My friend and colleague Jason Keath was kind enough to invite me to speak at the Social Fresh event in Portland next week. And in so doing, we talked a bit about what topic might make sense to discuss, outside of the typical stuff.
At nearly every event I attend, I hear people asking what it’s really like to execute social media programs. What it’s like to be in the trenches, on the front lines of social media, and the realities of that. For me, they want to know more about the detail of what I’m doing than the theory behind it.
So that’s what we’re going to talk about. And I got to thinking that in addition to a good topic for a conference session for marketers – after all, many of them are trying to understand what they’re really getting into here – it might make a good post series or video series or an ebook or something.
But I do this every day. So do many of you. Some of you are just starting, some of you are seasoned veterans. So I need your help figuring out what we need to address if we’re going to talk turkey about what it’s like to live and breathe social media programs. Stuff like:
- What goals are you setting for your social media efforts, and where are you expecting them to impact the business?
- What are you measuring?
- Who are you reporting to, and what are you telling them?
- What other areas of the business does social media touch? How do you coordinate with them?
- How are you managing and allocating your time?
- How are you scaling social media execution inside your teams or organizations?
- What roles and responsibilities are part of your execution?
- How are you dealing with the ugly stuff, like critics and detractors?
- Are you establishing social media guidelines, and what’s in them?
That’s just a start, but I want to hear from you. It’s more than a single session’s worth of content, of course, but I think some of these things are worth addressing individually in future content. And as I continue to move the discussion here beyond social media, I want to cover some of the foundational and front-line topics here that make up the nuts and bolts to build on.
So if this were a session you were going to attend, or some content you were going to read, what would you want to talk about and address? I’d really love to know what answers you’re still looking for.
And hey, if you’re going to be in Portland on Monday, come on by Social Fresh and let’s chat about it in person.
What say you?
What roles do agencies play in the process? What roles do you want them to play?
.-= Jon Newman´s last blog ..National media battle locally for survival =-.
What roles do agencies play in the process? What roles do you want them to play?
.-= Jon Newman´s last blog ..National media battle locally for survival =-.
Often a social media “program” is kicked off or ramped up for a big launch or announcement. I am always interesting in learning more about best practices for sustaining the initial buzz well beyond the first “splash.” I think it’s also important to include a point/question about how you will define success against a specific timeline–how quickly do you expect to hit your target goals for example.
Often a social media “program” is kicked off or ramped up for a big launch or announcement. I am always interesting in learning more about best practices for sustaining the initial buzz well beyond the first “splash.” I think it’s also important to include a point/question about how you will define success against a specific timeline–how quickly do you expect to hit your target goals for example.
OK Amber, I’m Game.
1. Reporting – So you have created this great social media program… it ties back to objectives and now it’s time to report to your boss of the person who hired you to consult or implement for them. What are some reporting best practices.
2. Execution – Many companies want to execute on the plan themselves while others are more interested in having someone else do it. Maybe give some of the benefits and issues around each. Example: A PR firm speaking on behalf of their client in the digital space vs. an in-house practitioner. I have personally seen the good, bad and the ugly with both.
3. Education/Training – Many of the consultants that I have talked with or advised have a hard time valuating their time when the client needs further education or training. This is something I learned the hard way but I think it’s one of the most important factors when retaining a client. Example: You bill 30 hours to see ‘project A’ through completion but the client needs the 30 hours of implementation and 10 hours of follow up and training to understand the deliverables, measures etc.
4. Introspective Training – Honesty I don’t know what to call this but it is easily the most important factor I have used over the last year. This basically means to take copious notes on everything you do. Evolve your services over time to best meet the needs of your client(s) or employer. Never fall in love with a service or tactic as they are always changing. Don’t be afraid to be upfront with your boss or client on the way you see things evolving. Be flexible and upfront about the fact that goals and tactics are very likely to change with the programs intelligence.
Hope these suggestions help.
Keep up the great work.
@keithburtis
.-= Keith Burtis´s last blog ..More Ideas than Time Podcast ~ The Future is NOW =-.
OK Amber, I’m Game.
1. Reporting – So you have created this great social media program… it ties back to objectives and now it’s time to report to your boss of the person who hired you to consult or implement for them. What are some reporting best practices.
2. Execution – Many companies want to execute on the plan themselves while others are more interested in having someone else do it. Maybe give some of the benefits and issues around each. Example: A PR firm speaking on behalf of their client in the digital space vs. an in-house practitioner. I have personally seen the good, bad and the ugly with both.
3. Education/Training – Many of the consultants that I have talked with or advised have a hard time valuating their time when the client needs further education or training. This is something I learned the hard way but I think it’s one of the most important factors when retaining a client. Example: You bill 30 hours to see ‘project A’ through completion but the client needs the 30 hours of implementation and 10 hours of follow up and training to understand the deliverables, measures etc.
4. Introspective Training – Honesty I don’t know what to call this but it is easily the most important factor I have used over the last year. This basically means to take copious notes on everything you do. Evolve your services over time to best meet the needs of your client(s) or employer. Never fall in love with a service or tactic as they are always changing. Don’t be afraid to be upfront with your boss or client on the way you see things evolving. Be flexible and upfront about the fact that goals and tactics are very likely to change with the programs intelligence.
Hope these suggestions help.
Keep up the great work.
@keithburtis
.-= Keith Burtis´s last blog ..More Ideas than Time Podcast ~ The Future is NOW =-.
This is great. I’ve been thinking a lot about this very topic a lot lately. It’s also nice to be reading your blog again at home! For some reason I wasn’t able to access from home for a while, so sadly it’s been a bit since I’ve been by.
