Is Your Company Stuck With A Social Media Silo?
If your social media marketing is a silo, you're doomed to implode.
When I read this post over at Label:Indescript about social media silos, I immediately connected the subject to at least 4 business owners I’ve been in contact with.
Justin Boone, the author (and a darn good guerillero), talks about how companies start their social media strategies with a department (read blogger guy) that becomes completely alienated from the rest of the staff and from other departments.
I’d say that’s a better start than having NO SOCIAL MEDIA WHATSOEVER, but there are points to be taken from this when it comes to a powerful social guerilla.
The majority of businesses that decide to implement a blog or create dedicated social network accounts do so with only one objective: create more revenue.
Now that my guerilla is expanding into the fascinating world of “real” business (read offline companies), I’ve found that all these companies really know about social media marketing is that it’s “cheap” and can go “viral”.
Why They End Up With A Social Media Silo
The real benefits of creating an active community start when there’s a commitment throughout the entire company to share, engage, and participate in a public dialog. A good guerilla is never won by one lonely guerillero, but by a tactiful team.
And I’ve experienced lots of lost battles when:
- Companies fail to communicate with the social media deparment
The poor “blogger guy” is left hunting for material to post, and is left out with the task of tracking customer feedback and analysing google and twitter alerts.
Or, what is worse:
- All of the social media material comes from the marketing department (the billboard approach)
That happens more often than necessary, but it seems to be that corporate mentality impregnated on offline people; old ads, product releases, listing of properties… The entire community is now a giant billboard!
Stimulate The Social Spirit
Turn projects in development over to the SM department, let them post updates. Collect feedback, and apply their comments into the design.
Integrate multiple areas of your company by asking them to report daily activities to the SM team. Motivate the staff to post their comments on the company blog and to interact with each other within the corporate Facebook page.
And one more thing:
QUIT THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT CRAP!
There are tons of ways to measure social media buzz, to ignite content syndication, and those are valid strategies to evaluate strategies. Hiring a web analytics expert is also a good idea.
But enough with the constant cry about time and effort wasted: if these companies havent noticed yet, online content doesnt “die”, and even though it may not be immediate, a solid online participation will pay huge dividends as online usage wont stop growing anytime soon.
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Thank you for the mention!
I love the actionable items at the end about turning projects in development over to your SM department and letting them get involved in the process. Like so many untapped resources in any company, taking advantage of a perspective from people who actively are listening to what your customers and competitors are saying on a daily basis is something we were never able to do before in such a real-time, less expensive fashion. You describe a great example of a give and take between this department and the rest of a company. Thank you for sharing!
Justin,
You’re an exemplary Guerillero and deserved the mention. I enjoyed your post, and just added a couple of rants I had stuck on my throat being an entire social media department myself.
Thank you!
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