For the Love(dislike) of Corporate Social Media Strategy

The social web has grown into a deeply engaging place.  It’s like a revamped, remodeling and shiny downtown district full of social clubs (Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, etc.) fit for every type of person.  Around this downtown district however there is a world full of  content and websites that are turning into ghost-towns – like deserted neighborhoods.

And this isn’t about content mills – it’s your website.

Despite the technology we have today and all the methods for outreach that have come to fruition in the last 10 years, there are far too many corporate websites with lazy content.  What’s worse is that even in 2011 these sites aren’t leveraging the web x.0 content such as blogs and community forums.  These things just end up getting shuffled to the back of some “community” drop down with very little engagement from the company.

Instead, the new corporate social media strategy is fire off all the engagement possible at the social media sites.  They invest in those social sites and – quite frankly – that’s just plain wrong.  While their support is creating a glorious “downtown district”, there’s a whole neighborhood made up of vendor websites that are falling into disarray.  When people inadvertently wander in they’re quick to leave because they want nothing to do with it.

Modify the Corporate Social Media Strategy to Bring the Traffic Home

External social websites like Facebook, Twitter, and other vertical communities are certainly ideal to generate a low-barrier and very personal exchange with a brand.  This type of corporate social media strategy can be seen as the equivalent to a window display that gets people to pause mid-step in front of a store to check out what’s on sale.  The most interested people need to be (and will be) funneled over to the brand website where they can engage with like-minded people, learn more about the company, product or service and ultimately convert.

Unfortunately that won’t happen with the state of many corporate websites.  They have to clean up the neighborhood if it’s going to offer the same experience as many social media sites.

A New Take on Corporate Social Media Strategy

What’s been “working” for years is not going to work anymore.  A ‘Community’ section on the backend of a website simply won’t cut it anymore.  Your entire website needs to become the community.  Editorial content and informative pieces are still necessary but consider the power and potential of a site that features user generated content on the home page as well as photos, videos, blogs, reviews and comments throughout the site.  We have the technology to make that happen – it’s just a matter of embracing it and investing in your own neighborhood.

Having a corporate social media strategy is a smart move, and bravo for reaching out to your target audience through social media. If you’re seeing results then even more kudos to you.  Now you need make a change because your business doesn’t exist in the backyard of someone else.  Turn your own site into the community that your users are looking for and make your own neighborhood the heart and focus of your corporate social media strategy.

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