Dear Marketing VPs,
Would you hire an inexperienced person, pay them entry-level wages, stick them in a cubicle without supervision, and give them autonomous control over a tens-of-millions-of-dollars international radio, TV, and print media strategy for your company? No?
Then why are you doing it with social media?
As thoughtless as the assertion is, I have come to enjoy enjoy the amusement when a seasoned executive tells me that “young people innately know how to do social media.” This mistaken assumption is the newest form of punting in the dark.
Reality check. Because of the network effect, social media has the capacity to reach more of your customers than radio, TV, or print. And being 20-some years old does not make someone “innately know how to do social media” or anything else for that matter.
Don’t feel attacked, though. You’ve done the right thing by acknowledging that these channels cannot be ignored. I’m just saying it’s going to require more thought than this. Call it PR, customer relations, or whatever you want. But shouldn’t a consumer-facing communication strategy be planned and executed based on the weight of the outcomes at stake?
Social media is very different from traditional media, it’s true. Many an old-school marketing veep has screwed up a social media launch by not understanding its differences.
Yet many a hip young college grad has under-estimated the importance of corporate voice, and racked up costs in goodwill and brand equity.
Here’s four take-aways for building brand and customer engagement through social media. (And they’re likely to require cooperation between your younger staffers and your veterans.)
LISTEN. Remember that the most core difference from traditional media is that social media is not simply a new place to talk about yourself. It’s a place for others to talk about you. And they’re doing it. So you better listen at least as much as you talk. And use that same social network to notify them that you listened by announcing changes you’ve made based on their feedback.
GIVE VALUE. A stack of research now shows that users of the social web want brands in their network. Remember that they want you there for the same reason they want you in the mailbox or their neighborhood – because of the value they gain from working with you. So extend that value distribution network into the social web. Publish information and touch points reserved just for your friends on the social web; it makes them want to come back.
KEEP THE MISSION. Smart people don’t plan their day from their email inbox. So avoid the temptation to jump into the popcorn popper and begin reacting to passing rants and raves. Communicate just as deliberately on the web as you would in radio, TV, or print. Know your mission-critical messages and craft your social discussions from that base.
REPEAT, REPEAT. Consistency and reinforcement remain crucial. If you think there’s clutter in TV, just log onto Twitter and click your browser refresh button for 10 minutes. You’re still going to need to reinforce your message and get others to do the same. Do this by becoming participants in the broader conversations and including your message in that already-active stream.
Customer relationships have not decreased in value just because you’re working with 140 characters. And sales, business development, and PR are still sciences, even though you now have a Facebook page. Make sure that your veterans are learning new tricks, but that your interns are gaining knowledge of the basics while forging a new frontier.
Everyone will be happier.