Social Strategy…In a Sentence

The marketing and public relations communities have long yearned and pushed for a seat at the corporate board room citing the ability to think “strategically” about the direction of the business.

Yet, in many instances communications programs revert to what I commonly refer to as a “bag of tactics” with little consideration or regard for an overarching strategy and related measurable benchmarks.

I’ve found this tactical regression to be particularly true when it comes to the adoption of social media.

-How should we be using Twitter?
-What about our Facebook fan page?
-What are the new Web 2.0 tools?

Social media is merely another channel to engage stakeholders. It doesn’t replace traditional forms of communication (i.e. advertising, public relations, direct marketing, etc.), yet in a social environment your audience has already self-identified and organized into groups based on interest.

This makes the outcome of social media engagement significantly more measurable.

It also demands a strategy; one that is aligned with the key drivers of success in business – sales, profitability and valuation.

Here are three examples of new social media campaigns recently launched by Strategic:

1. Merchant Link’s Security Cents helps the company solidify a more credible position in the information security market, leveraging its participation at the HITEC industry conference.

2. Appian’s BetterGov is integrated with a sales and marketing initiative designed to more rapidly increase the company’s business in the federal government market.

3. The new version of British Telecom’s (BT) CSR Perspective promotes the company’s leadership in environmental sustainability, while creating a more intimate connection with executive level decision-makers.

There’s a cliché in the entertainment field that for a movie production to get funded a summary of the idea has to fit on the back of a business card.

It’s true for social media as well. Before hacking away at the tactics, develop a strategy that can be articulated in a single sentence.

Be Strategic When It Comes to Social Media Tactics

I was recently referred to a corporate communications executive who was interested in how to best integrate social media into his company’s mix of marketing and public relations activities.

It took me about 20 minutes to overview our sales-focused and lead generation oriented approach. I hit all of the hot issues: how we integrate our social media marketing programs with a client’s sales organization; ways to leverage existing thought leadership content; and the importance of aligning tactical activities with a search engine optimization (SEO) effort.

There was a moment of silence on the phone and then he said, “You know, we have just talked about setting up a Facebook fan page.”

OK…fair enough. A company has to start somewhere when it comes to the adoption of social media. In fact, we typically employ a pilot program methodology when engaging with a new client because it allows a company to ease into social media in a more measured and defined way.

However, even if easing into social media means a straight tactical approach (i.e. Facebook fan page, corporate Twitter account, etc.), it is imperative that a strategy and measurable benchmarks be put in place.

Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) recently revamped its Facebook fan page as part of a Web site refresh. We’ve defined two primary objectives for our presence on Facebook:

1. Use it as a platform for the ongoing promotion of our social media marketing successes on behalf of clients like Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, British Telecom (BT), Monster, TANDBERG, BroadSoft, GovDelivery, among others. We’re laser-focused on existing clients and prospects with this objective.

2. Provide a more personal glimpse into Strategic’s culture and the professionals who work for the firm. This content is geared more towards prospective employees and 1099 partners.

Take a look at our Facebook presence and, if interested, sign on as a fan. You’ll receive updates on our client-related social media work.

And never shy from engaging in social media. Even if it is a tactical approach to start, just make sure you have outlined some type of strategy.