Page 143 - Social Media Marketing for Dummies

» The real value that consumers place on your products.
Reality can sometimes be in limited supply when managers plan their SMM
promotions. It’s important to know the real value that customers place on
your products, not the value you hope for. Social media tools allow you to get
direct feedback and reviews from your customers. To plan effectively, your
staff members need to know what they will encounter when customers talk
back. Make sure that someone who has been on the front lines (such as a
member of the customer service staff) is part of the team.
» The intellectual property hidden inside your business to create products
and services.

Some managers wonder why their employees are not more innovative. The
answer may be simple. Innovation is not prized or rewarded in their company.
Sometimes it’s intentional. Most often it’s not. Your staff has the opportunity
to determine which website content your customers respond to. For example,
if they find that customers are remarking about a multimedia video on a
particular topic, they need to bring that up at meetings where creative
solutions are welcomed. It could effect changes in your products and help
build your social media influence.

» Who your real competitors are.
It’s easy to wear blinders when you’re working on SMM campaigns. You are so
focused on your own product that you can forget that the competition is
everyone whom your customers can turn to for advice, training, education,
and entertainment about the topic. When customers are not limited by
geography or time zone, their choices open up. Develop a full list of competi-
tors that everyone can monitor.

Evaluating Your Resources

It’s often said that SMM takes a lot more time than money. This idea is proved
false when you begin to factor in the amount of resources needed to implement a
full-blown strategy. You can’t overlook the fact that either you or your staff will
have a variety of tasks to complete even before you start tweeting, blogging, and
so on. Consider the following resource issues before you begin:

» Time: Determine how much time your resources permit you or your staff to
spend on SMM each day. How much employee time can be devoted to
actually communicating with customers? This is the goal. You want to make
authentic contact. This takes time. To make authentic contact first requires
conducting rigorous social listening.

CHAPTER 7 Finding the Right Platforms 127