industry that’s used to “test, measure, execute, and repeat.”
- Maybe the first and most challenging truth we all have to face is this: Social Marketing is simply not measurable – YET. Remember back in 1999 when everyone was starting to build websites, and matchback didn’t exist, and we were all scratching our heads wondering whether ecommerce was cannibalizing our catalog business? It’s kind of like that – only harder – because now we may only have a Twitter handle to associate with someone until they place an order, and that handle may not correlate in any way to any other information we collect about them.
- The second truth is a corollary to the first,
and that’s this: just because you can’t do anything with it now doesn’t mean
you shouldn’t be capturing as much data as you can. If you’re committed to your
Social Marketing program (more on this later), you should consider adding
fields to your marketing database, and adding your Facebook Fans, Twitter
followers, LinkedIn Group members, etc. as accounts. Eventually, you’ll be able
to tie those records back to transactional records, and won’t you be glad to
have that data then?
- Commitment. This is a big one, so listen
carefully: don’t start a Social Marketing program unless you’re willing to
commit to it in earnest. Bringing on a summer intern and letting her go wild
with a blog and a Twitter account and instructional videos may sound like a
great way to test the waters, but what happens when that intern is gone? Which
department will be responsible for managing the ongoing program? Search engine
algorithms are heavily dependent on consistent and new content, so letting 3
months lag between blog postings will not only hurt your Google Page Rank and natural
search results, it will also hurt your authority with consumers and followers.
Have a plan, make a commitment to the plan, and if something changes, LET YOUR
FOLLOWERS KNOW.
- Another secret of Social Marketing? You can do
it pretty well on a shoestring budget, so long as you build that plan we talked
about earlier. From blogging to videos to creating community sites, the
majority of tools you’ll need to manage and monitor your profiles are free (or
nearly free), and with the right strategic plan and training, you very likely
have someone in your organization who can allocate a few hours a week to
maintaining the program you’ve set up.
- And the last ugly truth the so-called “social marketing gurus” rarely talk about? The separation between personal and professional personalities. We have a client whose personal Twitter account has become a dumping ground for every bad meeting, crummy deal, and employee complaint he has. Imagine his employer’s surprise when she realized that this guy was publishing this protected feed to his personal blog – which was posted on his LinkedIn page. We’re not suggesting you shouldn’t have a personal life in social networks. We’re just saying you need to be hyper-vigilant about insulating it from your business and your brand.
We hope these tips are a bit of a welcome break from all the hype surrounding Social Media Marketing. There’s no question that this medium is here to stay, but it’s important to keep your expectations grounded and your strategy on-point, all while avoiding the landmines in your path.
This piece originally appeared in The Cross Examiner, Cross Country Computer's quarterly newsletter.