How NOT to Run a Social Media Campaign

Social media continues to get a lot of attention — and justifiably so. It’s the biggest, most complex, most dynamic change to happen in marketing since the invention of television in 1923. (In case you’re wondering, yes, TV was invented in 1923, but it didn’t take off in the U.S. until the early 1950s.)SmilyFace

With all the stuff going on in Social Media, it’s not surprising that people are making plenty of mistakes. With that in mind, we’ve decided to compose a list of how NOT to run a Social Media campaign.

  1. Don’t upload a corporate YouTube video and claim you “have a Social Media campaign.” Social Media is about a conversation, not about uploading a YouTube video.
  2. Don’t sit on the sidelines. As 60 Second Marketer visitor Ruby Gottlieb once said, “In order to understand Social Media, you have to use Social Media.”
  3. Don’t downplay the importance of Social Media. We can all agree that Social Media is a bit over-hyped right now. But don’t discount it. It ain’t going away and if you think it’s just a fad, you’re wrong.
  4. Don’t think you can do Social Media in 10 minutes a day. That would be like thinking you can have a relationship with your spouse by having a 10 minute conversation each day. Trust me, that doesn’t work.
  5. Don’t think that Social Media is only about YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Again, Social Media is about having a conversation and there are plenty of channels to have a conversation in.
  6. Don’t assume Social Media can’t be measured in very real terms. In an upcoming online seminar, we’ll show you how to set up, run and measure a social media campaign. Yes, it can be done. And we’ll show you how. (As soon as we get finished writing the darn thing.)
  7. Don’t forget that Social Media is about Mobile Media, too. The impact of Mobile Media will continue to grow. This year is the year of Social Media. Next year is the year of Mobile Media. Remember to integrate your Social Media campaign into the Mobile Media world.
  8. Don’t think that Social Media is like traditional marketing. Traditional marketing was a one-way street. Social Media is a two-way street. As such, be sure to participate in the conversation. Leave blog comments, Re-Tweet interesting content, comment on someone’s Facebook page. Connect!
  9. Don’t think Social Media will sell itself. Oh, sure, Social Media is so hot now that even your CEO knows about it. But there are still people who will need to be convinced of its value. You’ll need to consistently sell them on the value of Social Media, especially if the person you’re convincing has CFO in their title.
  10. Don’t think you can run a Social Media campaign from a silo. Social Media is about engagement across many platforms. Remember that and keep on rocking.

We’ve watched a lot of people jump into the Social Media fray over the past year or so. They’re the brave ones who were the first to dive in. Now, you can use your “fast follower” strategy to learn from their mistakes and jump in right along with them.

This is only a partial list. Are there any mistakes you’d like to add? If so, let us know. Our readers would like to see them.

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Time Saturday, August 29th, 2009, 3:13 am   |   CategorySocial Media  |  RssRSS feed |  CommentRespond  |  TrackbackTrackback

View Comments to “How NOT to Run a Social Media Campaign”

    
  1. Steve
    August 30, 2009 at 10:13 am

    A pet peeve from this editor: remember that the term “social media” is plural. So it’s “social media are about mobile media, too.” Singular is “medium,” such as; “YouTube is a popular social medium.”

  2. Jamie Turner
    August 30, 2009 at 10:47 am

    Excellent point, Steve! Point well-taken. Thanks for reminding me of that — I should’ve caught that. Next step — to remember that “social media” is plural, and to work on all the darn typos that sometimes slip into my posts (a pet peeve of mine).

    Thanks again for the reminder. From this point on, I’ll say “Social Media are…”

    Best,
    Jamie

  3. Shelly Kramer
    August 30, 2009 at 11:16 am

    Thanks Jamie, for the excellent post! All great thoughts. As someone who spends each and every day convincing clients to integrate social media into their marketing strategy, I’m with you all the way. And Steve, thanks for the reminder. I’m a grammar freak and even I often forget the plurality of the word. Way to go!

  4. Jamie Turner
    August 30, 2009 at 4:44 pm

    It looks as though all three of us have two things in common — social media and an appreciation for good writing/grammar. Hah!

    Good catching up with y’all.

