Beginning the social media discussion

The conversation went something like this, "We need to look for cost effective and efficient ways to market due to budget constraints. Any ideas???" It was time to broach the subject. In my industry, which is health care, the use of social media is in the beginning stages for most companies. There are few major health care entities around the country using social media to their advantage, but the majority are not yet involved.

Based on the conversation outlined above, it was time to say it again. We too need to get involved with social media.

As I pointed out examples of like companies with social media marketing programs, the argument was that the other companies have pretty extensive and advanced social marketing programs. The counter: they all started some where.

With that said, the questions start. How would we do it? How would we frame it with our brand? Which brand do we align it with? Which brand/practice/institute would most naturally fit with this concept of marketing.

The biggest challenge is that strategically companies want to follow all their marketing efforts out to the logical end. It just makes good sense to do so. However, without a social media marketing expert on staff (and with limited staff) how do you know where the pitfalls are and how does a company avoid what they don't know? How can a company get started and minimize the risk?

Well, there is always risk in anything new that you try. That's a given! Marketing experts, please weigh in, but I think to some extent there is a little trial and error involved in any new marketing program particularly, social media marketing. Here are some key things to think about when getting ready to launch a social media marketing campaign.

1. What is our goal?
2. Who are we trying to reach?
3. What are our parameters regarding updates?
4. How will we monitor what is being said about or brand?
5. Who will manage the program and have final say about what is posted?
6. And last, but most important, do we have buy in from key stake holders who might ultimately be needed as contributors?

It can't be up to marketing departments alone to make social media work for a company regardless of the industry. Social media marketing based on its very name requires a community for success. It requires the company creating the message to be completely on board and it requires the company to provide information that the target audience wants to hear. It also requires that the company be open to the two-way conversation that social media creates, knowing that what is said may not always be positive.

There is an internal use for social media too, but if we are strictly talking about social media as a form of external communication you still can't forget to discuss it internally. Again, everyone must be on board and aware of the effort, from the top administration to the per diem employee who only works a day or two a week. Internal communication about what you are doing externally is important for the success of all your external marketing efforts, but even more so in this new frontier.

So to minimize your risk, think about your strategy. Remember your goals, but above all be flexible. This is an ever changing medium and forces companies to be aware of the pulse of their community. This is not a passive marketing effort. You can't just build it and expect people to come. Social media marketing programs must be nurtured, however, with the proper feeding a care of your program, success is just on the horizon.