This post is a more practical viewpoint from my previous post on the rise of the so-called "social media guru." Unfortunately, there's no certification process so anyone with a Facebook page and Twitter account can call themselves a social media guru. This means it's been up to companies to fend for themselves when selecting a partner. Your social media strategy may be one of the most important elements in your overall marketing and communications plan, so you're probably taking it very seriously. Let these five questions help you navigate a rather squishy world.
1. "Do You Have Clients?"
I know. This seems obvious. But you'll find a lot of self-described consultants out there who have done a brilliant job promoting themselves, are incredibly active using social networks for themselves, and even garnered healthy personal followings. But have they replicated this success for anyone else? Do they have actual clients? Even if the firm or person you're talking to has only a few clients in the early stages of social media maturity, that's miles ahead of someone who hasn't any at all. Why should you be the sacrificial lamb? Be sure to ask to speak to references.
2. "What's the Difference Between Having a Social Media Presence vs. Having a Strategy?"
Having a social media presence is not a strategy. Heck, in an hour I could have you up and running with a snazzy Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel, and Flickr group. I could snap you all up with Delicious and Digg and Technorati. You'd be the life of the cocktail party in no time! But guess what? I haven't actually done anything for you. In fact, if I haven't asked you the right questions about your audiences, your brand, and your intended outcomes, I most likely have done you a gigantic disservice. A comprehensive social media strategy (rather than an experimental one) is a complex combination of executive direction, organizational development, human resources, legal, IT, sales, and marketing. Social media strategies are pervasive, touching many if not most areas of a business, as many companies have found out the hard way.
3. "Are You Going to Ask Me About My Larger Objectives?"
This follows onto the last question. A good marketing firm or consultant should challenge why you think you need to have a social media presence in the first place. Sure, most likely you need some blend of conversational platforms, but why? What are you hoping to accomplish? Are you looking to allow your best customers extend your brand? Are you looking to use social media to deflect incoming customer-service calls? Are you hoping for greater transparency and to even foster client relationships to the point that you are co-creating products and services? Or are you simply looking for new, more efficient ways to -- gasp -- make money? What are your larger objectives?
4. "Are You Hoping to Create Social Media Content FOR Us or TEACH Us to Sustain the Program?"
Ghost written social media content rarely works and has usually been the source of some of the most embarrassing social "outing" debacles. Ongoing retainers are better used for measuring social media successes, sharing best practices, and finding and delivering deeper market intelligence through analytics. Social media's biggest hurdles are typically organizational and cultural ones. A successful social media strategy is one whose owner understands and has embraced the fact that people from within the company are the best participants. I have yet to find a mature social media strategy that was outsourced.
5. Finally, "How Will Our Social Media Strategy Complement Our Overall Customer Experience?"
Social media is just part of an overall customer experience. Social media does not have its own orbit. So, ask your potential partner, "What will I learn from our social media work that can be applied across all other areas of marketing -- oh, and product development! -- to make our customer experience more enjoyable, our content more accessible, and, ultimately, more conversion oriented?" A good social media firm will be able to extract insights from data they're capturing within the various social environments and leverage them to help improve both your own strategic view and tactical plans for your teams.
Receiving quality answers to these five questions will help you get into the incredibly fast-moving cycle of social media. Wasting even six months with the wrong consultant or firm can set you well behind where you ought to be. Conversely, because so many of your competitors are most likely just getting started as well in social media, the opportunity to set considerable distance between you and them is now. Go grab it!