    – Jamie

  5. Karin
    August 30, 2009 at 9:25 pm

    timely, Jamie. Getting ready to lead a social media panel this week with heavyhitters on it, like MNN’s social media VP…
    thanks!
    Karin

  6. Jamie Turner
    August 31, 2009 at 9:03 am

    Hi, Karin — Good luck with the panel discussion this week. I’m sure you’ll knock it out of the park! Best, Jamie

  7. Nicole Voigt
    August 31, 2009 at 3:20 pm

    Great tips!

    As a new online software company we are busy using and discovering the value that social media creates for companies. I appreciate the emphasis you’ve placed on how this form of marketing is a two-way-street and that the point is to built relationships, not just try to instantly sell your product to your potential customers.

  8. Jamie Turner
    August 31, 2009 at 4:45 pm

    Thanks, Nicole. You’re correct — Social Media is about a CONVERSATION, not about a sales pitch. Thanks for your kind comments. See you, Jamie

  9. Ann Pruitt
    September 3, 2009 at 1:38 am

    You mean “Social Media ARE about a conversation….” ; ) As a grammatical point, I wonder how long it will take before the language comes to formally accept “social media” to mean a singular concept, rather than the plural of more than one medium.

  10. E.G. Sebastian
    September 3, 2009 at 11:14 am

    Yes… Social media is more than uploading videos and spending 1O-minutes on faceBook or LinkedIn…

    I tend to either be in “addicted mode” and spend hours daily on LinkedIn and some other social sites, or I swing in the other extreme and neglect all the social media all together.

    It’s hard to find the right balance and do it in a way to see some financial return on our time investment.

  11. Daniel Keller
    September 3, 2009 at 11:38 am

    Grammar policing aside, I think people tend to overlook the fact that what the media has branded as “social media” has actually been around as long as (and even before) the internet.

    In the web’s neanderthal era (1980s) I, and many other people, presided over newsgroups and forums…online communities comprised of people who interacted with conversations on topics of mutual interest.

    In the ’90s and early ’00s, we had (and still have) online forums….again, communities of people engaging in social interaction in online groups dedicated to a particular topic.

    The only real difference between that and what we have today is in the numbers…far more people, far wider dissemination, and much more broad-based topics. Fundamentally, there’s little difference between a bunch of music geeks or poodle enthusiasts chatting online in a Compuserve or Prodigy forum in 1986, and a bunch of people in a Facebook page or on Yelp doing the same thing.

  12. Jamie Turner
    September 3, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    All great points from everyone. Thank you so much for participating in the conversation. I’m humbled by your engagement and your participation in the conversation. Thank you.

    E.G., I’ve been to your website(s). When are you going to write an article or a guest post for the 60 Second Marketer? It looks like you have a lot to share. You can visit our “Submit Content” page here: http://tinyurl.com/mvc2se

    Daniel, it looks as though you’d have a lot to share, too, especially since you’ve been around since the neanderthal era. Hah! (And yes, I do remember CompUServe.) What are your thoughts on “today’s” social media? We’d love for you to share those with our readers as well.

    Again, take a spin through our “Submit Content” page and you’ll find our writer’s guidelines. http://tinyurl.com/mvc2se

    Or, you can reach me directly at Jamie (dot) Turner (at) 60 Second Markerter (dot) com.

    Thanks,
    Jamie

  13. System22
    October 2, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    Social media allows individuals to gain exposure and interact with other professionals in a particular field. Great networking resource!

  14. Jamie Turner
    October 4, 2009 at 8:54 pm

    Thanks for the good input, System22. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at all the chatter this post has created. The power of social media, eh?

    Best,
    Jamie Turner

  15. Keith Franco
    December 14, 2009 at 6:26 am

    As always – good, useful stuff Jamie!

  16. Florence Dujardin
    January 8, 2010 at 7:53 am

    Hi Jamie
    Though this blogpost is probably old hat for you, I just discovered it and think it’s full of great ideas. I proceed to ‘translate’ it for an educational context and found that your precepts work pretty well unchanged. See the result at: http://afdujardin.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/how-not-to-use-social-media-in-education/
    Best
    Florence

  17. Jamie Turner
    January 8, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    Hi, Florence —

    Thanks for your kind comments about the post. And thanks for re-purposing the original post — we love it when our readers do that!

    Here’s a link to an article on the 60 Second Marketer called “How to Measure a Social Media Campaign.” It’ll give you the top 10 ways to measure the success of your campaign:

    http://60secondmarketer.com/Social

    Enjoy!

    Best,
    Jamie Turner

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