Developing an Effective Social Media Campaign

As more and more businesses see the potential of social networking in promoting their business and connecting with potential customers, those who have mastered the nuances and applications of the more popular social networks are more in demand. Choosing just anyone to be your businesses' "Social Media Manager" is becoming a very important business decision and should not be taken lightly. The days of asking your twenty-something nephew to run your Facebook page or blog are just about over. This post discusses ways that your business can and SHOULD position itself in the Social Media world. I will also explain some important factors that should be considered when deciding how to go about carrying out a Social Media campaign into your marketing/PR plan.

The early arguments against using Social Media to brand a business was that "Facebook is just a fad" or "Social Media doesn't sell." Many businesses even now have not bought into the "hype" of Social Media. Imagine a world where customers could write about a positive and negative experience that they have had with a business, share it with the whole world and their comments can never be recanted. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is the world we live in today! Whether or not you choose to play the game or not you are still a part of if. Just as you would never want to have a bad news story or two on the six o-clock new (e.g. BP) negative press posted on Twitter can be damaging. (Possibly even more so.)

The important thing is, if you have a properly built social media plan you can meet many of your challenges and customer complaints head on. If you present your business on social networks and have a system of correspondence with your clients in place your business will be seen as transparent and authentic. Who would not want to broadcast good will to thousands of potential customers.


Some important questions to think about before carrying out a Social Media campaign into your business plan include:

1) Who is the target market we are looking to reach?
2) Will we use social media for PR or promoting and selling products?
3) Do we need to have an in-house team manage Social Media or can this be outsourced?


Target Market
Social Media is more than Teenagers and young professionals. According to a report from Forrester Research, the use of social networking by people aged 35 to 54 grew 60 percent in the last year. When I ask my clients who their "target market" they typically say something like (18-49, Male, middle to high income). What I really mean when I ask that question is, what are some interests your "target market" have or what does your perfect client look like? Most businesses do not drill down that much on their target market but Social Media not only allows for that, Social Media encourages it. If your company sells a certain trinket, wouldn't be nice to know where to find people who use and love that trinket? Common sense I know!

PR or Marketing...or Both
Often times businesses will publish a Facebook page without much idea of what they should post or how they should really use it. Before I even work on a proposal for a client I need to know what they want to do with their site.  Some businesses create separate profiles for customer service and sales, which is good. The key is to make sure to spend equal time on both. If a potential customer buys your product and cannot get a response when they have an issue or question then that customer may be lost forever. After that happens that negative press that you just love comes out.  When a business tries to create a sales page under the illusion of a PR page that is where businesses run into trouble. If you try to draw many followers to your business page and stuff ads and spam down their throats, you can lose all of them very quickly.

In-House or Outsource?
This is a tough one. What I suggest if you do not have employees that are well versed in social media management or "know just enough to be dangerous" is to find someone to implement the initial Social Media plan. This development time is typically (3-6 months). After your social media plan is executed have the consultant train your staff on how to interact with clients, develop creative content and integrate social media applications. The knowledge that your staff gains will be invaluable to your business as time goes on.

Overall, I think that every business should and at some point will use social media. It's really a no-brainer and will save your business thousands of dollars in the long run, rather than wasting money on traditional (dying) advertising.