When companies are approached by social media agencies, it is a common reaction by the top level managers to say: “We can do this ourselves, we know our customers better than you do…”. Our response to that is: “Yes, you do know who your customers are, but social media is not just about knowing your customers, it’s about finding the conversation surrounding your brand, engaging with people in their own language and keeping track of this whole universe of opinions”.
It’s easy to get confused on what it really means to execute an efficient social media campaign. The misconceptions might have started with the idea of “free-for-all internet” thanks to Wikipedia, Napster, YouTube and others (I really mean it, thank you Wikipedia) . If Facebook, Twitter and blog platforms are free, why should I have to pay? This guy I know, Chris Abraham, nailed this question in simple terms:
While you are an expert in your field and the passionate captain of your brand and company; however, are you passionate about communications, social media, online, customer service, Facebook, Twitter, message boards, forums, and monitoring services? Just because you KNOW your company doesn’t mean you’ll have the ability, the skill, the passion, the stay-with-it-ness, and the time to do it yourself — and neither, probably, does anyone else in your company.
My favorite concept from his quote is “stay-with-it-ness” and it’s not because it sounds cool, but because of what it means to me. When promoting a brand through social media, “staying with it” means everything. From monitoring the actions of your competitors to new trends and technology in the online world. In addition, to “stay with it” means following up with your customers and showing the people watching – and there are always people watching – that you care. But wait a minute, doesn’t this take a huge amount of work? How can we keep track of everything that’s happening around our brand and our industry and most importantly, how can we control it?
And just like that, the hammer comes down and you realize this “free” stuff is harder than you thought. My father used always say: “Son, half a job is not a job” and the way this translates to social media is simple; you can start social networking accounts and write on a few blogs and wing it. Or you can be a pioneer, have a solid strategy and execute with a clear vision of where you are going. Obviously, doing a good job instead of a half job is much harder and will have higher initial costs, but the benefits, specially in social media, don’t go away quickly. As a matter of fact, they don’t go away at all.
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