Social Media Is A Journey, Not A Destination

Every so often in my job or during my consulting gigs, I stumble upon the same problem over and over again – social media is perceived as a destination and not a journey. Businesses want to be on social media and for many of them it is still enough just to have a page on LinkedIn and Facebook or a profile on Instagram and Twitter set up.

Important things like an editorial calendar, topics’ variety, hashtags, and own voice are rarely included in the planning process. They seem to be either an afterthought or even something not to worry about at all. And this is where, in most cases, the effort breaks.

Very much as it is in life, communication goes both ways. If John Smith stays at home all the time and gets out only once in a while, chances are that he does not have that many friends or people who care much about what he is up to. A business with inactive or rarely active social media presence tends to be just as asocial as John is.

We are long past the moment when a Facebook page was regarded simply as a business card or a second informational business website. The consumer and larger public expect to see communication, response to questions, and complaints and problems being solved.

Return on investment coming from a business’ social media effort rarely strikes gold, unless there are a longterm vision, persistence, and hard work being involved. We have come to a point where it is mandatory to assign this task to an employee or a team within the organisation.

Often, I am being told that the business fears negative feedback or cannot afford a dedicated resource to focus on social media. The former is going to be there with or without the company being on social media. The latter might be a challenge for very small organisations but is not an excuse for larger ones.

One of the consumer journey touchpoints is indeed social media. Humans share their experiences and build conversations, opinions, and buying inclinations on those very channels. If you are not there and in an adequate manner, you are just not covering the field in a place where it matters to be. And this is a missed opportunity.

The social media journey is ever-evolving. It is good to have a destination in mind, but once you reach it, I bet you another level will set before your eyes.

Copyright © 2018 Borislav Kiprin. All Rights Reserved.