Social Content Strategy That Plays Well With Others

By Rich Wilson, Creative Director, Big Scary Cranium

My how far we have come. I remember as a Creative Director for JWT back in 2007 talking to a marketing director for a very large company who had never even heard of Twitter, much less employed it as a marketing tool. Today, I find most clients know the lingo, but there’s still a basic understanding of what makes social media marketing different. This can play out in a variety of ways, so who gets invited to the social content planning table? You want the right mix of people without overloading the decision making table.

Bring the traditional advertising people, just make sure they know you can’t use your billboard headline for a Tweet

Some companies understand the need for integration. They know at a basic level that TV needs to play well with print and digital. A common problem lies in the assumption that social media should be treated similarly to outbound marketing efforts. “Isn’t social media just another way to push content?” asked one of my early clients.

Yes and no. Blogs, social networking sites and other digital properties where two way conversation takes place do provide opportunities to deliver content designed to further a company’s brand. They are also places where far too many brands end up poisoning their own well. The old adage “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” should be hung by the neck from the top of GM Headquarters. Remember the “create your own advert” campaign? The first of several social media blunders resulting from a desire to “push content” over “provide value.”

The traditional ad folks usually own the brand and thus are a very important part of making sure your social media strategy fits with the overall communication goals.

Make sure the media planners share their schedule.

If you’re planning a major Mother’s Day promotion while all the TV runs during Easter, the end result can be a very expensive lesson. Social media strategists need to be fed information regularly otherwise we get skinny and grumpy.

The social media team is usually a 2nd or 3rd level contractor and doesn’t always get the priority 1 information meant for the media team. Coordinating resources is a great way to make sure inbound and outbound marketing efforts make each other more effective. This is not to say there should be a media planner approving the social content strategy, but a copy of the media plan is a must.

The rise of PR and the confusion of roles.

Most PR firms do a tremendous job making media contacts and developing stories. Not all PR firms have strong digital chops. Many PR firms excel at integrating social media into the marketing mix, but most are held back by a simple lack of online experience in areas beyond blogger relations.

In a perfect world, the social media strategy team draws from the work of the PR team. Any story being told to magazines should, in a general sense, match that which you see on TV or on a specialized forum. Get the brief from the PR team as you would the media team.

Ignore web developers at your peril

Oftentimes the smartest guy in the room is the geek that rolled out your CMS so that it works brilliantly with your favorite designs. Your digital partner needs to be at the decision making table for your social strategy because they are usually the crew who ends up doing most of the implementation.

Yes, most social media resources either have or can find digital resources, but it’s usually smart to let the web vendor take first shot at making sure all the social plugins work properly or build the blog in a way that plays well with the other web properties. Commerce hath no fury like a developer scorned.

If the SEO guru is not at the meeting, reschedule

There is a lot of talk about whether or not social media responsibilities should fall under PR, branding or SEO. SEO makes a strong argument in that practitioners are well versed in the theory of inbound marketing, not more pushy outbound strategies. I personally think SEO companies make a great compliment to social media strategy, but they often need creative and marketing input to balance their technical prowess.

Still, the SEO people own the keyword lists, help developers built a site Google can actually see and understand the value of good content. My preference is to be joined at the hip with a client’s SEO vendor to ensure all is working properly.

Other players

Social media is increasingly being used for CRM, direct selling, product development and even research. There may be a host of other individuals that need to be a part of putting together your social strategy, it all depends on what you want to accomplish. The list above is what I consider to be the bare minimum for a successful effort. Not including the expertise of any of these specialties is asking for a turf war at best and a less successful effort at worst.

— MAX