Outsourcing social media

Best practices in social media outsourcing

April 17th, 2011 Golfsocial

I was browsing one of my favorite newspaper sites the other day and discovered a good article that presented the pros and cons of outsourcing social media.

As we all know, social media can suck away a lot of time interacting with customers, prospects and partners.  So, offloading some of the technical and more mundane tasks like profile setup, design work, directory listings, blog syndication and scheduled tweets and Facebook updates is a good idea if done right.

So what’s the right way?

I’ll let you read the article yourself, but the part you want to play closet attention to is his list of 6 things to look at when considering a potential “social media assistant”:

  1. Do they have satisfied clients?  What’s their track record?
  2. Do they have a holistic view of your organization – the good, the bad and the ugly?
  3. Are they accountable?  Do they provide tangible deliverables and metrics?
  4. Are they available outside of their standard core working hours to accommodate your company’s timetable?
  5. Are they media aware (outside of social media)?
  6. What’s your return on this investment?

Excellent advice! Let me know what you think of the rest of the article.

Gayle
TW7CGZ2JQ6CF

Add another voice to your messages good idea, but know your assistant
ReTweet DOUG LACOMBE
The StarPhoenix
16 Apr 2011

Lately I’ve been running into a lot of companies that have been approached by agencies looking to “do their social media for them.” Inevitably, the conversation turns to the question of whether this is even a good idea. My answer is maybe, but I used…read more…

Tech Tags:
social golf balls copy

Core golfers are more “socially” engaged

April 10th, 2011 Golfsocial

In 2009 and again in 2010 the National Golf Foundation did a study to find out how engaged core golfers were in the digital world, including social media.

In their study, “core golfers” were those individuals who play 85% of the rounds and contribute 85% of the spending in the US golf industry.

Given the age and “conservative nature” of a typical core golfer (middle age, white male) one might think that core golfers would be less engaged in technology and social media.  But the opposite is actually true.

In fact, core golfers are more engaged with social media and consumer-generated content than the general population.

Check out these very telling statistics/trends:

•    60% of core golfers maintain a profile on a social network
•    3.7 million core golfers regularly read blogs about golf brands, courses or travel
•    6.9 million core golfers visit a primary social networking site at least once a  week (3.9M visit it every day!)

Between 2009 and 2010…

•    42% more golfers added comments to someone’s page on a social network
•    22% more golfers updated or maintained a profile on a social network
•    The use of Twitter grew by 100%!

So now ask yourself…”If 85% of the spending in golf is being done by people heavily engaged in social media and using social media to choose products, travel destinations, courses to play and clubs to join, what do I need to do to connect with these spenders and capitalize on this growing trend?”

I think you know the answer – Your business needs to join the conversation and it needs to do it now.

Golf is the most social sport in the entire world.  Isn’t it time your golf business was too?

Gayle

Golf Social Marketing – Experienced, Affordable and Proven Results

social media madness

Stop Social Media Madness

April 3rd, 2011 Golfsocial

A couple of week’s ago I received an email with some really great news. With just a click, I could discover the Top 100 Social Media Tools for 2011 (out of 1,100 they reviewed).  How cool is that?

NOT!!!

 

Who needs 100 social media tools?  Who has time to even check them out, let alone use them?  Who would even want to?

Not me, and I’ve been a marketing consultant for over a decade and have been working in social media since 2007.

People, stop listening to the hype and hysteria around social media marketing.   It is not a magic wand and it is not a replacement for sound marketing principles.

Social media is just another tool in your marketing arsenal (albeit a powerful one) that if managed properly with all your other marketing initiatives, can contribute to your business growth and success.

But to maximize social media’s potential to meet your business objectives it needs a disciplined approach to make it work.  A sustainable social media marketing program needs to follow these basic steps: Research – Analyze –  Plan – Execute – Evaluate – Repeat

I have lost count of the number of organizations that thought if they built “it”, “they” would come, with “it” being their social media presence and “they” being new sales leads, clients, cash and brand awareness.

So off they went creating Facebook and LinkedIn pages, Twitter accounts and YouTube Channels.  Some even tried their hand a crafting a blog.

Unfortunately they discovered their blog got next to no traffic; few Facebook users LIKED them; only Twit spammers followed them and maybe a handful of people watched their lonely video on YouTube.

So they gave up with excuses like:

  1. Social media doesn’t work for us.
  2. Social media takes too much time.
  3. Social media is too hard.

And they were right.

  1. Social media doesn’t work for YOU – YOU have to make social media work.
  2. Social media takes time, energy and ongoing attention to maximize its benefits.
  3. Doing social media properly requires unique skills and experience beyond traditional marketing.

But walking away from social media out of frustration isn’t a good business decision.  Stop making excuses and start thinking like the smart business executive you are.

If you don’t have the time or skills and you can’t afford to hire an employee to be your social media marketer, then look for a consultant who can help you:

  • Promote your brand online
  • Build and nurture relationships with prospects, partners and customers
  • Generate leads for sales
  • Train employees on social media to bring it in-house when you’re ready

…without breaking the bank.

Outsourcing social media marketing for a period of time to someone who understands YOUR industry and YOUR market is just smart business.

Building ”it” and thinking “they will come” is as crazy as thinking anyone needs 100 social media tools.

Best regards,

Gayle Moss
Golf Social Marketing – Experienced, Affordable and Proven Results

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More

  • Featured Video