You don’t need a Social Media Strategy.

December 15, 2009

(You just need a strategy)

Right, so now I’m glad that we all agree that there is no such thing as social media.

And that we also agree that everything is social media.

So, we should move on to my next bone of contention:

There is no such thing as a “social media strategy”.

You do of course need a good strategy.

And you definitely need clear goals.

And one of the best ways for you to reach your shiny, clearly-defined goals will probably be to make use of some of the kick-ass new social tools like Twitter and Facebook.

But they don’t need their own separate strategy.

Having a social media strategy is kind of like having a paper-and-pen strategy.

And that just don’t make no sense.

Posted by dagood
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8 Comments »

8 Responses to “You don’t need a Social Media Strategy.”

  1. Tweets that mention You don’t need a Social Media Strategy. « ALL THAT IS GOOD -- Topsy.com Says:

    December 15, 2009 at 9:32 pm

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Saara Bergström, Daniel Goodall. Daniel Goodall said: [blog post] You don't need a Social Media Strategy. http://is.gd/5oYVE [...]

  2. Surya Says:

    December 16, 2009 at 6:14 am

    “Having a social media strategy is kind of like having a paper-and-pen strategy.”

    Well put! Im gonna use this next time someone try to convince me about anything with the words Social Media Strategist.

  3. Delfin Vassallo Says:

    December 16, 2009 at 8:24 am

    Couldn’t agree more. This ‘social media strategy’ has become some sort of bluffing tool to impress uninitiated entrepreneurs or baby boomers.

    When explaining this I have opted for calling it ‘digital media strategy’ which is a part of your communications strategy just as print or audiovisual media, which belongs to your marketing plan, which supports your business strategy.

    This particular-to-general-approach has worked for me, but still in doubt: should we better call it ‘digital media tactics’? Hum…!

  4. uberVU - social comments Says:

    December 16, 2009 at 9:54 am

    Social comments and analytics for this post…

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by saara: True, you’d just need one good strategy but sometimes it isn’t there RT @DaGood: You don’t need a Social Media Strategy. http://is.gd/5oYVE...

  5. Asi Says:

    December 17, 2009 at 6:07 am

    Create amazing products and services that people can’t help but talk about it with their friends.

    That’s the best social media strategy you can have

    #TheEnd

    happy holidays mate

    A.

  6. Daniel Goodall Says:

    December 17, 2009 at 7:15 am

    @asi

    … and spend “marketing” money on improving the overall experience of being an owner.

    Or make all of your customers feel like they have a membership as @congbo would say.

  7. Karl Long Says:

    December 29, 2009 at 7:20 pm

    I disagree completely :) Much as I’m generally unimpressed with what people tend to call ‘social media strategy’ it is a very necessarily process that all companies need to look at carefully and use to improve the performance of the organization.

    Having a social media strategy (or a strategy to approach the web) is more like an Army having a dessert strategy vs a jungle strategy.

    Now, I think strategy is actually something that is generally unique an organization that involves the configuration of it’s unique resources (often called strategic resources) in a way that is HARD TO DUPLICATE.

    That being said I have been working on the idea that there are a couple of generic social strategies on the web which is either to become the platform or to drive the community. Check it out, i’d appreciate any feedback.
    http://experiencecurve.com/archives/generic-digital-business-strategies-become-the-platform-or-drive-the-community

    Cheers :)

  8. dagood Says:

    February 28, 2010 at 9:13 pm

    @karl long

    i’m not actually sure we disagree. at least not *completely* ;)

    we both agree that it’s important to have a strategy.

    also every company should be considering how social media can help them reach their goals.

    you can have a strategy that is all about being social – a generic social strategy as you put it.

    but you can still just be the cheapest. or the closest. or the only. and that is ok.

    so what you say in your post that i *completely agree* with is: “the very heart of strategy rests on the value creation question”

    what I am trying to say is that using social media is one way of adding value, but this obsession with having a social media strategy is often a discussion of “what to do on facespace”, rather than understanding how to use these new tools to reach your overall strategic objectives.

    i’ll think more about what you’ve said though for sure :)


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