A reflective approach to social media

Over on ChrisBrogan.com, folks are discussing the value of social media -- Twitter, Facebook, blogging, oh my! -- for their business.

Frequently such discussions devolve into a pep rally for the latest and greatest hipster social app. Case in point, take the effusive comment by one follower of Brogan's post:

"I’m using a blog, twitter and facebook to generate PR activity for a MARKETING conference!"

And how, I might ask, does this fit within your strategic outreach plan? How do you plan on quantifying the success of such efforts?  Where's your cost/benefit analysis?

Riding the technology wave can be costly and time consuming. Otherwise well-intended people jump headlong into social media without understanding why or what or how such efforts will benefit their organization. It's a matter of "keeping up" they feel and such desperation is apparent in their scattershot approach.

A Reflective Approach to Social Media

So let's pause for a moment and take a deep breath. Ah.... it feels good to let the adrenaline junkies whiz by on their Twitter-fueled gizmos while you stop and assess the situation. Here's the sort of approach I like to recommend.

1. Analyze your target audience. So you want to expand the donation base for your non-profit to include a younger audience... By "young", do you mean working young professionals or college students? Parents or urban singles? Perhaps for your existing base, young means baby boomers! Where does this audience hang out online? Linked-In, Facebook, Eons?
   
2. Be selective about your social media choices.  Perhaps Facebook, with its built-in support for "causes," is a better option for social outreach and conversion than Twitter. In some cases, simply advertising on Eons or Facebook may generate more donations than starting and maintaining a group on such sites.
   
3. Consider levering existing networks before building your own. Frequently I meet with clients who want to "start their own social network."  Whoa, partner, hold your horses. Launching a social network is not for the faint of heart nor the budget-impaired. Frequently, it's a wiser investment to participate in existing networks by creating profiles, groups, or events. Simply participating in an existing network will help you get your feet wet and
   
4. Study the best and imitate them. Unless you've got a large R&D team or a cushy budget, you can effectively leverage your efforts by simply imitating the most successful participants in social media.
   
5. Quantify your success and drop under-performing efforts. Trust yourself. You're a savvy professional unafraid to pull an underperforming ad from radio, print, or TV. Why should the Web be any different? Close up shop or halt online activities that aren't generating the traffic or results you need to justify costs.
   

Daniel Patricio writes

I really think you have to start at the top with your objectives and work your way down into strategy and implementation. Opposed to being attracted by a new medium such as twitter then finding a way to capitalize or market via a new channel.

That is backwards thinking.

Social media still needs to be based on solid strategy not the technology

Second that motion. Too many times, I've met with a client who's been convinced by a vocal stakeholder that, "What we really need to do is.... BLOG!"

And I bet you can guess my response.