This week we were tasked with training a new hire for one of our clients. This company understood the importance of Google+ Pages for their business, and also wanted to revamp their LinkedIn presence. (Thanks in part to Lisa Barone). They knew it would take more hours to keep additional profiles updated and were looking to save money by hiring somebody internally.

Before we go into the details of the training, it is important to highlight the differences between having a social media consultant and starting an internal social media department. Each have their own pitfalls, but together, you get the best of both worlds.

Immediate Setbacks with Social Media Departments

These are the most common hurdles we experience when helping clients that already have a social media department:

• Not knowing where to find content within their business
• Trouble knowing where to post such content
• Understanding and engaging different platforms appropriately (Twitter vs Facebook vs LinkedIn, for example)
• Finding industry-specific networks/communities to interact with

And, even with departments that have been around for a while, the common phenomena of social media silos (the sm department becomes isolated) hurts their performance.

See also – Your Social Media Silo X Your Social Media Source [Conciliation]

However, there are important benefits to an internal department that you need to ponder when hiring a consultant.

Obstacles To Overcome When Hiring a Social Media Consultant

These are somewhat obvious, but we’ve had clients fail to understand:

• Being away from the office (sometimes in a different country), consultants will need a point of contact that is able to provide the resources needed
• Consultants will need help understanding the structure of the company and who to contact in order to clear proper content
• Successful campaigns such as live tweeting or a Reddit AMA are extremely hard to pull off remotely

And just to be clear – the obstacles I listed above are not impossible to overcome. They just require more time, which can make a campaign more expensive. So, how can you make the best of both both worlds?

Get Your Consultant To Install Your Social Media Deparment

This week, we didnt really install anything. We set the foundations to what will become a full-on social department in 12-18 months. We found applicants that were web savvy, had excellent writing skills, and were willing to work part-time, at least initially. We had amazing applicants, actually. But that is not about them.

For those of you that are affected by TL;DR, get this: Our agreement with client remains the same – no increased charges. As part of the agreement, we create a plan that suits their structure. They hire somebody part-time, hourly, to execute such plan. They get our know-how, but save considerably on labor.

In the end, we’re still fully responsible for the success of the campaigns – which makes us in charge of the part-time helper. But we save on travel time, because that part-time help can act as an “arm” for us. The company doesnt need to fear a part-timer screwing things up.

Would that apply to your company? The comments are yours – let us know how you maximize your sm department.

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It’s been a hectic week and with Halloween on a Monday, it’s easy to say this week will be crazy. But as the entire office was anxious to leave for Halloween, I started noticing that everybody updated their own profiles, completely ignoring our fan page or any other “corporate” profile.

Keeping the fan page updated, they say, it’s the job of the social media department. There are excellent reasons for it:

• Getting the tone right
• Knowing what can be made public
• Keeping up with appropriate frequency & schedule

See also: Is Your Company Stuck with A Social Media Silo?

But the biggest challenge is that the social media department is not the one producing content. WHAT???

Your Social Media Deparment Doesnt Make Products

Just like the Marketing or Customer Service departments are not directly responsible for product development – yes, they provide detailed feedback, insights, demographics, etc.. -, the real people behind what makes your company successful are usually social media “faceless”. Your sculptors, designers, engineers, technicians, and salespeople are way too often disengaged and oblivious to your corporate presence online.

Today, because of Halloween, this became extremely obvious as one engineer posted about turning one project he’s been working on into a costume. His social circle loved the idea, and had a manager not seen it, we wouldn’t have used it on our page. To make it a bit more personal, we tagged that engineer as the mind behind the idea and turned him into a Facebook celebrity (for a couple hours at least).

There are companies that suffer from social media anxiety, and despite doing awesome things, fail to communicate them. When this happens, it’s not because the staff isnt “savvy”; most of the time, as makers, they fail to recognize the public interest in what they’re working on. Clearly, this is not the case when they’re working on something that cant be made public yet. But we’ll get there.

See also – How Can Social Media Marketing Work For B2B Companies?

