There’s been volumes written about why and how companies should get involved in social media, so I thought it might be useful to share some surefire signs that your company is NOT ready for social media. So here goes:
- Management Indifference: If you spend more time trying to convince your bosses that social media is worth the time, effort and investment than actually implementing ideas, then it’s better to find another place that suits your beliefs and skills.
- No Strategy Needed: While there is no doubt some of the early trailblazing brands in social media didn’t sit around writing strategic plans prior to launching initiatives, those success stories are more the exception than the rule. Real thinking and planning is required for long-term success.
- It’s a Fad: If that’s a phrase you’ve heard in the hallways around your office coupled with eye rolls, it’s usually not a good sign. People resistant to change and new ways of doing business often peg everything new - from mobile marketing to the iPhone - as a passing fad. The term ’social media’ will pass, but not the underlying fundamental change driving consumer collaboration across the Web.
- Outsource It: If there is a strong belief within your company that your advertising or PR agencies can handle social media without any involvement by your management or people, then you’re clearly not ready for this world.
- No Bad News: If a brand would prefer not to hear about what’s wrong with its products and services, then it’s certainly not a good candidate for social media. In other words - let’s not listen to our customers if we really don’t have to.
- Relationship to Sales: I have been in meetings where brand managers have said that they will not assign any man hours or any marketing budget to social media until it can be linked directly back to a product sale. I think they are the same guys who have been counting Web site clicks since the mid-90s.
- No Technology Needed: OK, I may be a bit bias on this one because we provide a software solution, but if your company thinks it can sift through the millions of blogs and new posts and comments every day with a couple of interns and a spreadsheet, then I would question how serious you really are about social media.
- Afraid of Failure: If your boss expects that everything is going to go smoothly from the moment you get started, you’re in for a rough time. This is still very much a trial and error business and good brands and marketers know they are going to take some lumps along the way. That’s just part of the innovation roadmap.
8 comments ↓
Mike,
Great post! I agreed with most of your points, especially the one about “No Bad News”… if you are going to have a legitimate conversation with your customers, you need to be prepared for some negative feedback. The only point I am not so sure about is “Relationship to Sales”. The ultimate goal of most businesses is to make money for stockholders and I think that sometimes brand managers downplay the sales side too much because it is difficult for them to quantify. However, just because it is hard does not mean it is not possible. Many people have started to push brand management away from qualitative analysis into quantitative analysis, including Andrew Chen and the MarketingCharts blog (Google each to read their sites). Also, I was happy to hear you point out the flaws in trying to outsource your entire social media strategy. Don’t give up control of you image to someone else who doesn’t care as much as you!
Joel,
Thanks for checking in. Good thought on the ROI point. I should have been more clear than cute. ROI is definitely needed, but to stay on the sidelines because you can equate to stock price is a bit too conservative. It is definitely possible to measure dollars spent and return of value across an organization.
great post Mike. You should show this to every prospective client.
Good idea Rick!
Mike, I’d estimate that 97% of companies would fit your definition of being unready for social media.
That makes this post either exceptionally foolhardy, or exceptionally brave. I’m going to go with brave
Still, it begs the question: how does a company get ready for social media, if they’re unready today? Or are you saying “if you’re not ready now, you’ll never be”?
Tom,
Thanks for the comment and no worries - you wouldn’t be the first person to accuse me of being foolhardy.
Your point is well take though. There are many things a brand can do to get ready for social media and I’d be wise to outline some of those in a separate post — so thanks for the good idea.
Brands can do a lot of different things to move from the sidelines to the playing field. I see signs of that everyday from simple monitoring and analysis to full blown internal strategy development.
Training and education is another way I see brands taking a more active position. I will definitely share more thoughts on this now that you have jogged my brain.
Mike,
Agree with most of your points fully. As for Realtionship to Sales - surely every activity in a company or organisation that sells stuff has a relationship to sales, either directly or indirectly. Personally, I think the challenge for social media-nauts is to show how sCRM, WOM, reputation management et al complements other activities wihin these organisations that do affect numbers of units shifted. To leave this most ephemeral of activities hanging in the wind and not rooted to more conservative business practices - you know, like business development, marketing, sales that kind of thing - simple fosters myopia in big companies…
Just a thought.
Jerry,
Thanks for weighing in. It’s a valid point. While social media needs to be as accountable as other forms of marketing, I do see a few too many examples of executives using that as an excuse not to do anything in the short-term. That’s the point I should have been clear about, but you’re dead-on with you assessment. Thanks Jerry.
Leave a Comment