Talking about these moving parts in the context of some sort of case study would be really helpful. An overview of certain topics that tie together and then illustrating via actual application experience would be great. That’s how I like to learn and just my take, but I think it would be so helpful to approach this way. Like you said, the above is beyond one event’s subject matter, but you could perhaps take the getting started piece and break down the realities of what that looks like; the sale of social media as part of the comm/mktg. strategy to the ultimate decision makers and the struggles that come with; how to conquer those by testing and bringing back sufficient data to move your vision to the next phase; strategy, goals and measurement. You’ve written some seriously wicked and detailed content (that has helped me immensely btw) about the actual planning components. Hitting that with the illustration would be so powerful.
Look forward to hearing what roll out. I’m sure it will be good:-)
awesome! can’t wait to hear you! i’ll be there…
.-= Jim Gray´s last blog ..Stuff Christians Like:Don’t Judge a Book by Chapter Titles =-.
awesome! can’t wait to hear you! i’ll be there…
.-= Jim Gray´s last blog ..Stuff Christians Like:Don’t Judge a Book by Chapter Titles =-.
Hi Amber,
I’d say how are practitioners defining ‘return on engagement’, meaning does this equate to # of transactions, sentiment, or frequency? While it’s still rather ambiguous, I’d say some are getting closer to making social media salable by actually coming up with a way to identify and quantify this.
Thanks,
Tim
Hi Amber,
I’d say how are practitioners defining ‘return on engagement’, meaning does this equate to # of transactions, sentiment, or frequency? While it’s still rather ambiguous, I’d say some are getting closer to making social media salable by actually coming up with a way to identify and quantify this.
Thanks,
Tim
Very cool – really looking forward to this series of posts.
On the topic of scaling social media – I’m interested in learning more about how organizations can engage their employees and leverage their internal audience to help share the burden of creating content.
Thanks,
Mark.
.-= Mark Smiciklas´s last blog ..Front Line Social Media Impact =-.
I’ll second Mark’s request here…
.-= Beth Coetzee´s last blog ..Gastrointestinal Health…because everybody poops… =-.
Very cool – really looking forward to this series of posts.
On the topic of scaling social media – I’m interested in learning more about how organizations can engage their employees and leverage their internal audience to help share the burden of creating content.
Thanks,
Mark.
.-= Mark Smiciklas´s last blog ..Front Line Social Media Impact =-.
I’ll second Mark’s request here…
.-= Beth Coetzee´s last blog ..Gastrointestinal Health…because everybody poops… =-.
One point I’ll like to add is how to negotiate and communicate with the upper managament about the efforts and impact of social in the firms and where does Social efforts need to be located in the organizational chart.
.-= Jorge´s last blog ..Social Media changed consumer expectations and we should change with them =-.
One point I’ll like to add is how to negotiate and communicate with the upper managament about the efforts and impact of social in the firms and where does Social efforts need to be located in the organizational chart.
.-= Jorge´s last blog ..Social Media changed consumer expectations and we should change with them =-.
Great request, Amber. I’d love to get some insight as to managing and allocating time — both on the learning side and the execution side. Social media information is like drinking from a firehose. There is so much information out there, what are the very best sources, the must read sites to keep current? On the execution side, in a one man (or woman) social media role, what are the absolutely essential things you must do each day?
Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend Social Fresh, so look forward to your blog posts. I was at Red Chair Portland a couple of weeks ago and Olivier Blanchard spoke very highly of you!
I’m also interested in ideas for how to execute in a one wo(man) social role.
.-= Beth Coetzee´s last blog ..Gastrointestinal Health…because everybody poops… =-.
I’m with you, Beth! It’s a difficult road just getting the C-Level to embrace Social Media, so how does one wo(man) execute the plan once we get the thumbs up?
Great request, Amber. I’d love to get some insight as to managing and allocating time — both on the learning side and the execution side. Social media information is like drinking from a firehose. There is so much information out there, what are the very best sources, the must read sites to keep current? On the execution side, in a one man (or woman) social media role, what are the absolutely essential things you must do each day?
Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend Social Fresh, so look forward to your blog posts. I was at Red Chair Portland a couple of weeks ago and Olivier Blanchard spoke very highly of you!
I’m also interested in ideas for how to execute in a one wo(man) social role.
.-= Beth Coetzee´s last blog ..Gastrointestinal Health…because everybody poops… =-.
I’m with you, Beth! It’s a difficult road just getting the C-Level to embrace Social Media, so how does one wo(man) execute the plan once we get the thumbs up?
Trying new techniques – updating the website or using multi-variant testing on email campaigns – can be a challenge. How often can a company alter their social media campaign while maintaining meaningful statistics?
.-= Global Patriot´s last blog ..10 Ways To Be A Global Patriot On Global Patriot Day 2010! =-.
Trying new techniques – updating the website or using multi-variant testing on email campaigns – can be a challenge. How often can a company alter their social media campaign while maintaining meaningful statistics?
.-= Global Patriot´s last blog ..10 Ways To Be A Global Patriot On Global Patriot Day 2010! =-.
Talk about living and breathing social media programs…can we talk mobile? I only recently dove into the social-mobile apps out there and would love some guidance. For example, is there a platform (like Hootsuite, etc.) that congregates social-mobile apps like Gowalla, Foursquare, etc.? It seems ridiculous to “check in” on multiple platforms…too time-consuming!
.-= Beth Coetzee´s last blog ..Gastrointestinal Health…because everybody poops… =-.
Talk about living and breathing social media programs…can we talk mobile? I only recently dove into the social-mobile apps out there and would love some guidance. For example, is there a platform (like Hootsuite, etc.) that congregates social-mobile apps like Gowalla, Foursquare, etc.? It seems ridiculous to “check in” on multiple platforms…too time-consuming!
.-= Beth Coetzee´s last blog ..Gastrointestinal Health…because everybody poops… =-.