Three years ago Business Week published an article warning companies that they need to start blogging. This week the company has updated the story to tell its readers it is not just about blogging but about YouTube and Twitter and everything else that comprises Social Media. The key message, however, is the same:
Catch up…or catch you later.
If you are reading this entry, you know we at LP&P couldn't agree more. But if you haven't started adding social media activities to your marketing and communications mix, we aren't surprised. Many companies we speak with are overwhelmed and don't know where to start. Not surprisingly, when we go into speak to a company about their PR needs, they tell us that the other agencies' approach to social media is to tell them they need to launch a blog, ASAP.
Our approach is different. We believe that before a company embarks on any social media activities it has to answer the same types of questions that you would about any communications activity -- who are you trying to influence, what are you trying to communicate and where is the best place to reach them? From there we make recommendations for activities that will get you started right away. Launching a blog will probably be part of it but other activities will occur sooner. For some companies, their first step is to provide all their marketing and communications folks with an overview of social media fundamentals, the tools and techniques available to them, and examples of how similar companies have leveraged them. My colleague Ted Weismann has conducted several of these for clients and prospects and the feedback is outstanding.
I wonder how many marketing folks will be getting a ping from their bosses about moving forward on their social media strategy? Right now it is the number one article being emailed from the Business Week site.
