A recent white paper from Firefly Millward Brown has revealed concerns which seem to be shared by many companies now dabbling or thinking about getting into social media. The study has several interesting snapshots and reinforces the view that what we humans don’t understand we fear and sometimes that fear becomes irrational.

Many companies if not most, still have no social media structure or policies in place. They don’t know who is responsible or in charge of creating policy and implementing it. Social media remains the “red headed step child” in many and is not part of their corporate structure.
Social media gives you a clear voice to consumers and businesses alike. That voice must have the right pitch and say the right things, but it also must have a personality which comes only in part from the corporation it is speaking for. This means the best control you can hope for is to institute clear guidelines and policies, along with the basic message you want your people in social to stay with.

You can not script social media interactions any more than you can script every word one of your sales people might say to a client. Sure, you can provide guidelines, resources and tools to help them respond, overcome objections and stay on message, but in the end it’s your sales force and their knowledge of product and their personality which (along with the product and price) will make that sale.

If you need a basic rule of thumb or analogy, the above is a good place to start. While social marketing is NOT sales and certainly not traditional sales, there are some basic commonalities relating simply to the fundamental internal structure.

You need to start out in social media as you would with any other business endeavor:

• Establish your goals
• Establish what resources you need to reach them
• Address both the human and material resources required and address them
• Appoint or hire someone to have responsibility for your social media initiatives
• Work to establish flexible policies to guide employees and serve your objectives
• Start an education process on social media from the top down

There is NO such thing as a “social media expert” and despite what some may suggest, no metrics by which one can be certified as such. Those who declare themselves experts and offer quick fixes for business in social media are false prophets and snake oil sellers.

What you should really be looking for is someone who can help you indentify qualified people in your organization with the right social skills to succeed and thrive in social media. Once you indentify these individuals, you then provide them the training, policies and resources to accomplish the goals you’ve set.

That process should sound familiar to you. It’s a pretty standard approach to addressing resource issues in any company. Social media is not a dragon waiting to spit flame and burn down your brand. You don’t need a sword to meet this challenge; you simply need a plan and a process.