Having the expertise to manage your brand’s social media presence takes so much more than simply using Twitter and Facebook on a personal level. Community managers have their hands full researching social media tools to help them maximize their brand’s social presence while not spreading their brand too thin trying to create a presence on every platform that exists. While some brands have successfully made a business case for social media in their company, other brands are learning to manage their organization’s expectations in regard to the return on social media stunts initially meant to garner a reaction instead of a specific outcome.
In this week’s PRSA “Friday Five” post — an analysis of the week’s biggest public relations and business news and commentary — we explore the skills, various tools and resources needed to fulfill the very well-rounded role of community manager. We also look at a few brands successfully tackling their social media strategy and those social PR stunts that sometimes fall on deaf ears.
The Many Hats of a Community Manager (Ragan’s PR Daily)
Get Satisfaction, a community platform that helps companies create engaging customer experiences, created an infographic that illustrates the many hats that a community manager wears and the skills he or she needs to keep a brand happy and customers engaged. The infographic points out a few examples of the various roles a community manager plays, including a detective, a translator and an author. For more on the exciting role of the community manager check out PR Daily for the full infographic.
4 Brands that Really Stretch Their Social Dollars (iMedia Connection)
iMedia Connection’s Keith Pape looks at four brands that have successfully conquered two important pieces of social media strategy — authenticity and relevance. The brands include Black Milk Clothing, Woolworths Australia, Redbox and Wendy’s. Not only do these brands demonstrate great skill in their engagement strategy but they’ve also shown how to implement such strategy on a budget. Pape looks at four elements that influence the success of each brand’s social media success including Facebook community size, People Talking About This (PTAT) scores, the brand’s response rates in terms of how many users the brand engages with and how quickly the brand responds.
The Social Media Command Center: Fad Or Future? (MediaPost)
In 2010 Gatorade and Dell launched social media command centers (SMCC). While a number of brands recognize the value of implementing such a command center, it is quite challenging to properly equip these centers with the right resources based on the pace at which social media moves. Social media touches every facet of a brand’s business including customer care, public relations, product innovation, business development, legal and finance. MediaPost’s Michoel Ogince offers brands his criteria for what makes a successful SMCC, maintaining it as a valuable piece of social media strategy and not just the next fad.
Social Media Brand Chatter Doesn’t Always Leave an Impression (PRNewser)
PRNewser’s Patrick Coffee looks at some recent brand chatter between Scope and Charmin on Twitter, which didn’t really make a splash on anyone’s Twitter feed. The brands were tweeting about Scope’s new bacon mouthwash, which may or may not be an April Fool’s joke. Some brands that interact on Twitter, like Kit Kat and Oreo, pick up a lot of steam but sometimes brand chatter simply falls flat. In this case, both Scope and Charmin do an excellent job engaging their audience on Twitter but brands cannot expect every single tweet to garner viral attention.
Mike and Ike’s ‘Breakup’ Lifted Sales and Social (AdWeek)
Most of you have seen commercials, ads and boxes of Mike and Ike with either “Mike” or “Ike” scribbled over, all related to their supposed breakup. Not only did the charade drum up social media buzz, it also lifted sales and ultimately helped the brand connect with younger generations. Most recently, the brand developed a new integrated campaign where the two characters have decided join forces and work together again. The brand will take to all facets of digital and traditional media with this new campaign. They will also reinforce engagement with the younger generations by relaunching their website, which will include a social media stream for the brand’s tweets and Instagram account.
Nicole Castro is the public relations associate at the Public Relations Society of America.
