10 Communications Objectives of Social Media

I think this list is interesting, but I think with the exception of #10, these are general objectives for PR and marketing. I think one that may be missing is educate (which could be a little bit of a crossover with #8), but I think education is a big part of it.

Thanks for sharing!

I think this is a perfect example of how social media blurs the marketing/PR line. A marketer is interested in pushing a message. A PR person is tasked with building relationships. The "good will" you're seeking is a key component - brands engaging and understanding their consumers. This is why PR plays an important role in social media adoption for brands.

I think your list is a fairly comprehensive one. However, whats missing is market research. It's an invaluable tool for finding out where your brand stands within the marketplace and for gaining insight that could possibly lead to new products/services, or a change in marketing strategy.

Chris,
These 10 are interesting in that they all sound like they are pointing out. None of these reflect ideas like:
* listening to the marketplace
* learning from peers, partners, customers
* responding to customer inquiries
Maybe I'm missing his #10, but these all sound like old-style marketing 101 to me.
ahg3

Hi Chris,
This list seems to be a mixture of tactical and more strategic objectives so not sure I would put them together in that way. But I think it's a good simple start to summarizing how marketing folks use social media. One thing that was missing is using it as a market research tool - I find social media a perfect medium, if you can call it that, for gathering feedback from the market - prospects and customers, that can be used in a number of ways.
--Amrita

I think douglas covers all of the bases with his categories if you read his definitions.

He labels community goodwill the very dry "Establish/Regain Trust". Being a branding guy, I'd rather call it something a little sexier like "flashlight". Social media helps you shine a light on cool people, ideas, products and events.

I think the list skews too old school and misses a great deal of what's different about social media. Listening. Relationships. Helping people buy what they want to buy. Providing good service.

I really feel like the list just points out that the "canon" of "what to do" in MarCom can be done in social media, while missing a large % of the value that social media can adds because of its unique characteristics.

This is a great list for marketing AT customers. It will work in traditional companies working with traditional frameworks and structures.

However, a business will not succeed "organically" within the social media sphere unless there is someone within the organization who can translate 20th century marketing speak into 21st century execution.

Social Media is more than marketing At, it is listening (being marketed To) and activating (marketing With). There is more to Social Media than this list, though it is a great start.

Hey Chris, I agree with you. It's a good list but missing some of the key items that distinguish social media from old-school marketing. This list is heavy on "company-out" or one-way communication and the associated metrics vs. the two-way communications (i.e.,conversations) that can and should be created through the use of social media. I'd add listening, learning, and idea generation to this list in addition to generating goodwill as you mentioned.

Interesting list.

My question would be where does "Drive Traffic" and "Product Launch" fit in the category of "Communications Objectives of Social Media".

I tend to agree with Arthur Germain. It looks like Douglas Walker is trying the mix the old with the new, or perhaps he has not completely grasped the real concept of "Social Media" yet.

Well some more things to think about possibly.

Walker lays out a nice clear cut plan. It is kind of plan that you could safely take to a CEO or a Board of Directors at any corporation. It would tell them in a quantitative way exactly what they would get for the campaign you had in mind. For a marketer whose budget or proposal is on the line it might be better to be quantitative when you layout your proposal...especially if you want the Glengarry leads.

Fact is it is hard to quantify "good will". It is time consuming to build true affinity within a community. Often companies don't want to go to those lengths. They want clear cut results. They want to "set and forget" a campaign.

Which is too bad because affinity allows you more than just the ability to market to a group of people. It allows you to be part of the community. For me it is the difference between leaving a sign on the front lawn and being invited in for dinner.

I have to agree with the first poster. The list leaves a lot to be desired (it's mixing action-based steps with objectives with customer pain/solution development - these are all much less serial and more organic in social strategy, and it's completely lacking business strategy, to which ALL of this should be tied - WHY ARE YOU DOING A SOCIAL NETWORK?), though more of a starting point than a Bible (I mean, are these THE 10 things? I don't think so).

Also, there's nothing particularly social-media specific about this list.

So coming wy out of left field, with this list I feel like I'm watching a rerun of Hogan's Heros and Col. Klinck is telling all the inmates that they will eat the meal and they will like it. Meanwhile the escape tunnel keeps progressing...

