One of the most frustrating moments for a marketing manager is being required to answer the question, "so why isn't this social media thing working?" from a company stakeholder. If that's you, you're not alone, as so many companies, large and small, desperately want to see a return on investment in this wondrous channel called "social media." After trying it out, many people are wondering what all the hype is about.
Despite the fact that many of companies are realizing success using tools like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, other companies are not. There are of course several reasons why this is the case, but success or failure always starts with planning and strategy - or lack thereof.
The Social Media Catch-22
The Social Media Catch-22 happens when a company with no influence in social media attempts a promotion that requires influence. In a situation like this, a company tries to grow their following on Twitter or Facebook for example, by promoting something that is amazing, but, their only promotional methods are Facebook and Twitter.
Contrary to popular belief, there's no magic or witchcraft involved in social media. It's not complicated science, either. 20 followers unfortunately cannot divide like cells and become 2000. In the above example, a company with a very small following continually pours effort into milking the little they do have because they are being taught that its all about relationships and communication, etc. As a result, they are constantly reaching out and connecting, but seeing little growth. The reason is that they are fishing in a pond with no fish.
Make Growth Intentional
The best way to avoid getting into the catch-22 trap is to start making growth intentional. Somewhere along the line, companies and marketing managers are being sent disastrously mixed messages like social media is free, and all you do is put up a profile and your clients and customers will come flocking like sheep. That's not the case. Corporations, particularly the large ones who already have incredibly large followings to begin with, pour significant amounts of time and money into building followings and connecting with existing members of their circle of influence using social media marketing.
Marketing managers should sit down with social media consultants or team members and make concrete, deliberate plans for growth - this includes the plans for attracting Twitter followers, Facebook fans, blog readers, and feed and/or newsletter subscribers. "Let's just see what happens" is probably not the best plan. This is especially true if you, as a marketing manager, know that in two months time your boss is going to sit you down and ask you where the time/money has gone.
You can send 600 tweets a day to a crowd of 20, but it's unlikely that much will come of it. Your strategy needs to focus on growing your following with purpose and intent.
Plan Ahead to Spend Money
Again, the message that social media marketing is free has gotten incredibly twisted. Like most marketing investments, your return will be proportionate to your investment. The reality is that these days, for many things, social media marketing is a sound and wise economic investment when compared to traditional media, but it isn't necessarily free. Your best bet is to conduct some research by reviewing case studies of successful social media campaigns. Using common sense and quotes from service providers, figure out what the costs of such campaigns are. Adjust your campaign and/or budget accordingly, always accounting for an adjustment in result as well.
Leverage Growth with Short and Long Term Goals
It isn't true that you will have to wait a lengthy amount of time before seeing anything noteworthy come out of social media efforts. The key is in proper planning. If you don't plan for anything, you won't get anything. However, creating campaigns for the short term as well as the long term is a great strategy. In the beginning, focus on campaigns that are intended to grow your followings in the various channels. As your following climbs, you can launch promotional campaigns that leverage the growth. By this point, you will be out of the catch-22 cycle, because your pond will finally have some fish.
Photo Credit: Per Ola Wiberg ~ Powi, flickr. Creative Commons Attribution License.