If every piece of your company is moving in their own direction, you can be sure of one thing: as a whole, none of you will be moving forward.
The key to a successful social media strategy for any organization is internal alignment and a clear vision, says Adrian Parker, VP of Digital Marketing at Patrón.
“Without an audience, there is no brand. And without alignment, there is no business. Internal alignment is just as important as getting the wins outside the organization.”
— Adrian Parker
External social media wins are not as impactful for the entire company or organization, if the rest of the business doesn’t know about them, believe in them, and support them. And especially if they are not ready to benefit from them.
Social media impacts all segments of the modern business.
Here are three steps that will help you start internal alignment that leads to more impactful social media success. These tips are talked about often, but rarely executed well across a company.
- Establish The Value Of Social Media To Your Team
This is big picture thinking — your team needs to understand how social media is incorporated into the greater business strategy. Show them how social media moves your business and why it is an important vehicle for success.
Parker explains, “Social media [must be] translated from a thermometer, which was reacting to the environment, to a thermostat. It is a business driver setting the pace of change.”
Your team needs to understand that social media is no longer nice to have but rather a need to have.
- Construct A Clear Vision
Everyone wants a piece of the social media pie. Human Resources might use LinkedIn for talent acquisition; customer service will use it for support; marketing uses it for, well, marketing.
Is your team on the same page about how the business plans to use social media to press forward? Do they know what your final destination is? Create a clear vision and share it with your team. Nobody will get on the bus if the driver himself doesn’t know the route.
Everyone in the business has a point of view about social. It’s your job to set them moving on the same path. “Leadership is plural. You can have many leaders. Vision is singular. You need to own your vision.”
- Create A Plan To Move Forward
Finally, work with your team to build a roadmap that will help you move toward your vision together. This is internal alignment.
And don’t forget, everyone goes off course on occasion. But that’s okay. Social media success requires the allowance of failure along the way.
“When you give your team permission to fail, you are giving them tools to succeed.”
Written by Jason Keath
Originally posted on socialfresh.com
