Reality Check: Social Media Isn’t Your Savior

Author: Matt

19 Jul

It’s time to put my foot down and just say it…social media isn’t a savior for businesses. It isn’t going to be that secret potion that pulls us all right out of this recession nor will it compensate for a business model that…well, wasn’t going anywhere anyway. It’s not to say that social media can’t supplement your business communications, marketing, customer service and many other departments. I just want to be clear that it isn’t for everyone BUT if you take the appropriate steps it can be an amazingly powerful move for your business.

It is my belief that most business professionals (or consumers for that matter) don’t fully understand what it means to participate across these social media platforms. As I continue to work with businesses in this space I continue to hear the same song and dance, “we’re using Twitter and Facebook but think they’re a waste of time for our business” – if they’re even on the platforms as most are standing cautious to determine if it is right for their business (which is actually a better move than just jumping in unprepared).

WARNING: If you’re drinking the social media Kool-Aid, you may not like what I’m about to say…social media isn’t for everyone.

I’ve put together a brief checklist of 5 considerations any business professional (or organization) should make before make before moving any time, $ or resources over to social media. Here we go:

Are your audiences participating: The simple fact is that if your audiences aren’t participating in social media…you and your organization shouldn’t spend time, $ or resources on a social media program. However, if any are there, so should you
Plan, plan, plan: Quoting the great Paul “Bear” Bryant (former University of Alabama football coach) – “Have a plan. Follow the plan, and you’ll be surprised at how successful you can be. Most people don’t have a plan. That’s why it is easy to beat most folks.” Like anything else in business…without a strategy, plan and measurement your attempt at social media will fail
Get ready for the good, bad & ugly: If you decide that participating in conversation is important to you and your organization…get ready for the good, bad and ugly. You can’t block negativity within social media (i.e., delete negative comments on your blog), you can only hope to neutralize or if you’re lucky convert them into positives
Consistency is crucial: The single biggest way to fail at social media and dig yourself a deeper hole than not participating at all would be to start a blog, launch profiles and then have your audiences experience the deadly silence. Consistent participation is crucial
Gain executive buy-in: Even if you’re ready to make the move into the social media conversations, are your executives comfortable and supportive of your efforts? If not, you need to ensure C-level buy-in before making any next steps

I’d love to hear what advice you provide to business professionals looking to get into or fine tune their social media program or what you practice yourself. In addition, I welcome each of you to join my new Twitter profile (SM4Biz) which will be focused on this exact subject – helping business professionals understand, plan and participate in social media.

Filed under: Social Media

4 Responses for "Reality Check: Social Media Isn’t Your Savior"

Joe Webb July 20th, 2009 at 8:03 am 1
Great blog, Matt. I agree wholeheartedly with your 5 considerations for social media. Far too many companies are looking at this platform as a cure-all when it isn’t. Social media, when properly used, is just one of the many building blocks needed to attain online profitability.

Many companies feel a few profile and fan pages scattered around these networking communities will supply them with the click-thrus and impressions they need to make an impact, but, as you mentioned, don’t have much of a plan of attack. As an automotive eCommerce consultant, I see dealers everyday attempting to enter this arena without specific goals to achieve. They simply “friend” everyone and connect on the sites, dropping in the occasional link or incentive. Most are poorly managed and do not see much return on investment. Then again, with social media – the only return on investment is time.

I would add one more consideration to your list. While you mention buy-in from the executive level, I think you must look beyond that. I believe a company should choose one primary executive to handle these social marketing duties. In other words, the 6th consideration may be – Have the Right Person Managing the Social Media Network.

Having underlings handling the social media duties often distracts from the marketing message of the corporation (or in my case, dealerships and vendors). There has to be some continuity, autonomy, and most importantly, accountability. A “face person” if you will, always advances the social media message. Without the right person managing the company’s social networking efforts, very little is usually gained.

Thanks again for the great article.

Joe Webb
Narciso Tovar, Big Noise Communications July 20th, 2009 at 5:09 pm 2
Not enough companies heed this kind of advice and are ready to dive in head first with social media. Without giving themselves a gut check of sorts, they find themselves in a fix…
* confused
* bewildered
* disappointed
* ultimately, angry

They may start asking questions like “well, why didn’t anyone TELL ME it could be like this…!” or “wait, wait, wait…!…can they SAY that..?!…what do we do…?!” or “I thought my target audience would be here to network, but it looks like…!”

This is why I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with you, Matt, on the fact that we, as communications professionals, need to give our clients the real truth. We owe it not only to them, but to ourselves – anticipating and managing their expectations is ESSENTIAL.

Otherwise, we’re stuck with an unhappy client and a smear on our own reputation.
Michelle Damico July 20th, 2009 at 7:58 pm 3
Hey Matt, I hear exactly what you’re saying, since you and I talk about this all the time during our own social media workshops. I’d like to add one more item to your list:

* Social Media may be free but your time isn’t.
You must consider how much time (and staff resources — hence money) you’d be willing to devote to your efforts. Developing and writing blog topics, integrating your blog with Twitter and Facebook, or participating in forums through LinkedIn all take away time from your other assignments.

If you’re assigning social media duties to one or two individuals within your organization, make a realistic assessment of how much time they’ll be spending, based on your objectives, and than calculate the value of those staff hours. After crunchinig the numbers, ask yourself if you’re still ready to participate in these “free” networks. MORE IMPORTANTLY, are you willing to defend that investment if you don’t meet your desired objectives immediately?
Matt July 22nd, 2009 at 6:14 am 4
Good comments here…thanks for joining the conversation!

Joe, I completely agree that you need to find an executive level to take ownership of this strategy. Too many times I come across companies excited about SM – then they go out and hire an entry-level to manage their program! The reality is SM cannot be managed by such an inexperienced employee. Although they may be effective in using these platforms, most don’t know how these platforms effect business.

Narciso, I wish others looking to jump into SM took such a realistic approach. Although I’ve seen SM do great things for companies (Ford, Dell, Comcast, etc.), they need to realize…like anything else in business…there must be a strategy or purpose that supports your business goals.

Michelle, very good catch! SM is by no means free to businesses. The time spent building and supporting a successful SM program can be quite expensive althought the technologies (platforms) themselves are for the most part free.

Looking forward to more dialog on this subject!