5 Questions to Help You Develop a Social Media Strategy
Oct 14, 2009 with Comments 7
-by Adam Helweh
Principal, Secret Sushi Creative
Only a few years ago most business owners had never heard the term “social media”. Even now its meaning for many is still vague and mysterious. We are in a day and age much different than that of the past. Social media and new media provide one of the most accessible communication channels the world has known. It empowers both marketers and customers alike. Your customers are now afforded the opportunity to discuss, share, and critique their experience with your brand with unprecedented reach and influence. It has never been easier for those who spend money on your services and products to find alternatives.
Marketers are having to learn to be even more proactive in engaging customers and providing something of value beyond merchandise or services. Studies have show that affluent spenders do not want to lower their standard of living, but do want to be more careful in the purchasing decisions they make. Helping them in making those decisions are colleagues, friends, family members, and possibly you. Lets take a look at the popular social network Facebook. Previously the most social networks were thought to be frequented by only Gen Y, techies, and teens. Current numbers show that just under 60% of visitors on Facebook fall between the ages of 35 and 65 with women over 55 leading the charge. Since December 2008 Facebook has doubled to an incredible 300 million users. With more signing up each day how can businesses risk not having a presence ? If your not where I spend a considerable amount of my time, chances are your not going to have the opportunity to get to know me, interact with me, or listen to my needs. Go where the fish are, right? Well this lake is quickly turning into one of the biggest oceans on the planet and the average internet user is sticking around 3 times longer than ever before on sites like this.
Social networks aside, social media has so many options and funny names that it is no wonder it is overwhelming for some. Online video (both live streamed and pre-recorded), blogs, photo sharing services, interactive websites, slide sharing services, and other options are at our disposal. Add the increased usage of mobile devices such as smart phones (iPhone, Palm Pre, Blackberrys, etc) and laptops to access the web on-the-go and you have an incredible number of opportunities to engage with your clients/customers. Ultimately, what is right for you? I will address that in a future article. Much has been said about the tools, trends, and technology, but the evolution of social media as a business tool is essentially about its ability to foster relationships and build trust. As the presence of your brand grows across the internet, social media provides the best way to mold and shape how it is perceived by new customers, potential partners, and influencers.
Things to think about if your still deciding on social media for your business:
- People are increasingly using the web to check your reputation and that of your business. What will they find?
- Discussions are happening daily about brands, businesses and organizations. Are you listening to what is being said? Could that information give you a competitive advantage?
- Your current, past, and future clients are active on the social web. What is your level of engagement with them? Are you on the top of their mind when it comes time to spend?
- Your clients are viewing, discussing, and sharing content daily that is relevant and adds value. How much of that content is affiliated with your business? How would that shape their perception about your brand?
How to Get Started How can a business effectively use social media with so many options, so little clarity on what to do first, and such a wide span of virtual terrain to cover? You can accomplish this with some thought, preparation, and planning in the form of a “social media strategy”. Developing a social media strategy usually involves answering a few of the following questions:
- Is social media a viable way to reach who you want to reach? Are they active in places that make sense for you to engage them? (Yes, social media isn’t right for all businesses.)
- Is it something your business or organization can effectively adopt based on time, personnel, ability to try something new?
- What is the goal you hope to achieve? For example: Establish yourself as an expert, get customer feedback on a product, generate leads, increase brand awareness, or drive sales.
- How will you measure success? Are “dollars” the only measuring stick? How about sign ups, ideas submitted, comments, or mentions in the media?
- What are appropriate tools you can utilize to successfully accomplish what you wish to achieve? Is Facebook, Youtube, a blog, etc right for you?
Every business will have different answers for these questions. Seemingly similar businesses will have varying goals and different measures of success. A good social media strategy will alleviate confusion and provide a clear path on what direction to proceed. This reduces the time spent fussing with things and enables you to focus on building an online presence with a purpose. Once this is established, you can get the help that you need understanding the tools and protocols you have questions about. One of my biggest suggestions for those businesses that are serious about using social media is to work with someone who has experience in this area. I intend to share some of my insights and information regarding the current trends both through my own blog and on the Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco’s blog. I hope you will join the discussion by leaving your thoughts or questions in the comments section below. You may also contact me directly via email at “adam @ secretsushi.com”. Don’t hesitate to contact me or leave feedback.
Filed Under: Luxe Experts
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Adam Helweh, Adam Helweh. Adam Helweh said: 5 Questions to Help You Develop a Social Media Strategy | The Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco http://bit.ly/efWeW [...]
Adam, thanks for sharing your tips and insights. With so many small business owners using social media, how important is it that individuals create distance between their personal and business use of social media? We see a tremendous amount of personal and professional mingling on Facebook and Twitter, for example. Should people welcome the combination, or is it more productive to create a distinct line between posting pictures of the family pet and posting business updates or articles?
Great article for helping businesses get started with using Social Media. Have you given some thought about how to reach small local businesses who are only concerned with getting new customers? I keep thinking there is a long tail opportunity with these Mom and Pop shops along the Boulevard. But I have found it’s hard to demonstrate the value of social media to these independents. For the most part a lot of social media language doesn’t resonate – engagement, influence, fan pages, blogs! And I definitely agree with your closing argument that a good strategy alleviates confusion.
Tricia,
That is a very commonly asked question actually. My short answer is that the mingling of personal and business is perfectly acceptable in most cases and can be beneficial in the long run. I primarily base my opinion on two things.
Everything you do on the web lives on in some shape or form. The social web will become an integral part of all of our lives and what we do, share, and say on the web will represent us just as if it is being done outside of the digital world. Rather than try to make a clear cut divide between business or personal, it will simply be smarter to be a little more careful about just how crazy the photos are that you want to post of yourself at last weekend’s party.
Somewhat related to my first point, we are all human and in being human we all have personal lives in addition to our professional role. That said, it is often the personal things we enjoy that spark a conversation or enhance a previously luke warm connection. Elements of our lives like pets, tastes in music, and favorite sports teams don’t always come up in conversations, but they often are discovered when people are connected online in some way and happen to see a post or status update. When was the last time someone you were just starting to know got offended when you commented about something you noticed they had in common with you?
To add to this, sites like Facebook are actively working to add selective privacy features to allow folks to better manage who sees what. In the future you should be able to share what you want with who you want. In my opinion this should not be an excuse to lock away all your personal stuff for only the closest of your friends to see. What do you think?
Hi Jefferey,
In my experience the mom and pop shops have a hard time swallowing the benefits of social media initially because of a lack of resources. They are the sales rep., bookkeeper, manager, and janitor all wrapped into one. The thought of “engaging” with people online or “tweeting” while throughout the day immediately sounds like more work.
Another side to that coin is, many small businesses are feeling the pinch due to the economy and the increasing ineffectiveness of traditional marketing in many industries. I am experiencing more and more individuals who are willing to take the time to dive into social media. Those people are a little less apt to hire a social media consultant and would rather spend money attending conferences and other events related to social media. While that is great and it enables them to have a better understanding of how social media can benefit them, a more focused strategy is still what is lacking.
I want to address your question about those who are only worried about “getting new customers”. The savviest of those folks will understand that it is cheaper to retain customers than it is to acquire new ones. In both cases social media is an effective tool in most cases. Thanks for your comment and question.
[...] A month after presenting on social media for the members Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco, I was then asked to become one of their handpicked “Preferred Providers” for both social media consulting and new media design. I also contributed a post for their blog. [...]
Great tips Adam!
You nailed it with the questions part. I think most businesses forget that if their potential customers aren’t online, then they don’t need to live online, just monitor their reputation and have enough out there to get “checked out”.