Recently we were asked to include social media best practices in a proposal. To follow is our list. As Peter Shankman and Sarah Evans wrote on their blog post, very few people can call themselves social media experts. To that end and given the dynamic nature of the practice, any suggested changes, contributions are welcomed!
- Social networking channels, such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, require a degree of authenticity and transparency not always evident in traditional forms of marketing
- Organizations that create a presence on social media channels must be willing to engage in a two-way dialogue with their target audiences and recognize it’s about human-to-human contact
- It is critical to determine the role(s) – customer service, informer, reputation management – an organization wants to play before setting up a social media account
- An organization should only share information via social networks that is easy (and desirable!) for others to share
- A mix of social media channels can optimize an organization’s ability to participate in social media, as each tends to offer its own unique attribute and/or audience
- The real-time nature of social media combined with its virtually unregulated content makes it imperative to monitor — and respond where appropriate — on a very frequent basis
- Organizations should develop and utilize social media guidelines for their employees that outline how individuals characterize their affiliation