Your Social Media Source Fuels Your Silo

In the beginning of the post I mentioned a few issues why social media requires a certain level of training. The worst of those issues is a leak. Allowing sensitive information to be made public can lead to horrible PR nightmares and even lost deals. But there are ways around it.

1. Reach out to Product Managers

Product managers are able to tell you specifics about product development for a cool “behind-the-scenes” post, and they know exactly what can or cannot be made public. For snapshots of development or design, they may be able to put you in contact with a specific designer in charge of the project.

2. Come up with a Development Schedule

With the information gathered from your product manager, you’re able to compile a schedule and base updates and create unique content around it. This becomes an even more precious asset when combined with step 3:

3. Conciliate Development Schedule with Sales

Want to make your entire company happy? Once you compiled the development schedule, conciliate it with the Sales team to see what they’re looking to push, to whom, and when.

If you’re able to increase the buzz around a product launch based on carefully selected “snapshots” and funnel this buzz into a lead capture page you’ve just achieved social media nirvana.

Rinse, Repeat

To optimize the entire process, you can work with other managers to institute an internal shared server, and overtime, educate the staff to add snapshots under the “social media ready” folder.

Of course, this is a longer-term battle. We’ll address it more in depth in the near future. In the meantime, work on your schedules, and become an asset to every department in your company. If social media is an open communication channel, you need to be as well.

Have questions? Comments? Let us know!

QUICK PITCH

The SocialMediaGuerilla.com parent company has started a weekly “free SEO Tips” series where they share a complete SEO blueprint right on their blog. Since Social Media & SEO become more entangled daily, you should definitely check it out. And if you want your company reviewed, you may leave them a comment too.

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The Stupid

Chrysler’s snafu was perpetrated by someone with access to the Chrysler Twitter feed. They apparently thought they were using their own account, but inadvertently used the Chrysler one when they complained about traffic in Detroit and dropped the f-bomb. Oops.

Aflac’s issue comes courtesy of Gilbert Gottfried, who somehow thought it would be a good idea to crack jokes about Japan’s recent crisis on his personal twitter account. (Really, Gilbert? Wow.) While the actor eventually took the offending comments off of his page, the damage was done and Aflac unceremoniously canned his ass.

Welcome to the Fishbowl

My grandmother used to say “Fools names and fools faces are often seen in public places.” How right you were, Gram. People forget that the internet isn’t a private place. Period. We’ve talked about privacy on Facebook before. It doesn’t exist there or on Twitter, Myspace or anywhere else online. In a world where everything is a quick Google search away, you need to consider the repercussions of everything you do online.

These are two different examples of social media snafus. With Chrysler, the employee was careless, and in the case of Aflac, their spokesman was an idiot. Yes, it was his personal profile, but that doesn’t matter. When you are a public figure, that’s the price you pay. So how can YOU avoid making a similar mistake?

Separate Accounts? Just Fooling Yourself

I’ve heard of people using separate Facebook accounts, or using FB for work and public and MySpace for personal, but that is still a great way to tempt fate. The Chrysler employee thought he was using one account when in reality it was the other. That could just as easily happen to you. You think your updating your personal profile and the next thing you know, clients and the public are asking you about your date Friday night. Not a good solution.

I don’t have easy access to any of my clients accounts on my phone specifically to avoid this situation. When I mobile social update, I never have to worry, because I know it’s my account, period. I’ve purposely made it so I have no access to client accounts on my phone because this very situation was immediately apparent and avoidable. The guy at Chrysler was an idiot for having such a huge client even near his personal account. Access it from a real computer. It can wait to be updated while you drive to and fro.

Another Simple Solution

If you won't say it here, then don't say it!

Ultimately though, my solution for this is the same as for Facebook privacy concerns. Stop putting things online that will embarrass you! If you wouldn’t say it out loud in front of your church, don’t put it online. That’s why we have phones and email, for sending more personal stuff. And if it’s real personal, tell them in person. I know my clients are going to be friends on Facebook, and that some of them will follow my twitter. I wouldn’t drop the f word in front of them, so I won’t online either. It’s not real hard.

Just THINK before you SPEAK.

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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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