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Read These Seven Things, Then Don't Do Them Socially
August 21, 2012
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Being social and doing social are two very different things. "Doing social" requires no thought. "Being social" requires full time thinking that most of us in radio just don't have the time to devote as the health of the "mothership" – your station -- comes first.
But we do need to compete and be present in the social (and digital) space. So who's going to do this for you? A bunch of random people? And that's OK – but if that's your strategy - are these people really in position to be interacting with fans? Do they really think about (or even know) what matters to the folks who love your radio station?
Are you missing out on opportunities because social is just being handed off to "Bob in the marketing department" who may be applying weak efforts or just mailing it in? You're so focused (and rightfully so) on the FM/AM stick, how can you know whether your staffers are doing a strategic job of telling your brand's story socially?Here's a list to help you decide:
Cue up "The 7 Habits Of Highly Ineffective Social Brands."
- Being so enamored with yourself as a brand that you are devoid of acknowledging fans or any other meaningful interplay with them (including "clocking out" on the weekends.)
- A dismissive attitude toward the passions of your brand's fans. (Maybe no one's sure what they even are.)
- Posting random memes and content that has nothing to do with the essence of the brand, all in the hope of amassing lots of "likes."
- Using the social assets (the space we rent) to send fans away from the brand's digital assets (the space we own) by posting links that go to every website known to man – except your own website (or airwaves for that matter.)
- Allowing all kinds of different admins to post for the brand, rather than speaking in that "singular voice."
- Disrespecting the motivating factors behind why fans use each social platform and how these platforms even work internally (ex: Facebook's "Edge Rank") by forcing fans into your world rather than fitting into theirs.
- And the best one, the "I got it" attitude. It's that "I know how to 'do social' because I have my own Facebook page!"
Maybe these flawed tactics stem from the fact that there's "no cover charge" to sign in and set up social accounts. That this "free admission" lends to the misconception that being social is easy.
But it's not.The key to winning socially is putting a team in place that has maturity (folks who go beyond superficial chit chat, and just "pushing" stuff out to tell your brand's story) as well as having a servant's heart (those who carry the belief that every person counts.)
It's important that you know why social even matters at the end of the day and the right team in place can tell you.
So – take this list and maybe assess your brand's efforts. How effective (or ineffective) is your brand as a "social brand?"
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