This post is contributed by LtCaezar one of Kenya’s top Online Presence and Social Media Strategy Consultancies.
The benefits of integrating social media in our organization’s communication as a strategy for better lead generation and conversion has been precisely dealt with.
You can reach LtCeazar through Twitter @LtCaezar or Facebook @ LtCaezar
Social media in your organization’s communications is a tricky affair sometimes.
Integration presents a difficult hurdle that must be dealt with tactfully. This is because communication in an organizational setup is usually regulated by policies and defined structures to follow.
Social media on the other hand is a little spontaneous and may not allow time for deliberations before replies can be issued.
This post explores various ways that an organization can go about integrating social media in their communications.
Organizations have come to love social media. A good social media team is able to easily handle customer queries and run publicity campaigns.
Advanced uses for social media in an organization may include lead generation.
At other times, social media may be called upon to do brand image repair.
When an organization is seeking to integrate social media in its broad communications plan, there are several methods they can use.
In most organizations, social media will already be under the oversight of the marketing department or the PR department.
In such a scenario, the easiest way is to develop a social media protocol that will be followed by all those who manage the social media accounts of the organization.
Such protocols will provide guidance on handling of queries and how much information can be passed to the public via social media. An escalation process should also be defined.
It should tell the social media account managers how, and where to refer issues that they cannot handle.
Reinforcement and an early warning system can be added by granting an experienced and trusted PR manager access to the social media accounts.
The PR manager will immediately be notified as the first step of escalation.
He or she will look at the issue and determine if it was handled professionally.
The manager can also make decisions on whether to raise the matter with higher-up decision makers.
In some cases, the PR manager can easily resolve the matter.
Sometimes, an occasional peek by the PR manager into the goings on of the social media department can avert a disaster in its early stages.
Some organizations find it better to work with social media agencies for their PR.
The in-house social media team only handles matters relating to marketing and customer service. That is a tricky path that must be treaded carefully.
Agencies may not have a single person dedicated to your social media account.
If they have one, you do not know how many other accounts they are handling and splitting attention with. There is also the risk of replication of strategies and tactics.
One last thing you should know about social media integration in an organization’s communications is the need for adequate information.
The problem with social media which makes organizations afraid of venturing that way is that; a question can come in through social media and be directed at any level of management.
For this reason, the social media team needs to be constantly updated of the developments and operations of the organization.
This is information ranging from the latest campaign, to the reason why the organization scrapped an old product.
When social media integration in your organization’s communication department is handled in such a systematic and professional manner, you can be sure to become a success story.
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