Every association needs a Social Media Toolbox equipped with a Social Media Policy and a Social Media Strategy. Without these essential tools, you will not be able to build a healthy, effective online presence.
Before you send your team out into the world of Web 2.0 with nails and not a hammer, use these tips to construct a Social Media Strategy.
Listen.
Listening to social media means getting an idea of what is being said about your organization or similar organizations. This can easily be done by setting up Google Alerts for keywords that are important to your association’s mission and goals. Google Alerts can send you notifications through email or through Google Reader. Also searching for keywords or hashtags (pre-selected phrases prefixed with a # sign, usually used for a specific event) on Twitter can produce real-time search results.
Identify the gaps in content that you can fill.
In addition to seeing what is being said about your organization, work towards understanding what your members and potential members desire from online communities and content. Many Twitter users will pose questions to their followers asking for advice on selecting a service or product, or to finding a solution to a problem.
Get to know the communities and how to interact.
Before you jump into a forum or on a social networking site, it’s best to learn the ropes. Get a feel for how people interact because it is different from one social media site to another.
Establish goals.
Besides setting goals for social media, consider how the interaction fits into the association’s communication strategy and goals. Identify if and how social media is contributing to building awareness, developing relationships with members and distributing valuable content.
Check out our newest edition of WhiteSpace about measuring ROI from social media efforts.
Distribute your social media policy.
Don’t have one? Check out our blog post on creating a social media policy for your association.
Go to town.
Finally, you can add content. But, only valuable content that fits within the association’s social media policy and strategy.
Review, adapt and repeat.
Regular reviews of how social media is affecting your association’s communication efforts is a must. Use some of the tools listed on our comprehensive guide to social media metrics and ask users how they are enjoying the online experiences to get a well-rounded view of how to adapt.
Tags: ROI for Social Media, social media, Tools for Social Media