Hey Marketing – Share the Love

How much of an impact has social media made on your life? Or on your business?

For a good amount of companies, social media is in the “still thinking about checking it out” category.

For others that have taken the plunge, it is contributing positively to their marketing efforts. They may be using it to find prospects… And to promote their products and services. They may be using it to promote events, and to connect with people that are looking for solutions that their company offers.

If you are nodding your head affirmatively to items such as those, you should feel good.

But how do you feel about questions such as these:

Is social media helping your HR team? Your Customer Service department?  Has it raised the public profile of your boss, and other employees in your company?

If you have problems in any of those areas — or,  if you simply wish that you could make things a bit better when it comes to those efforts — take the same plunge with social media.

Tools such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc., may truly have a dramatic on your marketing effort. But the bottom line is, they help improve communication.

And because of that, it can help aspects of your business.

The Balancing Act

Yes, it’s true.  I have been inspired once again by another tweet from Vegas_Baby98. Here it is (from 2/4/2010):

“what it boils down 2 is finding the right social media mix 4 your company & then making it work for you. “

She nailed it.. It’s so true.

How can you find the right mix?

If you are looking at your employee list right now and are trying to figure out who can help your company’s social media efforts, try this —– don’t think about social media.

Think about the other actions that might be taken by people in your company. I guarantee that you’ll have people at opposite ends of the spectrum on common actions and tasks.

• For example, some people love to chat about what they did on the weekend… Others try to say as little as possible on Monday’s.
• Some people love to shut off a customer’s account when things go sour… others try to dream of ways to save the situation.
• Some people love to delete files and emails from their computer… others save everything. Forever.
• Some love to get the most of every possible break… others can barely stand to leave their desk to grab lunch.

As long as the people from the different groups are productive, the balance can have a positive effect on your company.

The same may apply to social media. For your efforts to be successful, you must post a variety of content. Your tone must be funny at times…. serious at others… conversational…. heavy-selling…. heavy listening.

Yes, in order to find the right mix, you will need to allow various voices from your company to contribute.

If you do, the world will be happy to pay attention.

Safe and Social

The other day on Twitter, this tweet caught my attention:

“60% of IT pros see Facebook as high-risk networking site 4 spam, malware…http://sbne.ws/r/3LuP”

The Jets and the Sharks?

Marketing and IT will always be two different animals (okay, to put it nicely, animals=departments).

However, more than ever before, it’s critical that the folks that want to expose their company to the world (marketing) and the folks that want to keep their company insulated from the world (IT) need to work together.

Social media has created many opportunities for businesses to reach people quickly. Social media demands that a company give all of its employees a chance to promote its products and services, as well as to communicate with customers, prospects, and others.

By creating that level of exposure, you open your business up to the world. Not everyone in the world of the web will have the best intentions. Thus, rightfully so, all businesses should have a respectable fear of things such as spam and malware.

Being Safe and Social

Both groups can play a huge role in helping to keep a business safe. IT can look for ways to provide walls, where necessary. But what’s more important is that they provide education. They send out alerts on what things people should look out for, and which things people should avoid clicking.

Marketers and other employees that are on social media sites must hold up their end of the bargain as well. If IT is sending out information, it must be read and followed.

Of course, even despite great intentions, bad things may happen. In the worst-case scenario, IT may shut off access to as many social media sites as they can possibly find.  This could potentially cause harm to a company’s overall marketing efforts.

No one, no matter the department, would want that to happen. If it’s bad for your business, it’s potentially bad for you.

How can you prevent the worst-case scenario?

Make it your determination to work together. Look for ways to share information, goals, and strategies. If you think social media can grow your business, show that to everyone in your company.

Reach out across the aisle now.  It may feel a tad bit awkward at first, but it’s critical. And from someone who has been on both sides of the aisle, I promise, they won’t bite