We all have problems. And while we can spend our Mondays complaining about the snow, or the lack of event attendance or the disgruntled members, sometimes it’s simply more therapeutic to poke fun at them (our problems, not our members). That’s why we started the Monday Assoc Life Funnies; we’re taking the problems we see every day, and turning them into hilarious animated jokes.
The first Assoc Life is about social media strategies. You’ve heard that social media is the silver bullet, right? Build the Facebook page and all of your problems will be solved. Members will be engaged, event attendance will skyrocket and your association will be flooded with revenue from membership dues. That’s the line of thought that these folks below are following.
But is it really the case? If you build it will they come?
No. Facebook alone has over 800 million users and over 900 million group/fan pages. In today’s busy world, what will set you apart from the more than 1700 million voices competing for your audience’s attention?
You need a plan, or better, a strategy.
A good social networking strategy will identify your overall objectives, and keep you on track to reaching them successfully. Think about the details, including the following:
- Why: Why are you doing this? What do you want to achieve?
- Where: Which social networks will you be pursuing?
- Who: Who are you targeting? Existing Members? Prospective Members?
- What: What content will you focus on? Do you have a content strategy?
- When: How frequently will you update/monitor your networks?
- How: Who will be responsible for updates/comments/responses?
These are just some of the factors that will have an impact on how successful you are at your social media efforts. Answering these questions in advance can set you up on the path to success. If you’re going treasure hunting without a map… well you might just be outta luck.
If you haven’t already, make 2012 the year that you build your social media strategy.
