Here’s something older but especially relevant in this time of continued growth in social media marketing. Most online marketers know it’s from a post by Josh Bernoff called “The POST Method: A systematic approach to social strategy” at Forrester Research, Inc. I include it here for my own benefits, and maybe for those who reads my blog.
P is People. Don’t start a social strategy until you know the capabilities of your audience. If you’re targeting college students, use social networks. If you’re reaching out business travelers, consider ratings and reviews. Forrester has great data to help with this, but you can make some estimates on your own. Just don’t start without thinking about it.
O is objectives. Pick one. Are you starting an application to listen to your customers, or to talk with them? To support them, or to energize your best customers to evangelize others? Or are you trying to collaborate with them? Decide on your objective before you decide on a technology. Then figure out how you will measure it.
S is Strategy. Strategy here means figuring out what will be different after you’re done. Do you want a closer, two-way relationship with your best customers? Do you want to get people talking about your products? Do you want a permanent focus group for testing product ideas and generating new ones? Imagine you succeed. How will things be different afterwards? Imagine the endpoint and you’ll know where to begin.
T is Technology. A community. A wiki. A blog or a hundred blogs. Once you know your people, objectives, and strategy, then you can decide with confidence.
Still very wise words.
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Tags: Inbound Marketing, post, social marketing, Social Media, social media marketing, social network, social networks, social strategy, strategy
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