True Confession: I Don’t Have a Social Media Strategy
Social media gurus tell you to have a strategy. “Not having a strategy” was the #1 marketing mistake people listed on the survey Mac McIntosh and I did (the upcoming e-book will list the other nine).
I’ve parroted this advice from the gurus. “You must have a strategy before you begin social media,” I say at my talks.
But here’s the deal. I’ve been wrong. Yep. Dead wrong.
Strategy, when it comes to social media, is overrated. Strategy makes it sound like the water is deep. Jump into the lake from the diving platform and you’ll need to figure out how to reach the shore. You need to know how to swim.
The social media lake is pretty shallow. Step in and you’ll get your ankles wet. Maybe. The water might only reach your pedicured toes.
In shallow water you can easily walk to the shore using what you already know – how to put one foot in front of the other.
Social media isn’t anything radical. It’s simply this: talking to other people. Some of them you know already. Some of them you don’t. That’s what makes it fun. It’s like being at a really cool cocktail party without the bother of dressing up and driving.
Social media strategy keeps you from being authentic. “We’ll cover all things relating to [insert topic here],” you think.
Strategy is important. It’s the first step in developing a new Website or a direct mail campaign or something of that nature. I’ve seen lots of marketing failures due to lack of a well-thought out strategy.
But sticking to a social media strategy is stifling. What if you have a terrific insight about something that has nothing to do with [insert your topic here]? Do you post it – or ignore it?
Ignore it and you lose authenticity.
You hear a lot about being “authentic.” Posting your location at some restaurant none of us have heard of isn’t authentic. Posting what you’re eating for dinner or that you have a headache isn’t really authentic either.
What is authenticity? It’s posting who you really are. It’s all the parts that make up who you are: your family, your interests, your pets, your likes, your dislikes.
Most of all it’s your unique insights.
Only you have your own perspective on what’s going on around you. Sure, you can read someone’s blog post and Tweet your “unique” take on it or post your Foursquare location – along with dozens of other people.
I won’t remember where you ate dinner or which blog post you read – last night, last week, last year.
Or, you can pull into your work parking lot and take a minute to enjoy the fact that a wild turkey is standing on one leg in your parking space — and tell your followers about it.
Personally, I’d rather hear about the turkey. I’ll remember the turkey and that you stopped to enjoy a gift from the universe because let’s face it – how often do you run into a wild turkey standing on one leg in your corporate parking lot?
It happened to me once. I’ve never forgotten it and always look for him now when I pull in. He hasn’t graced the parking lot since.
Being “social” on social media doesn’t require too much “strategy” or knowledge. You already know what to do.
Be nice to people.
Answer their questions.
Respond to what they have to say.
Post your own take on what is going on around you.
We’re all stuck in front of our computers pecking away all day – peck, peck, peck. It’s refreshing when one of us breaks loose.
People recognize authenticity and like moths, want to hover near the source. Maybe you won’t have 20,000 Twitter followers or be known as a “guru.”
But you’ll be true to yourself and your followers. And as Shakespeare said, you then can’t be false to anyone.
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Very good post, Dianna… and echoes something I’ve been saying for some time, which is “just do it.” I always tell people to just start doing stuff, even it it’s totally lame or somehow not right. You can’t really learn the social conventions of social media until you begin to immerse yourself in the culture. My first trip to France was pretty disastrous, despite my preparation, because I just didn’t *get* French culture. But with multiple return visits and marginally improved French-speaking abilities, I’m quite comfortable visiting now. Just do it (I know Nike said this first, but hey…)
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:44 am
Derek — I completely agree, esp. where you say, “You can’t really learn the social conventions of social media until you begin to immerse yourself in the culture.” And you can’t really develop a “strategy” until you know what’s happening in your space.
July 23rd, 2010 at 3:38 am
In all due respect, I think you do have a strategy. You’ve assessed how the social web can meet your goals and serve your customers. You’ve decided that a blog is key, as well as a high rate of activity on LinkedIn where you managed a Group. You also connect to people through the newly-formed CMI. Based on you experience, Twitter is not a priority.
While you may not have a written plan, all of these elements do comprise a very refined set of tactics which you determined through your business experience and instincts.
So there. I just screwed up your post. : )
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:00 am
Mark, I no longer manage the LinkedIn Group, and Twitter is a priority, However, it’s become so noisy of late that I find it’s not as much fun as it used to be.
As to having a strategy of sorts, I supposed I do at some level, but I did just jump into Twitter and blogging without any “strategy” at all!
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Dianna-
For the longest time I have been harping, to whomever will listen: Social Media is a tactic. SM is a tactic that is part of your larger marketing strategy and planning.
July 24th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Dianna, I like the analogy to a shallow pool. And the pedicure joke. I think social media is just that easy to start.
Rob, even if SM is a tactic, one can still treat it like any other conversation. Telephone calls and networking via email are best accomplished with a personal and natural style even if the industry is conservative.
My new website has ‘to be a distinct kind of fitness forum” as its only strategy. Because Dianna’s blog is not only about good information, but also in some large degree reflects her own identity as a brand she can have a less obviously directed social media campaign. In fact, she appears more nimble if she isn’t navigating any strategies like it’s a large vessel. It’s her job to stay up to the minute and responsive.
However, most B2B businesses must have a strategy. I think Dianna’s larger point is to convey that the strategy can be developed as you are wading toward deeper involvement. If you believe like I do that most corporations use social media to help them appear or connect to partners in a fresh new way, then some ‘strategy’ is inevitable.
Finally, because predictable style and communication pattern are important to most relationships that aren’t led by DJ shock jocks waking morning commuters a strategy that considers the pattern, the tone, and even the ‘follow’ list would seem very important.
My last role as ‘community builder’ for GENWI’s iSites served a B2B function. Although it offered me much freedom in how I responded to the stream of social media around our brand, I certainly considered how each interaction fit our overall strategy each time I opened Hootsuite.
Even if one of your tactics is to deliver personality, surprise and authenticity you’ll find that if you get too random your audience may fall off track and decide to tune you out. One thing is for sure, there are a lot of options. Be unique, be memorable, but be consistent and strategic enough to build the framework of a predictable social personality.
July 25th, 2010 at 12:13 am
Lane, It’s no joke. My toes are pedicured.
Glad you found my post thought provoking.
July 26th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Completely agree about strategy being overrated. No one is doing it well, how can we say that strategy plays any part in Social Media?
July 29th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
When I post longer comments you can tell I’m trying to convince myself of what I think. I see ‘not perfects’ in my grammar, glad you had a post about that too.
I thought you might find it funny that @CAGOP was outed by the SF weekly paper for following so many merely smutty twitter accounts. Looks like that was a case of getting carried away with a social media follower count tactic.