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Tactics Without Strategy Is The Noise Before Defeat
January 22, 2019
While the report starts positive with 6 in 10 companies agreeing social media is very important to their overall strategy, it was alarming to then read over half of the respondents admitted yet they don't have a documented strategy. They are just winging it. And then here's where it got messy. When asked how effective social media has been for their business, 7 in 10 noted somewhat effective to ineffective. Of course they did. Because when we don't have a plan in place - we will never understand the impact (or lack thereof) made in the social space
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The headline comes from The Art of War, attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, covering the aspects of warfare and how it applies to strategy and tactics.
And it's the (critical) truth for any company who mirrors what was revealed in Buffer's recent "State of Social Media."
While the report starts positive with 6 in 10 companies agreeing social media is very important to their overall strategy, it was alarming to then read over half of the respondents admitted yet they don't have a documented strategy.
They are just winging it.
And then here's where it got messy.
When asked how effective social media has been for their business, 7 in 10 noted somewhat effective to ineffective.
Of course they did. Because when we don't have a plan in place - we will never understand the impact (or lack thereof) made in the social space.
When we jump into any new technology without an understanding of obtainable goals each platform offers, and the appropriate KPIs to align with those goals, we are wasting time and setting ourselves up for failure.
Time to make time for a written social media plan in 2019.
Start With A Mission Statement
The mission should read where it supports brand and revenue goals by development, execution and management of processes against key KPIs to ensure the essence of our brands resonates.
(I understand that reads heavy but that's the idea of a mission statement. It should read deeper than "Get lots of likes.")
Identify Obtainable Objectives
Here at Modern Luxury, in order to make the greatest impact in the quickest time, I kept to three goals:
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Monetization
Align KPIs to Objectives
- Impressions/Reach (Awareness)
- Interactions: Clicks, Views, Installs, Reactions, etc... (Consideration)
- Conversion (Monetization)
Create Social + Posting Cadence
Once objectives & KPIs are established - itemize weekly tactics, content and posting times to drive strategy and reach goals.
Cadence is a necessity pattern that elevates brand purpose by keeping us publicly focused, structured and consistent.
Content Golden Rules
Create voice filters and content buckets to ensure the content is useful.
For example - we ask:
Does the content teach, entertain or inspire?
Or
Does the content empower by making people feel included, relatable or confident?
Study; Template Or Pivot
Watch for patterns of what triggers reaction, and equally what does not.
Take note of what meets goals and template, and also what fell short.
Template is not to imply becoming predictable.
It means when we uncover what creates meaningful interaction (comments and shares), explore new ways to continue offering that content.
And pivot means stop doing what doesn't create interest.
The social space is fluid so every company's strategy must be reviewed each quarter.
But if the strategy is not documented, it's just random acts of social being deployed, with no end in mind and a lot of missed opportunities to differentiate yourself from the pack.
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