Trevor Young
It’s funny how so many companies and organisations – large and small – continue to focus on the tactical minutiae of social media.
They rail against Facebook for throttling the organic reach of their Brand Page, which has in effect stopped them from communicating with their audience unless they pony up cash (how dare they!).
They persist with using Twitter as a one-way broadcast channel and then wonder why no-one is following them.
They rarely post articles on their company blog yet decry the effectiveness of blogging (and if they do blog, the content is usually about them, the deals they’ve made, the awards they’ve won, and how good their products and services are).
They focus on trying to ‘game the system’ using automation and SEO and any other ‘hack’ they can lay their hands on (at the expense of building true relationships with potential customers and influencers).
But all this misses the point.
Instead of looking for ‘silver bullets’ that will bring instant results, brands are better off leveraging social media and online publishing platforms to:
- deliver value to customers over and above their products and services;
- bring their people out from the shadows of the boardroom and into the virtual light where they can interact with the community in which they operate;
- spark conversation around topical issues and trends relevant to your business or expertise;
- empower internal subject matter experts to provide content that helps educate people or inspire them to take action in a positive way (versus hoarding the information in the interests of ‘gaining a competitive advantage’).
Think bigger than just your brand. That’s when you’ll discover the real power of social media.
Anything else is just window dressing.
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