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Content Strategy and Social Media

by Kristina Halvorson on January 22nd, 2009

Social media proponents tell us that the only way to protect our brand integrity in this Web 2.0 world is to "join the conversation"—get out there and pay attention to what people are saying about your products and services. Listen, respond, deliver on your promises. Be authentic. You know the drill.

But let's back up for a minute. In any conversation, we're really doing two things. We talk. And we listen.

Easy enough. But here's the catch. Once you decide to actively participate in social media (like Facebook or Twitter, for starters), it's important that you answer two questions about your conversations:

  •  Why am I talking?
  •  Why am I listening?

These seem like the most basic, obvious questions in the world. But they're the very first questions that must be answered before you lift a finger in social media. And it appears that many, many companies (and their agencies) are forgetting to ask them.

If you're going to dive in, don't forget to keep swimming.
For a quick example, check out these live, sponsored channels on YouTube:

Seriously, people. WHY? What was the plan, here?

Clearly, there really wasn't one. At least, not one that had a meaningful outcome to either the business or its audiences.

I see these sites, and I see three brands that don't have their social media acts together. And that makes me think they don’t care about me, what I need, or what I have to say. Not really.

So how can you participate in social media without losing trust or credibility? How can you mitigate risk and reap the rewards social media has to offer?

Have a plan. No, seriously. HAVE A PLAN.
For starters, create a well-articulated web content strategy that's actually sustainable within your organization. Plan what you're going to say, why you're going to say it, and how it's going to happen. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Scale according to real-world resources.

Then, whatever you do, make sure that content strategy informs your use of social media.
Wherever you're posting, responding to, distributing or syndicating information, be sure that information is on brand, on message, accurate, and delivers on its promise.

This isn't easy. This means you have to listen to more than just the people who are pushing you to "dive on in" to YouTube or Facebook. You must engage marketing, PR, customer service, subject matter experts, legal. They all need to be involved in the decisions you make about social media. Because they all have important information about how your social media content and conversations could impact the business and the customer.

Sound complicated? It is. So take your time. And be sure to start by asking that most basic, obvious question: WHY?

Note: This original post contained a link to a sponsored, empty YouTube channel called AmeripriseDreams. I quickly received a very lovely phone call from Keith at AMPF who let me know that they weren't responsible for this channel. Hopefully they can get it pulled down soon … good luck, guys.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 11:12 am and is filed under Content Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • This is terrific, Kristina--and though it's just type on a page, I think incredulous, high-pitched exasperation is coming through LOUD and CLEAR!
    Your point, which Jeff echoes, about all-or-nothing involvement is the crux of why so many forays into social media falter. It's not enough to just throw up a Flickr gallery and invite comments; social media managers must tweet about new additions, blog about the campaign, post links, and respond back to their followers. As in so many areas of content strategy, consistency is vital--and should be common sense, if we model online behaviors after what works in the real world. After all, you wouldn't present a different name and persona at happy hour with co-workers than you do during the 9-to-5. Leading up to happy hour, you'd probably share emails and tweet about it to shore up plans. Without a consistent message and personal brand, plans would fall apart--much like in poorly executed social media campaigns.
    Again, thanks for this! And now, to plan Friday happy hour... :)
  • It's always been necessary to HAVE A PLAN with communication. We all heard this conversation about ten years ago when people felt they needed web sites. Not sure why, just knew they needed to get on the web. Social media isn't much different. Objectives are key to success in any project. We must be on the same wavelength because I just wrote a post about Social Media Hype that basically says the same thing. Start with the objective in mind. http://www.theimagelab.com/blog/2009/01/20/soci...
  • As usual, thank you, Kristina. This subject strikes a particular sore point with me. I think I'd like to launch a dead-unsexy movement of social media conservatism.
    Too much of social media chatter talks up the promise--what you'll get: conversions! loyalty! traffic! brand equity!--while far too little speaks to the commitment! dull routine! feed trolling! entailed by genuinely effective engagement and messaging. The nice part? A lack of passion always eventually shows through.
    A presence on FB isn't execution on your social media strategy: it's a promise you've implicitly signed up to keep. The "execution"? It's called upkeep. It's a regular schedule of updates, a flow of content that's considered, timely, audience-appropriate and never ad hoc, and a responsive presence that can capably walk the thin line between being genuine--and genuinely obnoxious. The same is true with your in-house blog, your Twitter account, and any other communication vehicle you create. What you're doing, know it or not, by signing up to a free social media platform is creating a pricey user expectation. You'll instill more bad faith by shrinking from that promise than by pragmatically abstaining, or being targeted, in the first place.
    Those who don't take the long view and consider messaging strategically are the first to fail in these scenarios. I spend a lot of time in my corporate life cautioning informed and sustainable approaches to audience outreach of this nature. And to intelligently integrate your efforts across multiple channels: such that your Tweets advertise your blog posts, etc. I guess the consolation is that pleasant Darwinian winnowing of the field that happens when the hapless enter the fray, with predictable results.
    This really drives to the heart of what exasperates me about so much of what qualifies as social media expertise today. It's the follow-through that matters most. Anyone can launch a flimsily conceived social media "strategy". And your content will look stale, your approach flawed, your brand naive, and your capabilities nothing short of inept if these initiatives are not logical extensions of a broader strategy.
    As someone once told me: Plan your work and work your plan. And always, always be purposeful in what you do.
    Whew! /rant
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