The Role of the Researcher in the Social Media Strategy Development Process

Wangari Kamande, July 25 2012

Wangari Kamande is a Research Analyst at Social Media Group.

As a research analyst, I often find that I hold the foundational pieces to what would help set the stage for solid strategy development. The information that I gather while conducting the background work to understand a client’s business, their needs, resources, target audience and goals is extremely valuable. This rich information makes it extremely necessary that a researcher be fully engaged in laying the foundational pieces of the strategy development process.

How does research set the foundation for a sound social media strategy?

1. Understanding the client’s business and social media objectives (e.g., business activities, marketing activities, social media and marketing goals, how activities are being measured for success). This broad understanding will help filter into doing a deeper analysis into the following;
2. Audience analysis – Understanding who is talking about the brand or who a brand is looking to engage with in the social-sphere, where they are participating in social, what is their current opinion of the brand or other brands where feasible and their social media usage patterns.
3. Content Analysis – Evaluation of content somewhat overlaps with the audience analysis especially in respect to analysing what people are saying and the sentiment of their social conversations. However, in addition to the user generated information there is another piece of the content mix that is significantly valuable and that includes the resources and information that a brand has in its marketing communications, PR and advertising tool set – all the traditional marketing pieces that can be leveraged and optimised for social media use and engagement.

Source: Socialfulcrum.com

The three broad categories above feed into the development of the following:

1. Content Strategy – Developing and executing a content strategy that resonates with the target audience
2. Engagement Strategy – Developing and executing an engagement strategy that appeals and drives a response with the target audience
3. Positioning Strategy – Having a clear understanding the target audience makes it easy for brands position themselves as the go to source in a specific niche / industry
4. Listening Strategy – Brands can then tune their listening and customer / client service strategy so that they can effectively serve the needs of their customers / clients.
5. Measurement – Identify metrics or key performance indicators that will help measure success.  If the objective is to gain awareness, then metrics such as increased engagement, social media mentions, Facebook likes and comments, Twitter followers, retweets (just to name a few) will be indicators. However, if selling is the main objective, click rates, social e-commerce, sales and conversion rates are suitable metrics.

How are you using research to build your brand’s social media strategy?

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Do you think about your social brand?

Ruth Bastedo, July 6 2012

Of course you do, you say!

But as I am increasingly spending my days talking to companies about how they use social media, I am struck by how there can be some drift in social from the brand guidelines and principles that are adopted as religion by traditional online and offline marketers.

I think the “branding challenge” for social marketers is in many ways, quite different than it is for traditional marketers. Traditional marketers do have a tough job in to-day’s crowded online and offline environments, but at least they have relative control over how the company brand is expressed and positioned to their target audience.

Not to state the obvious…

This is not exactly the case in social. While a community manager has control over the tone and voice of the brand in various channels, and certainly the content, he or she cannot control what people say, what topics they want to talk about and what type of commentary they deem worthy to make on a variety of topics. The community manager has to work with the value proposition of the brand, but in a way, cannot directly manipulate the brand experience itself.

While the website is at a very basic level, the modern version of a brochure, once integrated into a social environment it becomes a customer service channel, talk radio station and trade show booth all rolled into one. Twenty-Four Hours A Day. This is daunting stuff, especially for marketing departments who have traditionally been used to creating ad campaigns and marketing collateral, among other tasks.

Social Media is very different, and requires multiple paradigm shifts at once. Processes are changed and workflows shifted. New job descriptions are hammered out, and oh yes… where is all that content going to come from? All of a sudden, the copywriter is king again.

How is the thinking emerging about brand in social?

But as all this gets sorted, as it does in one way or another, and social channels are at least up and running, how is the thinking emerging around brand? How much control do companies expect to have over the brand experience in social communities? What are the most exciting opportunities to express and enforce the brand’s promise? How does a marketer build and nurture social channels that are aligned to the brand’s platform, and enforce that all important value proposition of the brand? Is it even the marketer’s job anymore?

What if all people want to do online is complain about products or services? Doesn’t this become the job of the team over on the customer service side of the business? Well, how is the brand voice expressed in the call centre anyways? Worlds collide, and it’s complicated. The questions and challenges will be different for every company.

Companies need to develop a perspective on their social brand…

What is common is the need for companies to, at the very least, develop a perspective on their social brand. And in order for this to happen, there needs to be clarity and understanding within the organization around the DNA and structure and positioning of that brand, and the all important value proposition of the brand. When this is cracked, and coupled with clear objectives around the purpose of the “investment in social”, the world is the social marketer’s oyster.

For some good, solid thought provoking reading on brands, and brand positioning, check out Ashley Konson’s blog on Branding. Ashley is a brand consultant, and the award winning Course Director for the MBA Brand Management program at the Schulich School of Business, and Adjunct Faculty at the S P Jain School of Global Management based in Dubai, Singapore and Sydney, Australia. Ashley’s recent post on brand platforms got me thinking about this topic, he has got some good robust content.

It is well worth the time for social teams to take some time out and refresh collective memories on their company’s brand and brand positioning in the marketplace- and really be honest about how the brand value proposition is addressed in social channels. This effort will ensure that the brand experience is an important part of the discussion around the social marketing effort.

Ruth Bastedo is Director, Business Development at Social Media Group. Follow @rutbas

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