Whenever I am speaking with a potential client, or new client, one of my first questions is, "How will you define success in social media?" That may seem like the obvious question at first glance, but I ask because in many cases, the client hasn't really put a lot of thought defining what success means in their organization as it relates to social media. Sometimes, they may have thought about what success would look like, but only as it pertains to their own departmental goals.
Many of the people I speak with are housed in the marketing department. Generally speaking, they hold the keys to all thing social. Social media is more than just a marketing tool, however, and sequestering your initiatives in one department is a disserviceto your brand. Social media is a hybrid vehicle that can benefit many initiatives within your brand. It isn't limited to only marketing, and in fact, limiting your social media efforts to marketing messages often backfires.
Without a doubt, the businesses that do well in social - the Coca-Colas, the Home Depots, the Southwest Airlines types - are the ones who leverage social media across a multitude of departments. This creates maximum reach, higher user engagement, and a brand awareness like no other. More importantly, though, it creates a consistent brand experience for your current consumers and prospective consumers alike.
Using Social Media for Communications and PR
I wish I could remember where I read this, but it has stayed with me for the better part of a year: Social media is still media. I cannot agree more with this statement. The sexy lure of automagically (yes, automagically) turning virtual currency into hand-over-fist financial transactions has caused many organizations to throw their digital dollars to marketing without the involvement of the communications or PR department.
Off the top of my head, I can think of at least three different scenarios in the last six months in which I've seen a brand push through a marketing message in the social space that was obviously not cleared by the communications or PR team.
Allow me to share an example:
One of my favorite beauty brands recently posted a Facebook status update about their fundraising efforts for a yearly campaign that raises millions of dollars every year. Within two seconds of reading the message, I noticed they didn't use a comma where the copy needed one. While it seems like a little mistake, that elusive comma meant that their message went from being an inclusive, community-focused message to one that was exclusionary of others involved in the same campaign. Hence, it came across a touch elitist, unapproachable, and not-so-social.
I am sure the copy went through a few pairs of eyes before it was posted, but all I could think about when I saw this most basic of errors was that their brand message was no longer communicated and absorbed. All I (and perhaps many more of their nearly 500k fans) could think about was why a company with plenty of resources could have let that mistake go unnoticed. Or, if you're a particularly active consumer like I am, you may have thought, "So if they pay this little attention to a mega, month-long campaign, how do I know they're paying attention to where my donation goes?"
The key takeaway here is that your communications and PR teams are experts at positioning your brand to the outside world. Those teams are also exceptional at navigating consumer response to brand messaging. They can look at your editorial calendar and within ten minutes tell you how your fans and followers will react. They can help you tweak your content so it better aligns with the brand's overall image. They can help you craft your content to provide more engagement.
Incorporate your communications and PR teams into your social media strategy planning sessions. This collaborative approach will make your brand stronger in the digital space.
Social Media and Customer Service
One of the most neglected departments in almost every industry is the customer service department. It may be unpleasant to think that the people who man the phones day in and day out know more about your brand's consumers than your executive marketing team, but in many cases they do. Your customer service team interacts with your customers every day. They know what your consumers love. They know what your consumers hate. They know how to diffuse a potential problem, and they know how to deliver your brand message in a consistent manner.
It is time to think of your social media space as a brick and mortar location. Would you want your employees to ignore a customer when they come into your space? No. You want your online customers to receive consistent service on Facebook or Twitter, just as they would in your store.
Your customer service team will be the first to know if there is cause for concern (such as a potential recall) about a product. They can alert your online team to trends in consumer complaints about a product. Your customer service team is also usually in tune with your legal team about guidelines for certain comments and complaints. In short, they can be your lifeline in social.
When it comes to keeping your consumers happy, this is the team that knows how to do it best. Thinking about re-promoting a product on Facebook? Ask your customer service team to give you some insights about potential comments your community manager may get and how to consistently address them, just as they would on the phones.
Establishing a Baseline for ROI Across Multiple Departments
When you're launching your social media programs, think about ROI from the perspective of all departments your efforts can touch.
- How is this helping our brand as a whole?
- Have we solicited input from the other teams who may benefit from this project?
- If we fall short on driving traffic by "X," but increase engagement by "X," can we still consider this a success?
- Who else may have insight that can make this social media initiative stronger?
- Is this messaging consistent with our PR efforts?
- Does this represent the experience our consumers will have in the real world?
Social ROI is not a single silo that will be measured the same way with every project. It's flexible and will change over the course of the year. Similarly, the people in your social media structure need to be flexible with one another. Social media isn't 100% of one person's job, it's 1% of everyone's job. Including a variety of departments from your organization at the start, however, will help eliminate barriers to success and make the determination of social ROI all the easier.
Annalise Kaylor is the Director of Social Media at Intrapromote, a boutique social media and search agency. Annalise's portfolio of work includes campaigns for small, family-owned businesses as well as Fortune 50 global organizations. Her work has been featured in numerous industry reports, including interviews with Mashable and Buddy Media.
When she isn't tweeting or updating her status, Annalise can be found flying planes (no, really!), playing her fiddle, or enjoying a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon.