This week’s tip is short and simple. Don’t be afraid to change directions on your social media campaign.

The bottom line is that a good social campaign cannot be treated like any other marketing campaign. A strategy developed in November, executed in February, and measured along the way is not always going to be accepted by your audience exactly as planned.

Courtesy of WikiCommons

We always talk about how important it is to measure the success of your social strategy, but the other half of that is to actually make changes to what you’re doing based on the reaction of your audience. If no one seems to care about what you’re saying, then change what your saying!

It all starts with the tip we put forth last week. Start by measuring the success of your content, then make changes to your content based on the results of those metrics.

Keep it social people!

I have plenty of “friends” and connections on social networking sites who I don’t actually know all that well or talk with on a regular basis. I’m at 598 on Facebook, 208 on LinkedIn, 165 followers on Twitter, and however many people actually bother to read my posts on the Raidious and Marketing Tech blogs.

What does this mean? Not a whole heck of a lot. Friends, connections and followers aren’t like dollars: having more doesn’t get you more of anything.

Unless you actually do something.

You can tweet all day until you’re blue in the face, share your Google Reader items (link building!) and all that jazz, but unless you get out there and make things happen all of that sharing means precisely nothing.

I am a big proponent of the idea that with a modicum of work and dedication, a person can make things happen while others are content to watch (and talk about it). In college I started out trading shows with other bands from other cities in the hardcore/post-punk scene. My band would play with bands in their city, and they would play with us here in Indianapolis.

Pretty soon, we had a great network built up. Then bigger bands I didn’t know started calling asking me to book shows for them. In a few short years I went from booking shows in people’s basements to filling small- and medium-sized bars and clubs.

Then in 2001 I got the opportunity to organize a show for the legendary band Fugazi. Long story short, with a lot of help from friends in the local community and a ton of work, we sold out a 700-capacity hall, had professional lights, sound, and security, and it was one of the highlights of my musical life.

Why did I, little old me, get the chance to do this? Because I was willing to work for it. Because I developed a reputation for being a straightforward, fair person with whom to work. Because I focused on what I cared about. Because I tried to give the city of Indianapolis experiences that it might not have ordinarily had.

Social networking sites are today’s analog of the underground/independent music scene spawned in the 70s and through its heydey in the early 2000s. People with common interests and influences connect with each other through a shared platform and experience. Some of these people are mere acquaintances, some of them may be dear friends and trusted colleagues.

By connecting with this diverse group with shared ideals, you instantly have a pool of resources you can call on. By putting in the hours and work to bring that community tangible experiences, you draw all of them closer together. And you’re engaged in the most wonderful human experience: putting something out into the world.

Organize a meet-up group. Attend a conference and actually talk with people without trying to sell them something. Volunteer to give lectures and workshops at local schools and businesses. Share yourself, not just your opinions.

“Draw a crazy picture,
write a nutty poem.
Sing a mumble-grumble song,
whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
that ain’t been there before.”

– Shel Silverstein

(I think about this poem often. I’ve reproduced it here without consent, so go buy a book or two to make up for my transgression. But these words are important to me and I really wanted to share.)

Two recent studies seem to confirm what most of us already suspected: business leaders are generally clueless about social media.

The first study, conducted by Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law, surveyed senior US marketing, management and HR executives. The executive summary and whitepaper are available at http://www.russellherder.com/SocialMediaResearch/, but some key statistics culled from the report are telling:

• 81% believe social media has the power to enhance customer and client relationships
• 81% agree it can build brand reputation
• 69% feel social networking has value in recruitment
• 64% see is as a customer service tool
• 46% feel it can enhance employee morale

There’s a giant “but.”

Despite these overall positive feelings about the intrinsic value of social media, both intra-office and from a branding and strategy standpoint:

• 51% fear social media could be detrimental to employee productivity
• 49% fear social media could damage company reputation

This reluctance to implement social media into corporate strategy has a cascading effect on HR and IT policy: less than 1/3 of respondents report that their organization has incorporated an acceptable use policy for social media, and only one in ten has conducted employee training in this regard.

To that end:

• 40% block employee social media access
• 40% are concerned about confidentiality and/or security
• 37% fear a loss of employee productivity

The other study, conducted by UberCEO.com surveyed Fortune’s 2009 list of the top 100 CEOs to discover how many were using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Wikipedia, or had a blog.

The summary and whitepaper are available at UberCEO.com, but the thumbnail sketch is telling. It seems like these results should be shocking, but somehow they’re not.

Of these 100 business leaders:

• 2 (that’s TWO) had Twitter accounts
• 19% had personal Facebook pages
• 13 had profiles on LinkedIn
• 0 (as in zero, goose-egg, nada) had a blog

It’s hardly surprising that large companies are either slow to get on board, or are often misguided when they do. Effective implementation of strategy, social media or otherwise, requires buy-in and approval from the top down.

When corporate honchos are content to remain disconnected from not just their customer base but their own employees as well, adoption of new media and methods for communicating and connecting moves at a stereotypically glacial pace.

Business leadership needs to adjust to the idea that your brand is as much what your customers say it is as what you say it is.

A quick look at my previous post bears this out: an unknown musician made a video criticizing United Airlines and proceeded to crush their limited social media efforts, and brought out all the angry torch-bearing villagers to boot.

Customer perception is a powerful thing, as the amount of money companies spend to massage public opinion demonstrates. As a business there is no sense in cutting your own legs out from under you by letting your customers have the last–or only–word.

Use that money wisely and get into the game, or sit alone in the bleachers when the team bus leaves without you.

Coming up in part two: “It’s Your Company, Now Own It.”

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