Mitch Joel recently posted about Best Practices in Social Media Marketing and has asked folks to weigh in with their best practices. This is an awesome idea ... a crazy number of us blog about doing the right thing, but no one has really pulled them all together. So this is my small contribution in the hopes that these all get pulled together in a handy place for communications folks new to this space.
To me, there is nothing more attractive (and yes, kinda sexy) than someone who is passionate about what they do. And what makes me even more admiring is when they take that passion and share it in amazing, creative ways. And when you get the right passionate person talking (or writing or singing or vlogging) about the right topic, magic happens.
My Best Practice in Social Media Marketing
Choose the right person. Now this may seem like stating the obvious, but so many social media marketing efforts have failed because the person who started the initiative didn't have the temperament for social media. They may not be the obvious choice (like the CEO or the VP of Corporate Communications). They will also likely not be the most popular person in your company (like the Director of Sales who is super-affable at the office party and with clients, but whose emails make you cringe).
The right person should be passionate about their work and the company they work for. They will want to share the good and the bad about the company/products because this genuinely helps customers. They will have a clarity of communication (in a number of forms) and will have a spirit of learning and reciprocity. They will embody the values of transparency and disclosure. And they will, of course, know how to listen.
It is by choosing/encouraging the right person in your company that you will come to know success through social media marketing.
- Blog it.
- Link to Mitch’s blog
- Tag it “social media marketing best practices”
- Optional: And then tag someone else with the meme.
Photo Credit: k-girl