Internal Issues Raised by Social Media Marketing
August 7, 2008
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My dad used to tell me the main reason most relationships don’t work out is that one or both of the people involved is looking for the other person as the solution to their problems. His notion was that if you were happy by yourself, you’d likely be be happy with who you are partnered with. It seems all too simple, but I liked to believe it.
I can’t help but to think of this same concept when companies are trying to introduce themselves to social media marketing. Often times they are looking to hire a consultant or a social media agency to help them formulate or implement a social media campaign. And with this hiring, comes the aspiration for a campaign to launch and become viral, for the company to feel sales skyrocket, and for the story to end happily ever after.
Like love, social media marketing isn’t that simple. For it to be effective, there are internal issues that a company must face, otherwise the effort will never leave the ground. So if you are a company diving into social media marketing, I encourage you to take a look at the magical mirror on the wall and ask yourself:
1. Do I have a decent product or service? When I say “decent”, I mean ethical, valuable to the end-user, and up-standing. If your main purpose is to let people know about products that don’t hold their weight, social media is the wrong route. Not only will these customers point out the faults, but they will publicize them.
2. Am I willing to cross boundaries? Social media marketing can be a little edgier than traditional marketing, and in its essence is is not be as polished or buttoned up as a press release. Therefore, you must be ready to take chances and cross boundaries that have never been crossed before. This means that you must be willing to bypass an internal review or approval from time in order to develop content that will better resonate with your audience. If you aren’t willing to get your hand slapped time to time, you may risk watering-down an otherwise successful campaign.
3. Am I willing to champion internal change? Probably some of the most effective social media marketing (in my opinion) is when a company uses social media to meet the needs of its customers. The challenge in this is that these tactics often demand internal change and are met with resistance, thus requiring an internal champion to tear down the cubical walls separating the marketing team from the product development and customer service teams. This is exciting and challenging at the same time.
4. Am I willing to talk about something other than my product? Are you willing to give more than you take? Are you willing to see interactions that are around but not about your product? If your answer is no, you may want to put more money into advertising. If your answer is yes, and you are willing to take the leap into valuable discussions with your customers, then you are on the right track.
Since we nearing the completion of our book, “Social Media is a Cocktail Party” (and I have analogies on my brain) I will encourage every marketer before entering social media marketing to take a good look at themselves in the mirror. Just like a cocktail party, you don’t want to be the girl with the toilet paper on her shoe, or the one with her skirt tucked in her pantyhose. Not only will you look ridiculous, but you will make a fool of yourself no matter how hard you try.
Have any more questions you think should be added? I’d love to hear them in the comments below.
Comments
4 Responses to “Internal Issues Raised by Social Media Marketing”
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Hi Lisa! Thanks for this great article. As I read it, I checked each thing off in my mind. Thankfully, I am a small web site owner who can change marketing strategies at a moments notice without having to check with corporate…I am corporate. In fact, I’m the whole ball of wax!
I’m currently using social media marketing to raise awareness for my safety and security products. I enjoy meeting new people and discussing not only my products but the weather, my friends bad knees and the occasional weather forcast.
If I care about my friend’s personal safety, I must first care about my friends. I want them to know me, trust me and rely on me when they need to feel more secure.
I’m learning more about social marketing at Tinkers Academy. Anyone can check it out. Right now the “learn as you do” activities are free. It’s a great way for busy business owners like me to learn while marketing their business.
Anyone interested in checking it out can go to: http://rap.mykernels.com/academy/presales.php?e=Sophie50
Maybe I’ll see you there!
I absolutely agree with the statement that “the most effective social media marketing is when a company uses social media to meet the needs of its customers.” What many companies taking the plunge neglect to realize is that social media is not just another marketing/advertising space. It’s very nature, which encourages the free flow of opinions and ideas, will destroy anythinng that comes off as salesy.
The only way to succeed in this space is if you have a product, service or set of ideas that stand to benefit the people who occupy it. In todays niche and speciality market place, it’s all about relationship building, a concept that advertisers and marketers have (traditionally) failed miserably at.
Brandon Carlos’s last blog post..Branding Countries
Great post. I totally agree. The truth is most companies don’t have the guts to REALLY get into social media. Hence the reasons they stuff videos made for TV ads into YouTube and claim they have ventured into this format successfully. Good luck on the book. When done, I’d be happy to trade you a copy of mine for yours. I wrote “PR in a Jar.”
@ Amanda, Thanks! We are putting the finishing touches on it right now, but when we have the finished copy we’ll need to trade!
@ Brandon - Thanks for your sharing your thoughts, I think you hit the nail on the head and drove the point home.
@ Debbie - Good to see you are putting social media marketing to work, and taking a good look at yourself beforehand
Whew ! I got a little behind on my responses I’ve been meaning to post
Thanks for all of your comments!