Chris -

Great list - however I would still have to put "Improve Conversion Ratios" somewhere in that list.

It still comes down to increasing ROI.

The marketers I know (many) are not very good yet at social marketing. Is anyone? The best they know is to put themselves out there and let the magic happen.

"Influence the Influencers" reminds me of a technique Internet Marketers (IM) use to sell to their lists. In IM the list is king, not the content. The products don't have to be that good since the guys and gals making money all have lists that "will do anything I want" as I heard one say. The Influencers have very large lists and they will help you promote your new product, usually at 50% of the price.

They are a clickish bunch who circle the wagons when threatened. As long as there are hungry newbies who are desperate to make money, the IM folks will do very well.

Typical marketing speak... This list seems so cold, rigid and impersonal. It turns marketing into a dehumanizing and self-serving activity.

It's marketing advice like this that makes me want to remove myself from the marketing scene and transition away from being a marketing coach.

I love what you wrote: "whatever one might call it when you’re not trying to sell, but instead are just proving that you’re a contributing human."

I have resisted caving in to purchasing "social media marketing" info products (oh that enticing copy), because I don't want to do it the "right way." I don't care if I don't make tons of money using social media. I don't care if I don't get X new clients per month. I don't care if social media increases my mailing list of not.

That's not why I use social media. My posts would be as cold as this list...

It's called SOCIAL media, but it seems like most marketing "gurus" are forgetting to teach the basics of "social"izing: interaction, relationships, pleasant companionship, humanity, associating, concern, (and dare I say) sympathy and frailty.

I'm no "6-figure" expert, so maybe I'm doing this all wrong, but my entire approach to marketing using social media is to let people see the real me and hear my voice. I'm a real person dealing with the same issues as everyone else. I'm a human full of imperfections. I'm approachable and accessible.

At first, I thought I could use my blog to accomplish that, and I do self-disclose to some extent on my blog, but I certainly don't want to bore my readers with posts about my personal life. Social media allows me to share snippets of my personal life as well as my personality, thoughts and activities on a regular basis (many times per day as opposed to a few blog posts a week).

I'm so sick of being talked at and sold to on social networking sites, that I have majorly cleaned up my "friends" lists, have left groups and have unsubbed from countless mailing lists.

If you're going over such a checklist before posting on social media sites, you'll come off as talking at, instead of talking with.

It's time to stop trying so hard to snag the next sale or grow your mailing list. If what you have to say is intelligent, human and even a little imperfect, you will endear people (maybe even clients) to you...

Again, those are just my thoughts as a (soon not to be) marketing coach and maybe that's why I'm not making 6-figures yet... If wild success depends on meeting these 10 objectives then I'm out. The price is too high. I'd rather be poor and happy, than to be known as pushy, annoying, disingenuous and opportunistic.

Thanks for opening the conversation on this topic... As you can tell, I'm quite passionate (and opinionated) about it!!

I think one of the most obvious is missing. Many average users are engaged in social media to have an experience. It's as simple as that. This is where marketers miss out; you don't have to convince these users to listen to you to in order to influence them. Just help them have the experience they want in the context of the medium.

In other words, participation for participation's sake can still be a marketing goal.

I intended to comment before reading Christina Favreau's response, but find myself echoing her sentiment.

This list is surely a representation of commercial ideals, but I'm struck by how it's empty of any sort of social awareness, of what moves individuals to act.

Perhaps that's the thing about mere careerism and mere mercenary opportunism: it doesn't challenge neo-realist myths and fictions. That would explain how that attitude spreads like kudzu.

"Don't be lucid and ironic. People will turn that against you saying, 'Ah-ha, you see? I told you he wasn't a nice person!'" --Albert Camus

And yet I can help thinking that real entrepreneurship is more responsive to actual human motives. (I mean beyond primitive self-interest.)

