In the course of my job, I often study the social media goings-on of major brands. I mean, I really dig in and study what they do. I've discovered some companies doing a superb job, like Maersk, Sony Professional, Cisco, and the Ritz-Carlton. Too often, though, I find brands thrashing about without a cohesive strategy.
You might find the very word "strategy" distasteful - all of that business about Chinese generals and Napoleonic struggles, suggesting that strategy is all about defeating an enemy.
It can also be about the creating of an overarching plan that helps all the various players involved work together to reach their shared desired outcomes. Social media is still the new-kid-on-the-block when it comes to marketing. Drawing on our company's legacy in application development and the accompanying process-improvement mindset, DragonSearch has been actively developing process and strategy for social media since before Twitter debuted at SxSW.
Our work was the basis for the book Social Marketology, countless articles and presentations, and now, a workshop that we'll be providing at Social Shake-Up in Atlanta.
In learning a strategy framework, marketers will save a lot of time and effort in the creation of strategy. As importantly, they'll have the tools to communicate more effectively with their organization's leadership, in order to get the maximum support.
In addition to providing the overall framework, we'll also be demonstrating some great tools that will help you in your own efforts. Of course, as a workshop, the event will be hands-on, with participants actually working on their own or (if they prefer) another organization's strategy.
Social Media Strategy Workshop Topics Will Include:
- Developing a desired outcomes document, which covers purpose, vision, goals, objectives, and specific metrics
- Creation of a brand voice document
- Micro-Segmentation brainstorming and documentation
- Community research
- Influencer research
- Creating an Action Plan
There will also be tools for identifying the focus of your efforts across the five major types of social media, which include:
- Brand maintenance
- Community
- Influencer
- Thought leadership/reputation management
- Big splash
Other tools will help you identify the efforts you should allocate to each of the social media platforms appropriate to your organization, as well as planning out content marketing and a content calendar.
I hope you can join us in Atlanta on September 15th, 2013 for this special 3-hour workshop as part of the Social Shake-Up, put on by our friends at Social Media Today. To receive a special discount for the conference and workshop, please click here and use the code: DRAGON. See you at the Shake-Up!