Staffing for Social Media Strategy Success
Maybe your competition has just implemented a social media strategy that’s been a smashing success. Perhaps your boss has been nagging you about tapping into “that Facebook stuff.” Whatever the reason, you know it’s time to create a social engagement strategy that will bolster your brand. But if you want the new initiative to be profitable (the kind of dollars that inspire you to do a happy dance when the office door is shut) it’s important to staff the program the right way.
Online Listening Staff
It’s tempting to assign social media monitoring to the new marketing assistant—especially if you’ve never had a social media strategy before. While this can be cheap, it’s almost never the most effective solution.
Will the employee know what social networks to search? Sure, we all know about Twitter and Facebook. Your customers, however, might be using BabyCenter, Flickr, Foursquare, Xanga or any of the dozens of other social sites.
Not only will staff need to know where to look, they’ll also need to know what to look for. It’s easy to look for posts that carry your company’s name, but there are other terms that should be flagged as well. From posts with misspellings of your brand name to Tweets raving about the competition, there’s a host of information out there—provided the staff knows where to look.
Online Monitoring Know-How
Just because your boss’s 18-year-old niece spends her life on Facebook doesn’t make her qualified to act as your online listening specialist. What’s more, social media monitoring and online reputation management are emerging fields. As a result, it can be challenging to find staff members who have expertise not only in social media monitoring but also in the sound business strategies needed to make any new endeavor a success.
Social Media Monitoring Staffing Solutions
More than 60% of consumers listen to and rely on user reviews to make a purchase, so it’s critical that you get social media strategy right the first time. One way to get the corporate-level expertise you need is to invest in a proven service with the hands-on experience execute your social media strategy. Look for a company that can listen as well as engage consumers through programs such as content distribution and online influencer engagement programs.
Social Strategy1 offers the tools you need to create and implement a smart social media monitoring and online reputation management strategy. Contact Social Strategy1 today.