Chris Aarons and Geoff Nelson look at failed social media campaigns and make this list of suggestions to avoid the common problems and expectations people have when embarking on social media efforts.
- Good strategy results in viral, but viral is not a strategy.
- What someone says about you is more important than what you say about yourself.
- People are already motivated to do many different things. By identifying where their motivation intersects with yours, you can avoid creating a contrived campaign. However, if you are ready and able to compensate people for their effort, the likelihood of participation goes up exponentially.
- Money isn't the best social currency; relationships and knowledge are.
- PR is great for news and launches, but social media creates the ongoing and sustained interest between news and launches.
- Buying advertising space on social media sites doesn't return a quarter of the value you could be getting. Further, the costs of the campaign drive up the ROI bar you need to justify it.
- Social media sites, people, and applications have vastly differing capabilities. Random, unplanned usage of these tactics will deliver poor results.
- Social media is a strategic amplifier for your campaign, not the entire campaign.
Via @blueeyepath on Twitter
Also check out his recent post: It Takes More Than Grit to Build a Global Village for Social Marketers at Walking the Path.
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