Like Minds
I was lucky enough to attend the Likeminds conference a couple of weeks ago. It’s a great event for anyone wanting to know more about the rapidly evolving world of social media.
There were many things that I took away from the day and that are still top of mind. Here are a few at the top of the list.
1. Social media is not free
Social media is regarded by many as a free marketing tool. Sign up for free to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and get loads of customers. Well not quite. Several social media tools are free to sign up to but require lots of investment in terms of time and resources. Who will be looking after your accounts? Who will be writing your content? How much time should and will you commit to it? This all costs money – and can be money well spent if you think seriously about what you want to achieve and plan your social media strategy.
2. There’s no consensus on measurement and some of the measurement tools available aren’t really that good
Social media is still a new phenonmen so there aren’t many real case studies or benchmarks to compare success against. There are no forums for sharing best practice. But this is no excuse to not measure. Instead set your own goals, record what is happening each month and review and tweak your tactics accordingly. There is an element of trial and error with these new social media tools – not everyone will work for every company all the time. But put a simple structure in place for measurement and you’ll start creating your own metrics and benchmark system.
3. Integration, integration, integration
Social media is working in isolation in lots of organisations, large and small. It’s the Social Media Manager working in their own one-man department in the big corporation away from PR, marketing etc. It’s the owner/manager who’s tweeting away in his office without telling his staff. To be truly effective social media needs to be an integrated part of the whole organisation, working with HR, IT, sales, marketing, PR and the Board.
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Integration – it’s our old friend communication isn’t it?