Social media – we’re all there, sharing the latest updates, tweeting about our online specials and posting trending questions in LinkedIn groups. At SJC, we have a social media coordinator who oversees the management of our platforms, ensuring everything we do within our social media strategy supports our brand. If everyone on the team could post at will and on the fly, what would it do to our brand?
You should be asking the same question within your own company – does your social media strategy support your brand? I found this great Marketing Made Easy report (actually in a Twitter post) that I thought offered great insight on the importance of matching your social media strategy with your brand.

Altimeter published a report in January, highlighting the global explosion of social media within the enterprise. Among companies that qualify as an enterprise – more than 1000 employees – each had 178 social media assets and each of these assets were under varying degrees of management. Even more concerning is the fact that only 25 percent of these companies offer training to their employees regarding their approach to social media.

Aside from the fact that these companies had too many hands in the pot, each one was engaging with customers on behalf of the brand, without a clear social media strategy in place to guide those conversations. Interestingly, 70 percent of global brand managers believe their social media efforts are meeting their business objectives, yet only 43 percent actually had a strategy in place.

The disproportionate response suggests that either these companies do not have a clear understanding of the value of the social media channel and have set relatively low expectations, or they haven’t established clear business objectives with which to compare their social media efforts.

Most likely – both arguments are true.

Without that clear social media strategy in place to ensure all interactions, posts and shares reflect the brand, employees could easily share too much information publicly and expose the company to litigation if confidential information is leaked. At the same time, the company is likely spending too much money on social media without a clear return on investment (ROI) or return on influence.

Before you continue your social media efforts, have you clearly defined your social media strategy? This strategy includes defining your business objectives, establishing tools for measurement, planning a regular audit of your social media campaign, making training mandatory and limiting those who are representing your brand on social media platforms.

If you’re ready to re-align your social media efforts with a clear strategy, Susan J. Copywriting Solutions can help. We’ll work directly with you to help you coordinate and execute a strategy that supports your business goals, properly promotes your brand and gives you measureable results. To learn more – contact us today.