Laurel Papworth provides some very good insight into how not to execute a social media campaign. With Jeremiah Owyang providing a nice comparison with what Ford has been doing.
While focused on traditional marketing there are some clear messages for recruiters moving into social media. Firstly from Laurel:
Engagement, like all good relationships, often build slowly over time. The opposite of the short head of traditional marketing where there’s lots of activity for 4-6 weeks, quick return, then drops off/dies off quickly: social media is in the long tail, with lots of listening and discussion at the beginning and a quick seed into the community later, in the long tail. Six week stunts can only damage long term engagement campaigns. Or put it this way: social media becomes social advertising, a completely different kind of relationship.
Now Jeremiah shows us a great breakdown is your approach list a shotgun or a laser?
| Shotgun | Laser | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Hiring multiple agencies to conduct social campaigns | Building a deeper relationship with a core group of influencers |
| Similar to | Interactive Advertising, “Fishing” | Influencer Relations, ‘Friending” |
| Benefits | Efficient way to get started, identify hot spots to pursue. | Deeper relationships with core influencers who may spread word of mouth, and become brand evangelists. |
| Risks | Brand burnout on community, risk of appearing disingenuous | Spending more resources on a smaller few reduces chances of spread. |
| Costs | Inexpensive. In this case, it was 15k X 8 agenices, for a total of 120k. | Costly. Relationship marketing estimated 50-100k in agency costs. Loaning 100 economy cars at 15k each around 1.5 million. |
| Takeaway | Ideal for the company that doesn’t understand social marketing and is willing to test on their own customers. | Ideal for company that’s ready to invest time, people and money on relationships. |
So our questions to you are when you enter social media:
- What do you hope to achieve?
- Are you fishing or friending?
- Are you looking for social advertising?
- Are you looking for a long term relationship or a short buzz of activity?
Finally here is a great video from Laurel to sum it all up in 3 mins 50 seconds.
