Corporations face many of the same challenges as any other business. They too have issues in human resources, finance, management, administration, marketing, etc. There are often entire departments dedicated within these groups to deal with issues that arise. There may be “think teams” assembled to tackle the challenges that corporations face and to come up with a resolution to the problems.
The Internet Factor
With the popularity of the internet, there is a new challenge that corporations may also face. This challenge is in the area of social media and/or media relations and finding the cohesion with their corporate structure. The internet is a wonderful tool, but it can also be an overwhelming resource for corporations who may not be ready to face the issues that it presents.
For instance, corporations have sales teams that pitch and deliver their product or service to potential clients. Issues often arise in sales that may require the salesperson to visit the client. There may be a need to replace a product or to assess the level of customer service and quality on their account. These things can often be remedied with a person-to-person sales call or manager’s meeting. However, if the corporation is also doing business online, how does the salesperson make the uneasy online client feel confident in their buying choice? How can they smooth over a client who has received the wrong product, or worse, been over-billed for a service?
What can an online corporate structure do to meet the challenges that technology presents? While there are no hard rules to resolutions to corporate issues, there are a few guidelines that may work. They may not fit every situation or every corporation, but they can be applied to most any online situation.
Find the social media outlets that work
Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or your in-house marketing team, find a social presence that matches your company’s personality. This is important in establishing yourself as a viable online presence and finding the customers for your product or service. All social media outlets work on the same premise but in different ways. Do you want to share photos? Share news stories? Interact with customers? Determine the outlet that best fits the corporation’s persona and maximize its usage.
Set measurable goals
It’s arguable that it’s hard to measure productivity through media relations efforts. How do you know if people are responding to your pitch or if they were just in the right place at the right time? Instead of looking for determinable milestones, measure goals internally. For instance, set goals to establish and grow your customer forum for feedback. You can gauge satisfaction results from the forum as well as tweak areas of needed improvement based on the client’s interaction and feedback.
Create trust
Nothing creates trust more than consistency. It is important to be consistent in all things related to social media relations and your target market. Especially when it comes to online functions, it is imperative to create a trusting relationship that your readers can depend on. Keep a consistent schedule of posts, e-newsletters and regular announcement. Readers and customers learn to trust you when they see that you are consistent in keeping your word in all facets of your marketing efforts.
Another important consideration would be to target those who are the decision-makers or the influential leaders. This may not necessarily be someone who is directly involved in media production, but someone who has the authority to make decisions. It may be difficult to find who your key contact is, but make diligent efforts to do so and communicate with them as much as possible without being overbearing.
What are some challenging social media issues that you’ve experienced in your corporate culture? What steps,if any, have you taken to remedy the situation?
I am a freelance writer, blogger and professional motivational speaker. I primarily focus on business content, offering my clients strategic marketing strategies for their businesses. I have been an entrepreneur for over 13 years, after having worked extensively in corporate America.
