Social media has been a blockbuster for small businesses, but what about for large organizations like universities, NGOs, etc.? Well, yes and no. The ones with more horizontal organizational charts are going for it, as these organizations are, in some ways, fashioned after small businesses where time is of the essence. They are built to empower departments to move fast on implementing decisions, when necessary. The others–not so efficient. For those, the concept of social media may have been discussed, but committees, especially those whose members are only familiar with traditional advertising, will tend to move slow, especially on a perceived unknown like a social media campaign launch.
The first challenge is convincing a committee that the organization can’t afford not to have a presence on social media. There are numerous studies out there that suggest social media is effective at reaching a target market, and that today’s target market must now be engaged on more than one platform.
Once social media is embraced, the second challenge is: Who implements it? The obvious answer might be the PR/communications department, but just as businesses who carry multiple product lines must determine whether to create social media accounts for each, organizations must also determine whether there’s a need for multiple accounts or not. Universities might have specific departmental accounts, a number of team sports accounts, etc. That being the case, it’s important to assign multiple account tasks to the communications division within the separate divisions.
This brings us to our third challenge. Once you know who’s behind the wheel, then it’s time to make sure you’re branding is consistent on each channel. A splash page can be built for Facebook, home page wrap for Twitter, etc. While many organizations have a graphics department, it’s oftentimes the case that they are either over-loaded with their regular duties or there is no effective inter-departmental communications plan in place. Some orgs. even out-source graphics work just to avoid having to deal with another department. Social media is a little different. It is imperative (as we’ll also see in the next paragraph) that all departments learn to work together.
The fourth challenge is bringing it all together. Make sure your Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc. icons are posted in a prominent place on the orgs. home page, relevant departmental home pages, e-newsletters, and even print advertising. That’s the easy part. Next, you’ll need to make sure there’s a liaison working to help representatives from each department collaborate on goals, content sharing, editorial calenders (for blogging), etc.
Usually, it is the case that once an organization decides to move forward with an action plan, the momentum behind that decision is difficult to slow. But, it’s not enough just to get a strong social media plan in place,which brings us to the fifth challenge: There must be regularly scheduled performance evaluations in order to optimize and measure efforts.
If you are an organizational representative interested in social media and need help with any step in the social media campaign process, FastPivot invites you to schedule a 1 on 1 complimentary strategy session with us today. Also, if you haven’t already–register now for our free upcoming January 26, webinar “Social Media Strategy for International NGOs & Universities – Worldwide Trends, brand promotion, fund raising & recruiting.”
