6 steps to getting selective with social media

This post has been contributed by Jamie Lee Wallace, a good friend of Base One, who is also one of the founders of Savvy B2B Marketing - a collaborative blog offering unique B2B marketing insights delivered with healthy doses of humility and good humor.

One of the number one complaints about social media is that it takes too much time. 

Companies considering the leap into the land of blogs and tweets often run screaming into the night after they glimpse the reality of what it takes to launch and maintain a worthwhile social media presence.

I don't blame them. The onslaught of digital information is overwhelming, but there is hope. The key is in being selective.

We all know that it's the kiss of branding death to try and be all things to all people.

The same goes for social media engagement. Unless you have a dedicated staff ready to spend all day, every day monitoring every inch of the Web and churning out top-notch content, you need to be choosy about how and where you spend your time.

This isn't rocket science, you say? You're right. But it's amazing how many people - even professionals - fall into the trap of trying to be everywhere, all the time. In this highly competitive market, it's easy to start making judgments based on the fear of missing out on something.

The 24/7, real-time nature of social media sets businesses running faster and faster on the proverbial hamster wheel. You start by monitoring here and there, then you launch a company blog, set up a facebook fan page, start tweeting, create a professional group on LinkedIn, develop a collaborative community for crowd-sourcing industry-specific solutions, and so on and on and on. Before you know it, running your social media efforts takes nearly as much time as running your core business.

Instead of jumping on every shiny, new wagon recommended by the so-called gurus, take control of your social media journey. Here are six steps for making sure things don't get out of hand:

1. Get a strategy: If you don't have the expertise in-house, hire a professional to help you determine the best strategy for your company. Look for someone who wants to talk about your goals, what your customers are like, and what kind of resources you realistically have to dedicate to social media. You want to make sure the plan is custom-fit to your needs and capabilities as well as the needs of your target audience.

2. Have an exit plan: Even the best strategy sometimes goes awry. Your project is going to be a huge success, but - just in case - make sure you have a way to make a graceful exit.

3. Roll-out in phases: Baby steps often trump giant leaps. Get your toes wet before you attempt a backwards triple somersault with a half pike and a twist. Start small and grow your presence in as organic a manner as possible. Listen well, and your audience will tell you what your next step should be.

4. Deputize and delegate: In the best case scenario, social media becomes part of your company culture, not a specialty that's handled by a few select members of your marketing department. Deputize people across your business to monitor and engage, but be sure to keep an overall eye on the conversation, watching for consistency and balance.

5. Have a cage match: Stage periodic cage matches between different elements of your social media presence to ensure that you're focusing your efforts on the areas with the best return. Don't just keep randomly flinging resources at the wall in an effort to "keep up." Measure and rank your various projects.

6. Get selective: Finally, narrow your focus. Be brutal. Though it's highly unlikely that your company can stand out everywhere, if you concentrate on a few key areas, there's a better chance for greater impact. Even if you wind up with a smaller audience, you'll be able to have a deeper dialog, and it's the deeper dialog that leads to actual relationships, a perception of leadership, and business deals.

Are you already engaged in social media? How did you get started? What worked for you, and what was an utter failure? What advice would YOU give to a business getting ready to take the plunge?



Image credit: lusi (http://www.sxc.hu/photo/560182)