Social Media is the answer … partially

A letter to a future client

Dear Prospective Client,

I’m looking forward to our upcoming meeting and excited to hear about your business and its goals. I’m glad to hear that you are anxious to get into Social Media and that you are willing to try a new approaches.

However, before we meet I would like to be sure we’re all on the same page and not going into this meeting with unlikely, implausible or even impossible expectations. I’d like to talk to you about …

5 Things Social Media Can’t Be

1. A magic bullet. While there are many wonderful tools in Social Media that will help you understand and reach out to customers, employees and/or the community none of them individually or collectively will solve ALL of your business problems.

2. A one- or two-string violin. No matter how many Social Media platforms we agree will help you they will still only be a part of your plans moving forward. We will be looking at integrating tactics in Social Media with some of your existing and traditional customer- and employee-relation, sales and marketing methods. Be assured though, this “multi-string” approach WILL make beautiful music.

3. Left to an intern. To get the best results from Social Media someone in your organization (and depending on its size it may be two or more someones) will need to dedicate time to managing Social Media. While a young intern may understand the tools they likely will need a lot of GUIDANCE on their correct use and the strategy you will be using in Social Media.

4. Cheap. It is true that Social Media tools are usually very cheap or free. However to use them effectively will require a commitment of your organization’s TIME (and other resources) … and well know: Time = Money.

5. Rushed. Setting up shop in Social Media is just the beginning. It should take quite some time for you to work through the steps of Listening, Engaging and then, and only then, Contributing. A small dose of PATIENCE early on can pay big dividends.

Thank you for your interest and I very much look forward to our future successful collaboration.

-- Mike Johansson at Fixitology

Related posts:
10 Commandments for Social Media
10 Things To Watch Out For In Social Media
10 Social Media No-Nos

10 Commandments for Social Media

If I were a preacher, here's what I'd preach ...

1. Thou shalt not be “all about me.” The person who is always talking about themselves will quickly finds themselves alone in the corner.

2. Thou shalt not sell. Would you try to sell to a casual acquaintance at a party? No! Are there exceptions? Sure. You may be comfortable selling to or asking for help from someone you know very well, but you wouldn’t do it publicly, right?

3. Thou shalt not steal. Give credit for others’ content; put your name only on your own content.

4. Thou shall add value. Everyone’s favorite radio station is WII-FM (What’s In It For Me?). Be a useful contributor in SoMedia and add value to others’ lives and you will soon find you have more fans.

5. Thou shall be polite. SoMedia is public. Remember that everything you say reflects on you (and your company/business). Flaming another SoMedia participant is never done.

6. Thou shall help others. When you see a need on SoMedia you can meet you will offer to help. Being helpful is a huge reputation builder.

7. Thou shalt not be all about the numbers. Collecting friends is not a sign of power or influence. Having meaningful (and definitions vary here) relationships with followers and fans is more useful than having thousands of unknown “friends.”

8. Thou shall help others to connect. When you introduce others in SoMedia you have added value to two lives.

9. Thou shall commit to SoMedia relationships. If you set up on a SoMedia platform you will contribute to it regularly (or delete your page).

10. Thou shall be honest. SoMedia is 99.9 percent transparent. Remember that in everything you say and do online.

Amen.

Further reading:
Social Media disasters
Twetiquette: 10 basics for Twitter politeness