Yes, the above is a list of traditional marketing goals. It does not encompass the benefits of Web 2.0 community to marketing such as
A. User feedback for product/service improvement
B. Improve customer service with rapid feedback and response
C. Public relations / build goodwill (similar to their #10 Establish Trust)
D. Also as part of Establish Trust: Humanizing the company (such as by having an executive blog)
E. Market trend analysis and use as a bell weather to identify emerging markets
F. Recruitment and search for opportunities
G. Enablement: build a community where customers build stronger businesses by enabling one-another when they share best practices, news, insight, and strategies.
H. Build a larger presence on the web with searchable content with the addition of blogs, microblogs, social media & wikis (which can be used to #1 Generate Awareness, or for customer enablement/education)
I. A new way to accomplish their #6 Positive Association: Show the use of Web 2.0 functions to demonstrate the hipness of the company (For example: include links to Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, and a whole list bookmark sites on press releases, wikis, and blogs.)

Some of these are decidedly more applicable to B2B such as recruitment, enablement, and education.

The only one that heavily counts to me is #9.

#9 pays the bills.

Great post. Alas, it applies to XX century marketing.

The single most important communication goal of social media today is to change the medium (as in 'the medium is the message').

We write too much (people don't read websites); we design too predictably (we're victims of trends).

We still use the same language and props belonging to traditional media, whilst the tools in web 2.0 are crying out for new devices and new forms - those applicable and efficient in the next foreseeable future.

Let's catch up.

What amazes me is not the amount of content you're able to produce, but that you're able to come up with so many ideas for content to produce.

I think there is one very important missing objective: Interaction

Without interaction, two, three or a million engaged in any particular conversation about anything or anyone there is no "market development", learning,attraction, gains or losses.

The give and take of social media is in the conversational exchanges which help identify wants, needs, issues and preferences about anything and everything.

Just my two sense. Interaction is the primary value component

Social media is about engaging people in conversations through various platforms. When people participate and understand they have a voice where their thoughts/opinions are valued, the objectives Douglas lists can then be accomplished. The missing piece, however, is consumer engagement.

To answer your question: No. These goals do not make sense as it relates to how I interact through social media. Oversimplifyng, marketing is about product/service; communications is about information; and public relations is about building relationships. This list reminds me to what I call the Wizard of Oz approach to marketing and it doesn't work for me; I like marketing efforts through social media and I am open to marketer's creativity, but it has to be all about what happens to the wizard behind the curtain. :)

I'd have to say that this list is pretty representative of how I have leveraged social media in the past. The above comment (yes, definitely oversimplified :-) ) notes that, "Public Relations is about building relationships". But what if your product is relational? I work for a ministry that is very relationship oriented. Discipleship is at the heart of our ministry model, and oversimplified -- relationships are our product.

Social Media is not just PR, Marketing or Communications. For me social media has become a ministry method in and of itself.

In spite of all the guides and lists, I think I usually just write something on my blog, or "Digg" something, or comment on your blog and others' blogs, when I have something nice to share or when I want or need some feedback, or just as a way of sharing a bit of myself in a public arena. For a person who is by nature very private, this really illustrates the magic of social media - the ability to draw out some who might otherwise be "lurkers".

Others have said this as well but I will throw my two cents in. Relationship is missing from the list. However, relationship is more of a "how" we do it than a "what" we do. I think the list is good for listing the what. Social media is largely about the how.

Traditional sales folks in my space often will try to get everyone to buy. Part of my sales model is to help the buyer decide what he/she wants or needs and how I can help. Sometimes the best way for me to help is to help them see that they need some sort of other service or product. If I can help people figure this stuff out and give them a solution, even if it is elsewhere, I have built a relationship that will last for a long time.

Sure, I'd love to have the money, but in the long run it is helping people that is most valuable and worthwhile.

The goals listed in the post are not bad ones and are not even in conflict with social media. It's all about how we approach it and use the newer tools to do the things that we need to do anyway.

Great post, Chris. And, the 10 listed are all approaches that companies take with their marketing efforts. This list applies to social media, traditional media, electronic media, etc. However, I tend to take a KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) approach to most things and marketing is no exception. There are really only Two marketing objectives:

1) To get a specific target to DO something within a timeframe
2) To get a specific target to believe something

Every marketing goal can be traced back to the above. And, once you break a campaign down to it's simplest form, it becomes measurable and trackable.

1. Communicate.
2. Collaborate.
3. Connect.
4. Create.
5. Consider.
6. Cooperate.
7. Compare.
8. Converse.
9. Compel.
10. Confide.

All leading to the big "C": CHANGE.

Wow. You sure had your opinions. : ) Glad you're all here. That's the proof to the pudding, eh?

