Corporate social media integration is not expensive or challenging!

What is needed for corporate social media integration?

Here are my thoughts on social media and corporations.

Know your Goals:

– What are your goals? Sales?

– How realistic are your goals?

Know your audience:

– Customers?

– Comrades?

– Don’t be phony.

– Transparency rocks!

– If you social media department doesn’t have a clue “How to win friends and influence people,” you won’t succeed at social. You can’t fake the funk!

Metrics/Reports:

– You can’t manage what you can’t measure.

– Don’t worry about the numbers. If you spend two years in social media, and have not monetized the effort, then you can re-evaluate the need for social media.

Reputation Management is in the Social Media Department!

– Don’t forget to follow-up online with information on how you resolved things offline. Just because you repaired a problem.

– Keep negative comments off the first page of Google (and other search engines) with SEO.

PR Assault……Should have been done yesterday!

– It doesn’t have to be perfected within before you begin!

– It doesn’t take more expense than time and guidance from an expert

PreEmptive Strikes are great social media tactics:

– Social media is not just reputation or crisis management and marketing sales communications

– Create non company accounts and find your promoters or reputation “protectors,” those that defend your brand.

Make Sure Your CEO is 100% on Board:

– Don’t trust social media to interns. That should make your CEO comfortable.

– Get someone who has the trust of the CEO or board of directors to be a social media department head.

– If you have to have a meeting before responding online at every social interaction, you might want to reconsider your policy.

– Employees respond stupidly in front of customers, don’t freak out if they respond or say something stupid online.  It will happen.
Who Owns Social Media?

– Trusted employees, policy department, fast-paced communications departments that has speed and agility, marketing comunications or public relations.  Ability to quickly communicate to other departments.

– Social media interaction can not be outsourced.

– Email is social media. Schedule your emails. Don’t miss deadlines. Be granular about it.

Where Does Social Media Marketing Take Place?

– Twitter

– Email subscription lists

– Facebook

– YouTube

– Newsletters

– Public Relations

– Press Releases

– Websites

– Events Offline

*Just Remember: Brands don’t communicate with people, people do. Social media is about interacting, your company’s brand with the community!

For additional expert advice and tips on social media integration just click this link.

Posted from WordPress for Android while at OpenCa.mp Dallas 2010, see #ocdfw on Twitter.