Owners should always think before they tweet

Most CEOs and other senior executives would never dream of giving a speech or talking to a reporter without preparation, yet many think nothing of turning over their social media communications to junior employees with little expertise, strategic insight or knowledge of their audiences.

While Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and the like can be innovative platforms for reaching a diverse range of people, they should be approached with the same strategic thoughtfulness that your organization puts into its annual report, news releases, marketing materials and even employee newsletters.

In fact, before you fire off your first tweet or post, your organization should undergo a comprehensive analysis to determine if social media even makes sense for your brand.

Slaves to technology?

This strategic approach to online communications seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Many are slaves to technology, putting more emphasis on the medium than the messages being transmitted.

Case in point: a recent CEO blog contained the following post: “Looks like rain today. Better pack an umbrella!” Sadly, that comment was among the most informative to appear in a month’s worth of posts on the company blog.

That post might have made strategic sense if the CEO led a rain gear company (he didn’t). Instead, he squandered the opportunity to position himself and his company as a thoughtful industry leader. In fact, his persistent stream of trivial posts did just the opposite.

This example and countless others that clog the web typify what I call “the tyranny of technology.” Embracing technology just to seem “with it” makes as much sense as driving around in a great car to “look cool” while going nowhere.

But rather than just appearing foolish to casual bystanders, you put your brand at serious reputational risk by engaging in meandering online communication without a clear content plan that supports an overarching brand-management strategy.

Analyze, plan, begin

Assuming a solid communications plan is in place and you are convinced social media should be part of it, focus next on a content development strategy. In marketing (as in comedy), a cardinal rule applies: Know your material inside and out so you can respond quickly and nimbly, riff on a theme (or just rebuff hecklers!)

Start with knowledge base

Start by identifying topic areas around which a key executive within your organization can be established as a respected industry leader. For larger organizations, there may be multiple thought leaders. Think of your organization’s knowledge base as the foundation for a structure. Without a solid base, everything laid on top (such as video, posts and tweets) will be weak and random.

Wondering how to get started? Research and write white papers, write full-length articles for professional publications, commission a study, give speeches at conferences or hire a ghostwriter to develop a book in collaboration with your CEO.

All of these “traditional” communications strategies generate credible information that will strengthen your brand identity and provide a foundation for online communications as well. Once in place, devise a system for harvesting the documented expertise and processing it into digestible chunks suitable for social media platforms.

One of my local clients, Intertech CEO Tom Salonek, has used this “one-two” approach effectively in promoting his company both via traditional media and online. Salonek has written dozens of articles for local business magazines and newspapers on topics related to technology, training and business leadership. A few years ago, he decided to organize all of this material into a book.

Working together, we shaped his knowledge and experience into a compelling little volume, “Building a Winning Business.” Publishing a book met a long-time objective for Salonek and provided a rich repository of topics and information for his blog “Tom Talks,” as well as dozens of guest blog posts he has contributed to respected business websites. The book also has resulted in additional traditional media coverage in newspapers and magazines.

Two-way street

But it’s not just enough to push out your messages on the web, no matter how compelling and consistent they may be. You also must make a commitment to two-way communications, which means listening and responding to your online readers and commentators.

It takes dedication, consistency, and qualified people willing to take on these tasks. In the case of Intertech, several senior employees engage regularly on specific technology-related company blogs while Salonek personally handles leadership-related online dialogues.

Whether you drive your traditional and online communications directly or engage professional resources to help, make sure whatever gets communicated is true, well-written, supports your brand and is interesting to your intended audiences. If you don’t follow these basic guidelines, you’ll do your organization more harm than good.

After all, no one needs a company blog to tell them it’s going to rain—unless, perhaps, you’re selling umbrellas or cruise tickets to the Caribbean.