Social Media Strategy
Tools for Professionals and Organizations
Phillip G. Clampitt
- 328 pagine
- English
- ePUB (disponibile sull'app)
- Disponibile su iOS e Android
Social Media Strategy
Tools for Professionals and Organizations
Phillip G. Clampitt
Informazioni sul libro
"Finally, a social media text that combines liberal arts and social science intellectualism with practical, real-world tips for success in this crucial aspect of professional communications. Its value goes beyond the classroom – everything in the book will resonate with and be useful to PR pros already engaged in social media management."
—Ray Begovich, Franklin College
Social Media Strategy: Tools for Professionals and Organizations shows professionals and organizations how to use social media more effectively and strategically. With a focus on what makes social media unique among communication platforms, this book offers practical guidance on creating, implementing, and evaluating social media strategies and tactics. Social media is constantly evolving, so the book focuses on enduring strategic principles and uses case studies and exercises throughout to help readers build the fundamental competencies needed by today's social media managers.
Domande frequenti
Informazioni
Part I UNDERSTANDING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Chapter 1 Who Needs a Social Media Strategy?
“Many people intuitively understand the ‘social’ dimensions of social media, some appreciate the ‘media’ properties of social media, but only a few fully fathom the unique synergistic possibilities and perils of combining social sensibilities with media capabilities.”—Dr. So What
Defining Social Media
- Electronic form of communication: Social media uses the Internet as the technological means for facilitating communication. Two friends talking face to face in a restaurant, for instance, are not using social media even though they may have agreed to meet using Facebook.
- Governed by the rules of platform providers: Platform providers such as Twitter and Facebook set the communicative parameters. You only have 140 characters, for instance, to share something on Twitter. These limits are designed to shape the community dynamics by cultivating unique cost-benefit relationships for users, consumers, and marketers.1
- Users: You don’t have to be a celebrity, a newspaper editor, a government official, or a TV personality to communicate on social media. Anybody with the right technology can participate and become an instant social media celebrity. That’s one of the key distinguishing features of this new age of communication; the media gatekeepers are receding into the background.
- Share images and text: Information, opinions, pictures, graphics, and videos can all be shared via social media. The sharing can be one way or two way depending on the social media platform.
- Selected communities: Social media users form communities of various sizes and of assorted interests. Some communities are large, like the followers of a pop star, while others are small, like those connecting neighbors. Some communities are geographically oriented, e.g., Nextdoor, a neighborhood social media platform, while others are more subject-matter driven, such as those devoted to people suffering from a rare disease.
Who Can Benefit From a Social Media Strategy?
- Senior leaders: Traditionally, CEOs, university chancellors, and presidents of nonprofits would share information with their employees through memos, emails, and town hall meetings. Today, many are using social media like Twitter and Facebook to stay in touch with employees. Some use an information-rich strategy by tweeting on a regular basis.2 Others use social media in a more supportive role as a follow-up to using more traditional tools such as a town hall meeting. Still others avoid social media altogether. Which approach makes the most sense?
- Research and development professionals: Less than 50 percent of companies use social media for research and development.3 Instead, many companies develop and test new products and services using more costly tools, for example, by assembling numerous focus groups around the globe. How can social media lower those costs while harvesting innovative consumer ideas?
- Marketers: Marketing professionals were probably the first people to recognize the power of social media. They are uniquely qualified to do so because their day-to-day personal relationships with customers drive sales. What role can social media play in building or supporting those relationships?
- Public relations professionals: Traditionally, PR professionals crafted press releases, built press kits, contacted the media, and staged press conferences. Many PR professionals assume the role of brand ambassadors, as well.4 Can social media replace or support some of the traditional roles?
- Internal communication specialists: These professionals are often tasked with rolling out major changes, building support for organizational values, and getting new employees on board with an organization’s culture, policies, and procedures. Many of these professionals embrace social media to either conduct or support these functions. How can these professionals enhance their usage of social media?
- Human resource professionals: These specialists are tasked with hiring the right people, training them, and supporting them in their careers. Many use LinkedIn or Facebook for some of these functions. How can social media better support HR professionals?
- Journalists: Many journalists search for story leads and breaking news by following celebrities, sports figures, and politicians’ social media posts. Some journalists tweet their followers about an upcoming story or article they’ve written. How can journalists make the most effective and ethical use of social media?
- Small business owners: Small business owners clearly don’t have the financial resources of Fortune 500 companies, so they are always looking for cost-effective ways to compete. To some extent, social media levels the playing field by allowing local restaurants, for example, to compete against national chains. Clever localized promotions via social media may well trump high-profile national advertising campaigns. How can small business owners make the most efficient use of social media?
- Celebrities, politicians, and thought leaders: Many people offer advice, promote their personal brand, share their thoughts on current events, and post about their day-to-day activities. This kind of familiarity subtlety encourages followers to attend their events, buy their products, and share their lifestyle choices by exploiting peer-to-peer networks of influence. That is, you tell your friends about a great concert or book, and they, in turn, attend the event or buy the book. Some celebrities copromote their wares and commercial products. For instance, Selena Gomez posted an Instagram photo of herself drinking Coca-Cola with “You’re the spark,” lyrics from her hit song “Me & The Rhythm,” written on the bottle. Her post, with the clever caption under the picture, “when your lyrics are on the bottle,” generated an astonishing 4 million “likes.”5 On the other hand, almost every day we can find celebrities, politicians, star athletes, or thought leaders posting something really stupid, offensive, or classless. How can these celebrities and leaders avoid the downside of social media while enhancing their reputations?