According to the 2009 Marketing Industry Trends study conducted by Equation Research in June of this year, 59% of brands surveyed reported that social media is part of their current marketing activity, and another 23% said they plan to implement social media within the next year. But the path to adoption isn’t always smooth—brands also revealed barriers they’ve encountered along the way:
Start Learning
There’s no time like the present to start learning about social media—and no lack of traditional and online resources, either. Try this three-step plan to jumpstart your company’s social media learning process:
Businesses that incorporate social media in their marketing programs measure effectiveness in a variety of ways. Tracking traffic, links, mentions, new leads, conversions and sales; monitoring comments, feedback and sentiments; and measuring “buzz” are a few of the ways businesses collect data to evaluate their social media efforts. Set up a plan for measuring success as you develop your social media initiative to ensure that you collect data for evaluation.
Revise Your Existing Budget to Fund Social Media
Even in 2009’s challenging economy, businesses are finding ways to fund social media marketing, and more often than not, they divert funds from traditional marketing channels. According to the Equation Research study, brands that embrace social media marketing currently allocate about 8% of their marketing budget and indicate that they plan to increase that allocation in 2010. The good news is that social media campaigns often are much less expensive to run than traditional campaigns (e.g., print/TV ads, events/tradeshows, direct mail marketing), so reassessing existing traditional programs might free up all the dollars you need to fund your social media efforts.
Distribute Responsibilities to Find Time for Social Media
Make time for social media by enlisting the help of everyone in the company in ways that make sense for their job. Approach social media in the same way that you approach email or phone calls: as a fact-of-life of doing business. Customer service reps might feel right at home monitoring and contributing to Twitter; the CEO might best contribute by writing a blog post on a regular basis. Your tech team might opt to monitor your forums, while your sales team focuses on cultivating leads. Coupling social media responsibilities with things your employees already do keeps the time commitment under control.
Seek Out Case Studies and Anecdotal Information
Not being a “proven/tested strategy” yet doesn’t mean that your business won’t reap a lot of benefits in the meantime from participating in social media activities. It’s still early days for social media, but the anecdotal evidence that’s mounting up is impressive. Search the Web to find case studies of successful use of social media in your industry to support your case. Two good sources for examples of social media that works include the Business Blogging Blog from the Social Media Business Council and Peter Kim’s Wiki of Social Media Marketing Examples.
Work with—Not Against—Legal Counsel
Rest assured, you’re not the only company to face a legal barrier, and it doesn’t need to mark the end of your social media aspirations. In a Social Media Today post about a recent event addressing social media’s legal risks and limitations, Vanessa DiMauro echoes the sentiment of one speaker that the goal is to help legal move away from saying "no, because ..." to saying "yes, if ..." when it comes to social media policy. Her advice for getting beyond the legal barrier:
Is building better customer relationships good use of employee time? Because ultimately, that’s what social media helps a company do more effectively. It’s all about creating ways to have conversations with your customers and prospects—answering questions, addressing concerns, correcting misconceptions, offering insights that help solve problems and pointing out other good resources—to make the life of your customer better. Who can argue against that?
Social Media—Worth the Extra Effort
If you run up against barriers in your efforts to introduce social media into your company’s marketing strategy, whatever you do, don’t give up. The benefits of social media are worth the extra effort to find a solution that works for your particular company. Listening, understanding, educating and problem solving are your tools. Put them to good use for social media.
- “We don’t know enough about social media to know where to begin”
- “There’s no established way to measure the effectiveness of social media”
- “There’s no funding for social media in our budget”
- “We just don’t have time to invest in starting a social media program right now”
- “Social media is not a proven/tested strategy”
- “We have legal constraints/corporate policies that prevent us from undertaking these types of marketing activities”
- “Social media is not a good use of employee time”
Start Learning
There’s no time like the present to start learning about social media—and no lack of traditional and online resources, either. Try this three-step plan to jumpstart your company’s social media learning process:
- Chances are some of your employees already participate in one or more forms of social media, so provide opportunities for them to share their knowledge and opinions.
- Share good online resources to provide a basic understanding of the key types of social media services: social networking (Facebook, LinkedIn), Twitter, blogging, online video/photo sharing (YouTube, Flickr), forums, podcasting, widgets and wikis.
- Seek insights and recommendations from marketing professionals (e.g., ACS Creative) who know your industry and have experience planning and implementing social media strategies.
Businesses that incorporate social media in their marketing programs measure effectiveness in a variety of ways. Tracking traffic, links, mentions, new leads, conversions and sales; monitoring comments, feedback and sentiments; and measuring “buzz” are a few of the ways businesses collect data to evaluate their social media efforts. Set up a plan for measuring success as you develop your social media initiative to ensure that you collect data for evaluation.
Revise Your Existing Budget to Fund Social Media
Even in 2009’s challenging economy, businesses are finding ways to fund social media marketing, and more often than not, they divert funds from traditional marketing channels. According to the Equation Research study, brands that embrace social media marketing currently allocate about 8% of their marketing budget and indicate that they plan to increase that allocation in 2010. The good news is that social media campaigns often are much less expensive to run than traditional campaigns (e.g., print/TV ads, events/tradeshows, direct mail marketing), so reassessing existing traditional programs might free up all the dollars you need to fund your social media efforts.
Distribute Responsibilities to Find Time for Social Media
Make time for social media by enlisting the help of everyone in the company in ways that make sense for their job. Approach social media in the same way that you approach email or phone calls: as a fact-of-life of doing business. Customer service reps might feel right at home monitoring and contributing to Twitter; the CEO might best contribute by writing a blog post on a regular basis. Your tech team might opt to monitor your forums, while your sales team focuses on cultivating leads. Coupling social media responsibilities with things your employees already do keeps the time commitment under control.
Seek Out Case Studies and Anecdotal Information
Not being a “proven/tested strategy” yet doesn’t mean that your business won’t reap a lot of benefits in the meantime from participating in social media activities. It’s still early days for social media, but the anecdotal evidence that’s mounting up is impressive. Search the Web to find case studies of successful use of social media in your industry to support your case. Two good sources for examples of social media that works include the Business Blogging Blog from the Social Media Business Council and Peter Kim’s Wiki of Social Media Marketing Examples.
Work with—Not Against—Legal Counsel
Rest assured, you’re not the only company to face a legal barrier, and it doesn’t need to mark the end of your social media aspirations. In a Social Media Today post about a recent event addressing social media’s legal risks and limitations, Vanessa DiMauro echoes the sentiment of one speaker that the goal is to help legal move away from saying "no, because ..." to saying "yes, if ..." when it comes to social media policy. Her advice for getting beyond the legal barrier:
- Legal needs to be well-versed in social media rewards, opportunities, rules and tools to really be able to help the company succeed. Seek out counsel “in the know” about social media.
- Legal needs to be involved in the social media business planning life cycle early on as a trusted adviser. Involve legal “up front” in your social media projects to avoid delays and setbacks.
Is building better customer relationships good use of employee time? Because ultimately, that’s what social media helps a company do more effectively. It’s all about creating ways to have conversations with your customers and prospects—answering questions, addressing concerns, correcting misconceptions, offering insights that help solve problems and pointing out other good resources—to make the life of your customer better. Who can argue against that?
Social Media—Worth the Extra Effort
If you run up against barriers in your efforts to introduce social media into your company’s marketing strategy, whatever you do, don’t give up. The benefits of social media are worth the extra effort to find a solution that works for your particular company. Listening, understanding, educating and problem solving are your tools. Put them to good use for social media.
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