So you have a blog/Facebook and Twitter account, now what?

Companies are jumping into the social media pool faster each day. What is surprising is no one is saying to them, why? A quick discussion with a few PR and marketing professional's the other day resulted in them telling me that they were basically told to do it, do it quickly and get it done. No reason was given towards doing it, other than we need to do it. It is a case of someone outside of the marketing arena deciding that something needs to be done by marketing so lets give it to them.

Plunging into the social media arena without so much as plan is the dictionary definition of dumb. More over, the fact that one person has a blog, Facebook or Tweeter account does not render them as an expert on the topic. I have poked around more than my fair share of them and have found one or two that I chose to emulate in my own efforts but I was amazed by how few were well designed.

The first thing I tell clients or potential clients is that I am not an expert on social media technologies, but then again I don't worry about it because these technologies are so new that it is impossible for any to be. In fact, I often say that anyone who claims to be is either a fool or a liar.

The next step I would offer to anyone who has made the decision to go with a blog or a Facebook/Tweeter strategy is to look around and try and find someone who does it well. Blogs are becoming very influential as a tool for distributing news and, as we saw recently in the case of Sarah Palin, often become news themselves. One possible strategy is to not just create your own blog but make sure to post on blogs related to your own area of expertise. You should use your own blog to demonstrate your thought leadership and show the world why you are the best at what you do. A blog post should be like giving a short presentation and should be consistent with marketing and PR efforts.

Facebook and Twitter represent different challenges and opportunies. Within the marketing community these remain very controversial in regard to how best to utilize their potential for the organization. There are some companies out there who point blank refuse to use any new or social media and try to wall themselves off from its implications by forbidding any comment on any of these outlets. Essentially ceding the field of battle before a shot has been fired. Others have no policy and that can lead to pure chaos.

Of the two, I believe Twitter has the greatest promise for marketing due to its acessibility and ease of use. It allows for quick interaction, while limiting what can be done thanks to its character limits. Facebook in my opinion is much like a fan page or, alternatively, a bill board. You can post something on there and have limited discussions, but you will not likely see open and honest feedback from participants.

That is why I believe that if you really want to utiilze social media to enhance your marketing efforts a blog is your best bet. If you engage in free and open discussion. By using the blog as a platform to develop a clear pattern of thought leadership in your area of expertise and leave an option for discussion with interested parties, you can become a very influential party within your field and establish both yourself and your organization as THE thought leader in your field.