This is interesting as I am in the middle of launching our business into the social media arena and justifying (to myself) why it is worth the time and effort. The list posted is very traditional and should be part of most every campaign. My rational includes:
-Thought Leadership
-Industry Alighnment
-Networking
-Lead Generation (yes sell more goods and services)

Gaining trust is huge. Without trust you really do not have anything.

You didn't ask me to change the structure of the list, Chris, so I will. I haven't seen Douglas' link yet, but if I kept the same steps, I'd re-arrange them as follows for social media:

ORIGINAL
1. Generate awareness.
2. Drive Trial.
3. Product Launch.
4. Establish Need/Want
5. Product/Service Comparison.
6. Positive Association.
7. Form/Change Opinion.
8. Influence the Influencers.
9. Drive Action/Traffic.
10. Establish/Regain Trust.

NEW
1. Establish Need/Want
2. Drive Trial
3. Form/Change Opinion
4. Product Launch
5. Product/Service Comparison
6. Positive Association
7. Generate awareness.
8. Drive Action/Traffic
9. Establish/Regain Trust
10. Influence the Influencers (which may not be necessary)

I chatted with Doug about this list when he first posted this back in May. It's a good, well thought-out list (although it does seem impersonal, especially when you boil it down to 10 quick bullets from his original post). What I like about Doug's approach (if you read the original post) is that he acknowledges that we're not going to find "one metric to rule them all." Social media isn't a single tool or approach and different measurements will be necessary to measure different ways of using it.

The area where I would differ from Doug's take is that I would put more emphasis on the relationship and trust-building side of things -- seeing it as more of a two-way effort and less top-down. I think that's a common difference between marketers and communications folks.

@Dave - and yes, I think it's out of context a bit in my questioning, but that was somewhat intentional. I'm not slamming Doug in any sense. I think the list is interesting. Instead, I'm thinking about it in the deeply abstract sense. What is two way media about?

List sucks. Sounds like lists from twenty years ago and totally ignores, as you point out, the role of audience/customers in product development. To me, the best use of social media is to find out what your market really needs, so you can evolve your product or service to satisfy that need. Then all the rest "just" happens.

@dave fleet - 'two way media' is only possible in direct communication, e.g. sender and receiver, speaker and hearer.

Social media is (mostly) the constraint-free link between one (individual, enterprise) and thousands (or millions) of recipients.

How you measure their response is a different matter altogether.

@rapella - I respectfully disagree, although I don't think our perspectives are too far apart. If you look at what Dell is doing (to use the obvious example), the company (which has a global reach) is connecting with individuals - through blog comments, through Twitter and so on.

I do agree that there are plenty of effective one-to-many approaches (and Dell's blogs are an example) but I think to write-off the more personalized applications is a mistake.

At what point does the company re-evaluate their product/ service based on consumer/fan reactions and feedback? As far as I can see you didn't mention that...

@Casey - I'm not sure. Might be a great question for Lionel Menchaca from Dell. He's on Twitter ( @lionelatDELL). I bet he'd have a great answer.

Rather than defining the communication objectives of social media, I turned the tables and asked myself how can social media be used to achieve marketing's objectives? So starting with an old article on Forbes.com entitled "Who needs a CMO Anyway?" comes this list: (slightly shortened)

"... CMO responsibilities should include:

-- Ensuring the company's products and services are in tune with consumer demand. ... a CMO should be the representative of the customer within the C-suite.

-- Directing new product development and ensuring the continuing appeal of existing offerings. ...This means no more resources wasted on products that customers don't have a reason to choose over the competition.

-- Marketing communications. To those who equate marketing with advertising, this is often seen as the primary CMO function. Marketing communications certainly are part of the CMO agenda, but they shouldn't define it. This is due to the simple reason that a great product will trump a bad ad, but a great ad won't save a bad product.

-- Hold CMOs accountable for achieving top-line growth objectives. Revenue and share offer the best measurement of how well a company fulfills the needs of its customers.

-- Hold CMOs accountable for meeting corporate margin goals. This will ensure that product formulation, pricing, trade and consumer promotion are balanced business decisions. "

In short, marketing is about the alignment of needs and solutions to everyone's mutual benefit. Social media can/is/should be used in all of the ways listed above to achieve that.