In our last blog, 2010 Social Media Marketing Predictions & Strategies, Part I we discussed the fact that many businesses have jumped on board with social media without really analyzing it’s value or creating sustainable strategies. We also made the point that although social media campaigns are worthwhile, serious objective-oriented road-mapping should be a priority for businesses interested in making these campaigns a success.
One of the comments we received from a “The Market Research Bulletin” LinkedIn group member, in response to our last blog punctuates our message about the need to plan:
Make it an integrated part of your marketing strategy, make sure you know what you’re doing first (or hire someone who does). Prepare to spend a lot of time. Social media doesn’t work like DM or TV.¬† It takes 3-6 months just to see the needle twitch and 6-12 months to really move it. Once you’re engaged in social media you need to stay engaged, not just hop in when it suits you. –Michael Durwin
To begin building a social media road map,¬†engage and involve¬†key company¬†decision makers. Bring¬†industry specific research¬†and proprietary consumer behavior¬†data to the table and¬†discuss the social media marketing plan just as seriously as any other marketing plan. Flesh out short-term and long-term goals. Understand and record exactly how those goals will be met via social media.¬†Budget for a year long campaign, choose your social media¬†experts wisely and schedule regular performance reviews along the way. Since social media and it’s many distribution channels¬†are evolving quickly, review meetings should ideally be scheduled twice a quarter, if not more.
All of the previously mentioned steps are by no means an authoritative guide to road-mapping social media marketing strategies, but the point here is to encourage e-commerce and brick and mortar businesses to pause, take a hard look at their goals, and devise a well thought out plan to reach those goals before taking the plunge into Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc.
It¬†may be that¬†some reading this blog will see¬†this advice as overly simplistic, however according to MarketingSherpa’s 2010 Social Media Marketing Benchmark Report, “‘Lack of an effective social marketing strategy’ is one of the most significant challenges facing marketers. Without a strategy, organizations typically approach social media by putting the cart before the horse–starting a blog, a Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter account, or other social platform rather than first mapping a course to achievable objectives.”
Contact FastPivot.com to have professional social media specialists create and implement a Social Media Road Map for your business.
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