7 ways to prevent Social Media Fails

There are many ways that a campaign, account, video, update, link, article, post, advert, small business or company can experience a social media #fail online.

Here are 7 approaches to help you and hopefully prevent your brand or business from experiencing a social media fail:

1. Social Media should be considered holistic. 

When setting up accounts/profiles, your social media should be consistent and in alignment with your business/company's policies and practices. 

Social media combines advertising, marketing, PR, writing, customer service and communications - approaching social media hoistically will be extremely rewarding.

2. Develop a 3/4 month social media marketing plan, this can be amended and adjusted accordingly. A plan throughout the year will help to set up your smm (social media marketing) strategy:

 -what is your message?

-what is your aim?

-who is your target market?

-what are your strategies?

-how much are you planning to spend on marketing and advertising (month by month)?

-which social media accounts and platforms you are going to use for your business and why?

-who is responsible for each account? 

-are you going to have an employee schedule?

-how will you monitor each account (or who)?

-what to focus on each month?

-do you have tech support?

-are you going to outsource,writers, designers, PR companies

I signed up for free and received marketing templates from VATrainingOnline, to start planning for 2012 - they are free, colourful and easy to use and share.

3. Every person, business and company should have a social media policy in place. The Department of Justice, Victoria has designed a policy and a video for their employees. 

A policy defines your code of conduct, your business practices, your responsibilities. 

You can protect your business and brand. 

Here is a free policy template that you can use to develop one of your own. 

Ideally, employees should read and sign the policy before using social media which represents their workplaces.

4. PR issues need to be discussed. 

Whether you hire a PR agency or you look at PR practices, knowing how to handle any crisis, having a crisis policy into place and knowing exactly how to act and deal with  a 'failure' will be extremely beneficial. 

Here are 10 steps to help recover from a 'fail'. 

Ogilvy has set up a slideshare on crisis management - don't overreact see a crisis as an opportunity.

5. Customer service, responding and monitoring is an essential part of social media. 

In fact, I think that customer service and social media go hand in hand.
People often use social media accounts to complain publicly and expect teams to handle them quickly and well. 

Most businesses/corporations need to align their customer service teams in the same way they handle email, telephone and written complaints and customer service training on social media should be an essential part of business practices.

Address the following:

Who will be handling enquiries and complaints?

What action will you take over weekends? 

Have you set up a feedback email or a number for complaints?

Have you set up alerts and notifications, so you can handle customer feedback in a reasonable time?

Here are 9 top brands who are embracing social customer care

Here are 26 tips to add and implement customer service as part of your social media strategy.

6. Look at and learn from #fails online.
Read up about social media fails and take the oppurtunity to learn from them to:
Listen to people online.

Set up alerts and notifications.
Monitor your accounts.
Track your brand and business online.
Respond to questions, feedback, complaints and enquiries (within reason).
Understand the terms and conditions of each social media account.

7. Consider research as an essential part of your social media.

Read blogs, forums, reviews and if you can, thank people for their positivity (via email).

Build advocates around your business and your brand. 

Take time to read about your industry and be aware of what is happening in your industry, this will benefit your content, your understanding, your expertise and ensure that you know exactly what is happening day by day online.
Set up RSS feeds, read articles and blog posts.
Track your industry and watch what is happening on Twitter.

   

8 easy ways to invest in social media

Social Media is an investment. And it is a long term investment.

"Don’t treat it as a stand alone function, but as an asset, and you’ll be glad you invested in it."  - Sean Clark.

Most small businesses and non profit organisations are not going to see quick results. And they are probably not going to see ROI. Social Media requires time, energy, effort and often this is very hard to measure by ROI alone.

Larger corporations and companies who make use of email marketing, social media campaigns and a campaign or video going viral will probably see instantaneous results - but this can fade and it is up to a marketing team (or agency) to plan and invest in social media on a regular basis.

Over the past few years, we have experienced changes in the online world. We are learning to plant fish where people are actually logging in and looking for fish and most people are using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Thanks to Chris Brogan's eBook, Fish Where The Fish Are, he encourages the use of social and traditional marketing which will explain to you how to use sales and marketing tools to reach your audience online.

Once Google+ enables business profiles, there will be another platform to drive traffic and marketing.

Here are 8 simple ways you have to invest in social media over the long term:

1. Post often - at least once every working day. Whether it's a video, written content, an announcement, news, a launch or photos, blogs drive traffic to and from your website and to other social media accounts. Business blogs aid businesses, drives traffic and provides a communication tool. Every company no matter how big or small should have a blog.

2. Update often  - several times a week on Facebook. Make sure you respond to queries and build a relationship with people who have liked your page.

3. Tweet often - There is a limit of 250 times a day. Depending on the nature of your business, your style and voice, you can Tweet between 7- 100 times a day to help you drive your brand and business. Twitter acts as a global newspaper and often content gets lost. Try to use Twitter for sharing knowledge and for interacting with others; without constant marketing and promotion. Have a look at companies and brands you resonate with and follow their suit on Twitter.

5. Have a marketing strategy - plan for 3 - 6 months so you can plan campaigns, content, prizes, and giveaways. Keep adjusting the strategy every few months according to changes and needs. Have monthly meetings with the social media team (customer service or marketing team) to discuss changes online and new resources/ideas. Social Media is constantly changing.

6. Listen to your clients and customers -  monitor their responses, clicks and shares. Listen to what they want, answer their questions and plan or implement strategies to satisfy your advocates. Use surveys, questions, focus groups, emails, campaigns and email marketing to reach clients and customers.

7. Invest in training - Training provides the tools to assist with social learning, interaction and finding resources which fit the business, encourage social media in workplaces. Individuals (yourself, staff or team) will learn from each other and interact with each other. Social Media and Social Learning go hand in hand, it increases productivity, aids curiosity and understanding. Individuals who work in an environment which encourages social learning; find that they are more invested in the company or business. Talk to your staff; they are dealing with clients and customers in a myriad of ways from the receptionist, to customer service teams to the marketing team themselves. Your workplace will be able to understand clients/customers wants and needs via their emails and interaction with your business.

8. Engage  - thank people, answer people who reply or like or comment. They have made the effort to be in contact with your business and whether they are in need of assistance, customer service or advice; the more you interact; the more likely they will return.

Here are some basic best practices for social media success.

I would like to emphasise that social media is long term. People are seeking information online and are building long term relationships with brands.

These 8 basic steps will enable you and your business/company to invest in social media for the long haul. Most of these steps have to be taken everyday with regular meetings, reviews on a monthly (6 weeks, or bi monthly) basis. 

Whether you work for yourself or for a giant corporation, by making a long term investment in social media; these 8 steps will give you results.

Goodbye 2010

Thank you for your support over 2010.

I am still open over the holiday period, so if you would like social media advice and assistance, please contact me.

January is a good time to start planning events, launches, workshops and activities for the next 6 months, so if you need business advice and assistance over the quieter period please get in touch and I am  happy to set up social media and assist with attending networking events and moving your business forward over the next 6 months in 2011.

Take the time to enjoy your holidays and to bring in the year ahead. Social Status will be holding workshops and attending networking events, to better advise you, so stay tuned.