Integrating Social Media Into the Mix

Any social media strategy worth its salt is a nod to Aristotle’s Metaphysics: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” By shunning silos, social media can (and should) be integrated with traditional media, email, direct and mobile marketing efforts.

Think about it (Image: Light Chaos by Kevin Dooley). Customers, donors or any other stakeholder group receives information from a wide variety of sources. It’s the classic Positioning conundrum, where every media outlet from blogs, wikis and socnets to TV, newspapers and radio are battling for attention. In most cases, that attention has grown calloused to single touches from any organization, and from any one particular place.

At the same time, contrary to the way many discussions online could be perceived, social media alone cannot affect the kind of results organizations need. To win, most organizations need to pursue an integrated approach across diverse media. It’s flash back to the 80s and 90s when integrated marketing communications was all the rage.

A holistic strategy can help achieve communications objectives by allowing for cross-pollination amongst those who consumer multiple media. The person who only watches TV or surfs blogs is a rare one indeed. It will ensure that your community receives multiple touches in multiple mediums – the crux of your efforts to “Ask, Thank and Inform” stakeholders.

Companies have been doing this for a while now. Remember all of those great TV ads showing or even featuring social media? Doritos anyone?

These are the few basic “musts” for fluid integration within social media:

Ensuring overarching value proposition and related communications are available in social web when dialogue naturally permits

Cross-promotion of URLS and calls-to-action through web, mobile and print media for giving, tell-a-friend, webinars, etc.

Spotlight third party coverage from blogs in the press room

Advertising: Word of mouth is buoyed by advertising, so social media efforts should be tied to ad campaigns for print, online and keyword marketing. “Connect on Facebook” and other similar calls-to-action should start becoming common aspects of your ad campaigns.

Public relations: Integrating willing online influencers as part of your outreach is essential.

Emails: Any email sent from an organizational property should also include a call-to-action for the social web. Think about this: People reading email are already online.

Website: Prominent first screenview promotion of social media properties needs to be developed for the 1.0 site. We recommend a clean badge or clearly delineated text.

Cross promotion of social web activities. Badges should link to a portal site that unites all of your social media properties (once you develop them). Then use the portal as the home page and calls-to-action site for all online activity. Seem www.gmnext.com for an example.

Qui Diaz contributed content to this post.

One Response to "Integrating Social Media Into the Mix

Marmie Edwards Says:

Absolutely. It’s the mix of social media tactics, traditional media and PR theory/strategies that will win the day. Good job. Love the site! Marmie Edwards

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