As we continue to experiment with social media it becomes increasingly necessary to decide where to place a message, learn who is talking about that message and quantify the impact of what they are saying.
Developing a good social media strategy is key to any personal or corporate media plan.
It’s all about the plan.
The problem is too many organizations jump on the bandwagon without really know why or how.
There are a few things that are important to understand before designing a strategy.
- Social media communication is a two-way street with a bunch of lanes and on/off ramps. Better yet it is an intertwined jigsaw puzzle that keeps growing and changing.
- You need to know who your market is before you can develop a strategy.
- You must have a firm understanding of social media’s benefits and have a realistic set of expectations.
- You need to know who is talking about you, what they are saying and where they are saying it.
- You need to have a defined set of reasons to use social media.
I have attached a few documents from a variety of sources that may help guide your thought process.
Eloqua_Social_Media_Playbook_Public
Using Twitter optimization to boost SEO
Taking Social Media From Talk to Action
Social_Media_Business_Marketing_HubSpot
How to enhance your internet presence with social media
E-dreamconsulting 
Hi Edreamconsulting,
Thanks for your thoughts, does modern day social media have the power to overthrow traditional media channels (press,tv,etc.) and replace it, or should social media be considered as a complement to the whole media strategy?I’d love to get your views on the subject.
Great Job!
Herman,
My feeling is that social media is a very important complement to a total media strategy. There are things you can do with social media that are very difficult using traditional means.
Crowd sourcing, instant feedback, data acquisition, lead generation, community development etc are much more fluid using social media. The community aspect of social media is something that has yet to be fully realized.
I notice you are involved in music distribution (a subject near and dear to my heart). I would think that community development via social media must be a part of your strategic plan.
The problem is we tend to still use a scatter gun approach to marketing when selective targeting has always been more effective. That is even more important now. We can reach massive numbers via social media. What does it mean if they aren’t engaged? Just because the cost per unit may be lower we need to factor in the need for continued personal interaction. Becoming the “glue” is a real key to developing community.