Well my friends, social media isn’t like the Field of Dreams. Just because you built it, doesn’t mean anyone’s coming. While signing up on all the major platforms and building a interconnected network is a start, it isn’t enough.

So many businesses, who don’t get the true value of social media, think they can create a strong community simply by signing up. A tricked-out profile on umpteen sites is not the ticket to ‘rock star’ status. Major brands, think Coke, may be able to get away with this strategy for a short period of time, but sooner rather than later, your community will expect you to produce awesome content. If you do not… they’ll find someone who will.

A major key to your SM success is a properly developed strategy. Just like the Marketing Plans of old, you need a properly executed strategy for your social media efforts.

So before you dive head first into the shallow end, sit down with your team and hammer out the details.

-Why do you think your company needs a social media plan?
-What do you want to accomplish?
-Who do you want to reach?
-Where are your customers and potential customers meeting online? (listen to them first!)
-What will this cost the company?
-Do you have the right people for the job? Who is responsible for what?
-What is the competition doing? How can you do it better? Where are the opportunities?
-What makes your company different?
-How often will you produce content?

These are questions which must be answered. Without a clear plan you’re doomed to failure, or worse, mediocrity. Take the time to brainstorm with your team and answer these questions. When you’re done (this could take hours or even days), review your team’s answers and discuss what can be done to make them a reality. And look at that, you’ve got 75% of your social media strategy all mapped out. This stuff isn’t rocket science, but it is a science. Do yourself a favor and make the time to plan your social media campaign. Taking the time to doing it right the FIRST time will save you countless headaches in the end.

What’s really interesting about this policy announcement is reporters are also banned from using social media to relay in-game updates. Here’s directly from the NFL’s Social Media Policy:

“While a game is in progress, any forms of accounts of the game must be sufficiently time-delayed and limited in amount (e.g., score updates with detail given only in quarterly game updates) so that the accredited organization’s game coverage cannot be used as a substitute for, or otherwise approximate, authorized play-by-play accounts.”

Mashable’s Adam Ostrow makes a great point, this policy seems more geared towards protecting “lucrative TV contracts” than anything else. It seems the NFL fears Twitter will nullify DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket and other available packages. Think about it, why pay for the season pass when you can follow live game updates from your Twitter feed? A simple hashtag plus your team’s name should do the trick (#falconsgame).

In my opinion, this is absolutely ridiculous and someone within the NFL’s policy committee is out of the loop. Social Media does not take away from the experience, it adds to it. The NFL is missing an opportunity to reach a much larger audience. By combining the NFL’s traditional coverage with that of social media, the league could create a ubiquitous gaming experience. An experience in which the average fan becomes completely engrossed in the action, but… they missed it.

An interesting side note: while this policy may stop players and reporters from tweeting during the game, it cannot stop fans. The information will reach the people regardless, there’s no stopping it. Fans are free to tweet in-game updates just as fast as their thumbs will allow. Why the NFL has decided to tie the hands of it’s professionals is beyond me.

If you want to see social media done properly, follow @PGATOUR on Twitter. Every tournament weekend, the Tour augments their TV coverage with live updates from around the course thereby giving the viewer the sense of actually being present at the tourney. As I said before, social media doesn’t take away from an experience, it enhances it.

Again, I’m attributing this lack of tweeting to teen’s love of Facebook. FB was their first introduction into social media and, unlike other areas of their lives, they are remaining faithful to their first love. Some, if not most, even have an outright hatred of Twitter.

Does this mean, Twitter’s success will stumble and fall as these teens enter the business world? As the current generations of Twitter users retire and fade, what will happen to Twitter?

“Why are they offering this”, I asked myself time and time again. I then see the book. Inbound Marketing: Get found using Google, Social Media, and Blogs.This entire university is designed to create interest in their book. They’re building the community first. By offering these amazing value-added services, Inbound Marketing is building customer and brand loyalty. They will soon convert this online community into dedicated customers/readers. I applaud their efforts. This is what Web 2.0 is all about. Give before asking. Provide for the community and they will provide for you. Genius.

I’m half-way through the training and each class has been packed with useful information. There are a few ‘basic’ courses (there are just as many advanced classes too), but each was packed with great information and great content for both the newcomers and pros.

This company has given so much in term of social media, marketing, PR, and community building. Come October 19th, when this book becomes available, I’ll be right there in line along with other IMU students. Well done guys, well done.

Brian P. Brown