10 Rules for Social Media in Corporate Communication
What makes the difference between a successful approach and a strategy meant for failure? What should you consider before starting? We have put together ten actions to help you avoid the most common mistakes:
1-Question
No matter what the hype says and whether your boss thinks your company needs to do a little more of that "social media stuff", question what is meaningful for your strategy (and, in fact, whether any social media activities are it). If your company deals in weapons, it is probably not a good idea to boast a new government contract with one of the poorest African countries on Twitter. All the same, a fan page on an insurance product will not be the most popular feature on Facebook and those You Tube videos on the wonders of plastic surgery may not get you the most positive attention. So, before you do engage in Social Media, make sure to question every step and tool at least twice and make sure one of those is through the glasses of prospective users.
2-Prepare
You are tempted to think that, if you start blogging about great recipes consumers can use the chocolate you produce with, your public will be mostly constituted by savvy housewives and entail none of those nasty activists who worry about how much you pay your cocoa producers? Wrong. Deal with your issues before engaging in online conversations, prepare your answers to difficult questions and make sure to train all of your employees who will be entering the Web 2.0 world in your company's name in these same issues. If you find there are issues that would be too complicated or too sensitive, or that there is criticism your company does not have an answer to, go back to point one and ask yourself if social media is the thing for you.
3-Plan
Given that Social Media is mostly about dialogue with your stakeholders, there is only so much planning you can do - but this is no excuse not to plan at all. Because you will be engaged in conversations, and because it is easy to get lost and overwhelmed in these conversations, it is important to have a strategy that you can refer to, and pre-defined goals that can help you decide, at any given moment, which action (including non-action) would be most effective. Also, planning will help you to stay realistic about the resources that engaging in Social Media will require. If you are just starting to use Social Media, a good rule of thumb is to multiply your original budget prediction by two - if this is more than you can afford, redefine your strategy or go back to point one: is Social Media the thing for you? ...
4-Monitor
The fact that you, after careful consideration, have only decided to go for a blog (as Twitter is not your thing and your employees spend too much time on Facebook or MySpace as it is), does not mean that you don't have to monitor all other Social Media websites. Reactions to your activity in one of the communities could come from all sides. Be it by hiring an agency or making use of different, free of charge web tools, make sure that you have all bases covered.
5-Be authentic
Do you know when you are trying to speak to someone in a service line and you have explained your problems four times to four different persons and you still keep getting the same formatted answers that simply don't match what you are asking for? Or, on a second note, how long would you talk to a person that sounded like a briefing from your Marketing department if you were at a party? Which way of escape would you favour? Participation in Social Media requires you to make the best out of your social skills and, even if you are doing for your company, spice it up with a bit of the real you. Defining how much of the real you is required is a learning process, even if most of us do have a pretty sensible notion of how much is too much. In authenticity as with everything else, it also helps to have rules and set boundaries. Even if they may sound restrictive when you first hear of the idea, clear boundaries will leave everyone more at ease to engage in the conversation. Looking for an example? Have a look at the exemplary guidelines at the BBC which you find at their website.
6-Dont be all 1.0 about it
Looking at Twitter it is easy to see who is engaging in conversations, because links, replies and retweets are all highlighted in blue, and the rest of the content is written in black. Now look at the corporate Twitter accounts you know. Are they filled with black text? If so, perhaps that company chose the wrong medium? Or they claim that no one reacts to their tweets (If they try to start conversations, they will see that people can, and do, react)? Or their company just does not have the time to participate in all of that noisy back and forth? Perhaps they should have chosen a different medium. The same is valid for blogs, even those without a comment function. If you don't have the time to read what others are writing, react, reply and link relevant content, then you are not engaging in a conversation, you are just wasting your time.
7-React /Don't React
If you are in your building's elevator and somebody says "good morning", it would be rude not to reply. If a colleague sends an e-mail with feedback on your work, it can be useful to consider it, and it is usually wise to react. If someone offers you a drink in a bar, reacting is a matter of choice (as is acknowledging it). And if someone shouts something offensive at you as you walk down the street, it is probably wise to ignore it. Social Media provides us with the same options: being a part of a conversation does not mean you have to react every single time. Other Social Media users have time constraints as well (even if some are able to hide it well), and offensive approaches do not usually deserve your reply, in most cases. In social media as in life: you choose your fights.
8-Kiss and Tell
You found something really funny? There is an application you think is great? A post you fully agree or disagree with? There is one contact in your address list who you think could be right person for the company of a friend who claims to be looking for a new Communication Director? Links and recommendations are the currency in social media. But be a wise linker: if you link to everything, your readers will stop following your links, rendering them worthless.
9-Be coherent
The goals of your social media strategy must match the goals of your overall communication strategy, both internally and externally. Keep in mind all different publics and how they may react to the message you are conveying and formulate it accordingly. Avoid boosting about great revenues if you are letting down staff and be careful about content that can be misunderstood in other cultural contexts. Of course there are only so many issues communication can address and deal with, but why create new ones?
10-Evaluate
Finally, keep evaluating how you are doing. Do you recognise your company in the quality of what is being published? How is the feedback? What are the numbers? How is it affecting your reputation? And every time you evaluate, question: your tools, your resources, your message, your strategy.
