Who should be involved in your company’s social media efforts?
Your business development and marketing teams can work together to develop a social media strategy. Ideally, the person implementing your strategy is someone internal who not only has an in-depth understanding of your organization’s service or product and its marketing goals, but also someone who has time to devote to the project. All too often, company leaders think of social media as ‘free.’ But while it may be free to set up a social networking account or post blogs, it does take time, and time is money.
Some companies are turning to outside writers to post blogs for them, and some agencies have pay-per-Tweet programs. If you do decide to outsource these tasks, however, you need to set parameters so that your message is not overly self-promotional or interpreted as spam.
How can you monitor what is being said about your company in social media outlets?
You need to do online reputation management. Customers are posting reviews, opinions and comments about services and products via any number of social media sites and applications. And if you provide a service or product, you should monitor the Web to see what people are saying about you. If you search for ‘social media monitoring’ online, you will find tools to help you monitor your brand’s reputation.
If you provide a means for customer feedback on your own site, blog or social networking page, be prepared for negative opinions. And when a negative comment is posted, address it immediately, not days later, in an attempt to diffuse the situation. These instances should be handled as customer service calls, and the resolution should take place through a private channel.
What is the biggest mistake companies make when getting involved in social media?
There are several: Not knowing who your audience is. Putting out a message that no one cares about. Putting out good information but then making no effort to update the content. Not knowing what is being said online about your brand by your customers. Some of the biggest mistakes are often the simplest to overcome.
It’s also important to continue traditional marketing techniques in tandem with your social media efforts. Social media is a fantastic tool to enhance and complement your traditional marketing initiatives, not replace them. Finally, don’t discount the effectiveness of social media too quickly. It can take months to see a return on your investment.
Courtney Stoll is director of operations and administration at Arke Systems. Reach her at [email protected] or (404) 812-3123 x106.
