Communications, Media & Strategy Gavel

Social media is the current game every marketer and communication professional wants to play now. The sophistication and speed of the web are making efforts on social media breathtaking. The challenge here is every professional athlete or player knows the importance of learning, practise as well as having a coach who helps sharpen their skills.

 Many social media athletes do not want to consider the cost. Hence the results many have do not justify the investment. While we are not contending the fact that social media is easy to join, it is also a common knowledge to everyone social media is becoming like a rocket science which requires a lot of precision. A miscalculation here can lead to lots of damage. The challenges in the way of players are varied. For some brands, the top management do not think it is right to join the game. For others, there is no budget, while others have budgets but cannot get good hands which can help justify the investment.

When an individual or brand makes the decision to play the game, several factors should be considered. It is expedient the brand understands what it aims to achieve with its social media strategy. It is also important to look at the amount of time at the players’ disposal. A major factor that cannot be pushed under the carpet is the policy. A warning signal here is: never copy another brand’s policy. The size, context, environment will never remain the same. There is no evil in comparing notes-with regards to what others have as social media policy, but it will be dangerous to do copy and paste. While trying to find 6 hot tips that can help define great social media game, I stumbled on an EBook titled ‘Social Media Strategy workbook’ by marketingsavant which I do strongly believe can help any intending or outstanding social media player.

 Define your goal post: A team must know where the goal post is before it can make meaningful progress. A team must know what tactics will help them win the game.

Identify assets at your brand’s disposal: Playing in the premier league is not for the amateurs. A level of professionalism is required to match the opposition. It is expedient for brands to consider major assets at its disposal. Do you have good writers who understand the power of storytelling? Are there internal expertises in the area of brand focus that can be annexed or who can be co-opted into your social media team? Does the brand have people with good grasp of relationship and reputation management skill? Having people who can take good photographs as well as video editing will also aid successful outing.

The limit of your resources: There is need to consider the amount of resources available too. The resources can be human or finance. This will guide rightful allocation of the available resources for optimal utilization. This will help the brand understand cut and paste would not work. Some other brands may have large budget which accommodates certain excesses your brand may not enjoy.

Audiences:  The brand’s business should determine audience to be reached. A brand with a B2B cannot afford target B2C audience.

Best channels that make the most sense: proper understanding of the above will help a brand in outlining best channels that will guarantee best result.

Measuring parameters: each professional team usually assess performance by numbers of goal scored, goal difference, medals, recognitions, demonstration of technical skill displayed in the course of the season, ball possession etc. Are there others things you want to add? Please share your experience.