Have you read this article and feel you are doing most of the right things? Perhaps then you’re struggling with connecting social media to other disciplines within your company or organization. Jeff Beringer, SVP, Digital Practice Lead at GolinHarris Dialogue, has created campaigns for Disney and McDonald’s, among others, and works closely with companies to measure social media impact.
Acknowledging that it’s often a huge task to fully achieve social media integration, Beringer does have some advice for successfully assimilate social media throughout an organization:
• Integration requires collaboration. In this vein, it’s necessary to create a collaboration council. McDonald’s has a social media task force comprised of reps from communications, media buying, brand content, creative, field marketing, customer satisfaction, insights and legal. This group shares ideas, trends and data.
• Devote the right resources. Be willing to make the financial investments, but time and people are equally important.
• Develop robust measurement criteria. All stakeholders will want to be informed of the numbers, some on a real-time basis.
• Social media can be the big idea. Don’t be afraid to lead with social media. Consider it as a potential PR centerpiece, using traditional media to extend its reach.
The bottom line: Social media is not just a PR function anymore, it has to be owned by everybody. Companies are starting to recognize that other departments can work together on social media strategies and tactics.