Organizations everywhere are realizing that social media is here to stay.  It's not only here to stay, but redefining the way business is done.  Knowing that, most companies are scrambling to get with the program.  Obviously, each organization is different, so everyone is going into this thing asking the question "what social media strategy will work best for us?"

The most important thing to remember is that social media does not mesh well with traditional sales and marketing strategies.  Social media users don't want to be "pitched" on anything. They want to find meaningful conversations and information pertaining to important people, places or things that make-up their lives.

The quicker everyone involved in planning social media strategies within public relations, corporate communications and marketing and advertising groups understand that, the better it will be for all of us.

The primary question that every social media manager must answer is "what conversations related to my product or service are taking place online and how can I insert myself into those conversations as a valuable participant?"

Once those conversations are identified, answer the following questions in order to clearly develop your conversation parameters: 

1. Who do we want to talk to?

2. Where are they?

3. What conversations are they already having?

4. Can we legitimately participate in that conversation and what point do we join?

5. How can we add value to the conversation without coming across "too salesy"?

6. What is our value proposition? Knowledge? Opinion? Content?

7. Can we honestly earn their trust? If so, how?

8. At what point can we earn their trust so that we can get their input regarding our product or service?

9. When and how can we actually pitch them once we've gained their trust?

10. How can we encourage other evangelists of our products or services to join the conversation and promote us?

Need help answering the above questions?  Are you ready to leverage social media as a channel for growth and success?  Give us a call at 503-345-6440 or send us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to setup an appointment with our social media experts.  They will be happy to work with you and your organization to define and achieve measurable success using the latest social media platforms.