Social Media (if done correctly) is a Full Time Job

Marni Weinberg - August 1, 2013

Social Media continues to rapidly evolve. With a multitude of channels available, it can be difficult for businesses to keep up, let alone choose where to dedicate their time, resources and energy. It was not long ago, when companies had to be “convinced” that there were genuine benefits of social media and that a Facebook and /or Twitter company page was a legitimate opportunity to grow their business or brand.

Fast forward to the present; those two channels (or at least one of the two) have essentially become the standard. Today – if a company says they are doing Social Media, it is a safe assumption that they have a Facebook Page and likely Twitter, as well. Sure, there are some savvy businesses that not only see the value (and sheer necessity) of social media, they do it well and are active on multiple channels: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube, Pinterest, etc.  Then there are those who feel as though Facebook and/or Twitter are more than enough to maintain.  Whichever category you fit into, social media requires a considerable amount of time and dedication. Here a few critical components to keep in mind when it comes to ongoing social media maintenance, whether you have just one active channel or many:

• A well thought out plan/strategy as to how you will present your company via social media is super important. You certainly don’t want to just throw up an unprofessional looking Facebook page and begin posting random things here and there. In addition, you want to make an educated decision on how you will respond to your audience for both positive, as well as negative comments. This is very important.

• Dedicating the necessary resources to each channel is crucial. There are few things worse than a channel that has remained stale and inactive for months. This is a surefire way of losing the interest and loyalty (“followers” & “likes” in social media terms) of your audience. You want them engaged and paying attention. Your posts should be timely and relevant to your industry.

• Not every channel is for every company and what makes perfect sense for one may not make much, if any, sense for another. Become knowledgeable and well versed on the channel(s) your company decides to engage in.

• If your company is new to social media, it is advisable to start off slowly, perhaps with one (to two) channels at a time. This will help to ensure that you are not taking on more than you can chew, so to speak. Additional channels can always be added in the future.

Take a peak at a business to consumer brand that is doing an excellent job with their social media channels. Just a few of their active channels are listed below:

lululemon Twitter
lulelemon Facebook
lululemon Pinterest

In addition, they responded very well during a major PR crisis back in March, which garnered a ton of negative posts, tweets, press, etc.

Social media truly is a full time job and requires ongoing maintenance and monitoring. Seriously.  Go big or go home.