August 12, 2009
Strat 425 Entry 3
One of my defined projects this summer at my PR firm was to create a social media plan for internal use and for incorporation into our client suggestions. Our firm is very hands on and participates in marketing and branding conversations so we can make suggestions about our clients’ marketing plans. It’s becoming more and more obvious that social media outlets like facebook and twitter are here to stay and that companies who do not participate (and pick it up relatively early) will be missing out. In order to understand these outlets and be comfortable including them in our client plans, my boss wanted me to research them and present my findings.
By utilizing the PowerPoint and presentation skills that are so familiar to every Ross student, I created a presentation about the history and background of social media and a plan (similar to those used by our company for our clients) of how we can use these outlets and tips for how our clients can use them. Below are some of my important findings:
1) When starting a social media plan, the first step is to determine the desired outcomes and then chose the appropriate outlet(s), not the other way around
2) Always pick a measurable result to track during the timeline, even if has nothing to do with ROI (although particularly for our clients, they preferred to see such returns)
3) Make a plan and make a commitment; while social media might seem like a fad, it’s worse for a company to have a weak social media presence than one that is non-existent
4) Social media is all about conversations, particularly when looking at twitter. Many of our clients think they can just post deals and rates, essentially using twitter for advertising, but users can see through that. Customers want to have genuine conversations with the company or, more often, with a spokesperson from the company
These are just a few of the points that were built into my presentation and suggestions. While they may seem obvious (which they are, and they’re overly written about by researchers and journalists), it’s surprising how many marketing professionals want to jump into social media without considering these basic guidelines. My research and presentation brought our company up to speed and better prepared us for including social media into our clients’ public relations.
Posted by jenmmart at August 12, 2009 08:42 PM