Businesses’ Strategy for the Social jungle

Business of Software (Photo credit: betsyweber)

How can a business get their message to the social masses?  When a business enter social media they feel like they are lost in a jungle.  There are obstacles in the way, weird sounds (terminology) and if they head in that direction they will see a way out.  Do not despair.  One common thing is that most businesses are in this same situation.  Businesses using social media are in an early development stage.  Most businesses are experimenting in ways to build their business and brand.

There is a catch with social media.  Businesses are the fish in the fishbowl.  People are the main voice here, you are not.  Pete Cashmore explained it correctly that politicians and businesses usually decide the future of the world for the people but this medium has empowered people to talk back and express their views if they don’t like what they see.  So politicians and businesses can no longer pretend to be doing good.  You need to be doing good or you will be regularly experiencing public anger that  gets bigger and bigger.

Business of Software – Dharmesh Shah (Photo credit: betsyweber)

Businesses need to understand that careful planning and preparation is needed when working with this media.  The benefit of value is in how you manage the audience and engage them.  The result of this is increasing your business brand and revenue.  So where do you begin your business social strategy?

There are several elements you need to consider when preparing this plan.  Businesses need to decide what social media platform or platforms to use.  This maybe 1 or 2 sites for small businesses.  Work out where your audience is online and what they think of your brand.  Listen to your customers.  Then work out your goals and objectives for the business and I recommend that you spend no more than 10% on self promotion.  Now, comes the crucial stage where you need to work out a timeline in advance to deliver your content to the social media platform/s.  Your content is crucial to your brand and the channel you choose to deliver it to.  Don’t make the mistake of doing ad hoc content as you will pay the price for this.  Implement your plan and measure your success results through your goals and objectives.   This process will allow your business to manage through the social media jungle.  This solution seems a lot of work for the business, but its worth its weight in gold.  What problems or solutions have you had with your social media strategy?

Article Inspiration:

• Pete Cashmore’s interview by Rueters TV
• “6 Steps in creating a strong social media strategy” by Ron Jones

About Christopher Seeto

A Brand Enhancer in Communications. I fit naturally with technology, curious about science and avid consumer of news to gain insights. You can follow me on Google+ , LinkedIn , Twitter .