“Social Media” is Not a Strategy

We talk to a lot of businesses of all shapes and sizes.  In our discussions, one question we regularly ask is “What is your social media strategy?”

All too often we hear: “Facebook”, “Twitter” ,”Yelp”…

The following graphic is near and dear to our hearts, and explanes one of the most widely misunderstood aspects of social media (and marketing in general).  Facebook and Twitter are neither social media strategies nor marketing strategies.

Graphic found on: http://fjrodriguezg.tumblr.com/post/2101032155/social-media-iceberg-diagram

Social Media is a tactic or method that helps deliver an overall strategy, not a strategy itself.  One thing that we frequently see is organizations and businesses starting Facebook pages and Twitter accounts just because they have been told they should.  Generally, it is easy to tell when a social media property is set up as a defensive measure (aka – because they “have” to).  We can tell, and more importantly your customers can tell.

Successful social media marketing isn’t just posting on Facebook or updating your Twitter. It takes goal setting, planning and strategy development to make a successful online presence.

All Facebook Pages, Twitter Accounts, Foursquare locations, etc should be set up after an overall strategy is developed.  Once that strategy is finalized, then it is appropriate to figure out how Facebook/Twitter/Foursquare/Yelp/Etc fit into the strategy and how they can best execute it.

So ask yourself: is social media your strategy?  Leave your answer in the comments.

Tagged as: channels, Facebook, Facebook Page, foursquare, iceberg, marketing methods, marketing strategy, Social media, Social media marketing, social media strategy, social media tactics, tactics, TL Marketing, twitter, Twitter profile, yelp