Help for A Bad Social Media Romance
Dear Get a Jenny – Help for a Bad Social Media Romance
Dear Get a Jenny,
A few months ago my boss asked me to launch a company Facebook page and open a brand Twitter account. I did everything he asked but this social strategy is going nowhere. He wants thousands of fans and followers right now! The only people following us are our own staff and my grandma. How can I put our social media plan on the fast track?
Signed,
Frazzled by Facebook
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Dear Frazzled by Facebook,
Ah, the sting of unrequited love! As painful as a bad romance with social media might be, the good news is that your customer relationships don’t need to be like that. I’m here to help, and, like another famous help guru, I’m going to put “verbs in my sentences” so you know what basic steps you need to take to socialize the business—and make your boss happy.
Plan
You mentioned that the strategy consists of a minimal presence on Facebook and Twitter. Sorry, but that’s not a strategy. The first thing any business needs to do is define what success will look like. Do you want to target new audiences? Build brand awareness? Manage online reputation? All of the above?
Implement
Once you know where you need to be, it’s time to figure out how to get there. Social media offers a smorgasbord of customer engagement tactics, whether it’s launching a Twitter contest or asking clients for product development input. Make sure any tactics you implement take you one step closer to reaching brand goals.
Assess
You won’t know if tactics are working unless you have a comprehensive digital monitoring plan. You need to know what online users are saying on Facebook, Twitter, community bulletin boards, review sites, traditional media sites, and more. It’s this intelligence that decision makers need to drive their strategy to success.
Ask
Pulling your hair out in frustration is no way to deal with the social media challenge. Educate yourself by reading social media blogs, talking to colleagues in other firms, or leveraging connections on a professional social network site.
Professional guidance is another option. In fact, here at Social Strategy1, clients get their very own Jenny to craft, implement, and assess a social media strategy.
Get out of your bad social media romance now. Start by outlining a strategy, implementing tactics that make sense, assessing the progress, and tapping into available resources, and soon you’ll find that grandma isn’t the only person following your brand’s tweets.
Happy friending!
The Get a Jenny Team