I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to businesses about their social media plans. Unfortunately I’ve heard statements like: “We’re thinking of using Facebook as our Social Media strategy”. Thus the reason for this post.
There is a lot of confusion over the differences between a social media vision, strategy and tactic.
- Vision – A vision is where you dream of going.
- Strategy – A strategy is large-scale plan of how you’ll get from where you are to where you dream of being.
- Tactics – Tactics are specific actions that detail how to achieve your strategy.
As you can imagine, you need to start with a vision to determine your strategy…and you need to have a strategy to identify your tactics. A social media plan without starting with a vision would be about as successful as a chess game without understanding that the end goal is to checkmate your opponent’s King. Basically you’d invest a lot of time without accomplishing anything and would probably get pretty frustrated in the process.
Oh, so where do sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, YouTube and the like fit in? They’re tools. And they fall deep within the category of Tactics. They shouldn’t be seriously considered as a part of your social media plan until you understand your objectives, your target, your story, your resources and a plethora of other considerations that are a part of your strategy.
So, take a step back. View the mountain, know where you want to go, how you’re going to get there and what specifically you need to do to achieve your goal.
This is similar to the POST (People Objectives Strategy Technology) method espoused by Forrester in the book Groundswell.
Lots of small business owners start off with a “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” approach, and focus on what they know best – usually their product. Then over time they begin to understand the importance of proper accounting practices, inventory controls, etc. It’s time for companies to start thinking about the Internet and social media in the same way – it’s a vital aspect of your business, and it’s here to stay.
Older businessmen have to stop ignoring the computer or delegating “doing their emails” to their secretaries.
“I still type with one finger” isn’t something to be proud of any more.
Which is why whenever I discuss the POST method I talk about People twice, at the start and at the end – start with People – your audience/customers, yes. But also end with People – you and your team, who will be driving these strategies and tactics.
Thanks, Marc! I’m glad you brought up the POST technique – here’s the link for anyone interested (http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2007/12/the-post-method.html). This method is ideal once you have a clear vision in mind for your business. After defining where you want to take your business, you may just find that social media is not ideal for your organization just yet – either because your company culture is not ready or you need to focus your budget and energies in improving other areas of your business.
Great points, Marc.
This is similar to the POST (People Objectives Strategy Technology) method espoused by Forrester in the book Groundswell.
Lots of small business owners start off with a “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” approach, and focus on what they know best – usually their product. Then over time they begin to understand the importance of proper accounting practices, inventory controls, etc. It’s time for companies to start thinking about the Internet and social media in the same way – it’s a vital aspect of your business, and it’s here to stay.
Older businessmen have to stop ignoring the computer or delegating “doing their emails” to their secretaries.
“I still type with one finger” isn’t something to be proud of any more.
Which is why whenever I discuss the POST method I talk about People twice, at the start and at the end – start with People – your audience/customers, yes. But also end with People – you and your team, who will be driving these strategies and tactics.
Thanks, Marc! I’m glad you brought up the POST technique – here’s the link for anyone interested (http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2007/12/the-post-method.html). This method is ideal once you have a clear vision in mind for your business. After defining where you want to take your business, you may just find that social media is not ideal for your organization just yet – either because your company culture is not ready or you need to focus your budget and energies in improving other areas of your business.
Great points, Marc.