Don’t Isolate Your Social Media Efforts
“If you aren’t using social media, you’re losing out.”
Have you heard that comment lately? To some extent it’s true, but to begin using new social media tools without thinking about how to integrate them into your existing marketing program is equally fruitless.
Social media tools like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are excellent tools to add to your marketing communication arsenal. However, like any tools – from newsletters to event ads – if you don’t use them properly they will drain more resources than they generate.
When you’re faced with an opportunity to capitalize on an emerging technology, resist the temptation to jump in with both feet before you check to see how deep the water is and whether or not there are any rocks hidden under the surface. Instead, always go back to your core marketing communications strategy to get the right perspective.
To begin, your core strategy should be client focused. If it’s not, then stop worrying about social media tools and rethink the foundation you’re trying to build on. Social media will help you only if you are legitimately trying to have an open conversation with your key audiences.
That said, you should understand that wanting to have a conversation is no guarantee of social media success. You still need a strategy. You especially need to understand what you want to say… what you really stand for. Because what you really believe will come out when you’re having that conversation.
This goes beyond branding. In today’s open communication environment, a successful marketing communications effort depends on honesty. If you know who you are, what you do, why you do it, who it can benefit and how it can benefit them, then you’re off to a great start.
Next, figure out how to package and how best to convey that information… meaning who in your firm should do the conveying, what tools they should be using, who should be handling the response and how they should be handling it. Without doubt, your web presence is a key ingredient, so get that right first.
And when you’re comfortable, you can begin to think about extending the conversation… and here’s where social media comes in. In order to be successful, the conversation should already have begun… among your staff members and your clients. Social media tools are extenders… they’re for moving the conversation out of the boardroom and into the kitchen, where everything feels a bit more real.
John Vincent is a principal and co-founder of Yulan Studio, a marketing communications and website design firm based in Portland, Oregon. He has spent his career working his way from paste-up to mashup. www.yulanstudio.com
