Social Media isn't Marketing. What is it then?

Social Media had its place in marketing during the early days, but as platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest) have evolved brands/businesses have lost their ability to stand out.

Not being able to stand out really means decreased reach and lower click through rates. This makes these platforms less about converting new customers and more about connecting with customers and fostering a community. A recent blog post by Buffer highlights they too have lost half their social referral traffic in 12 months.

Many people still consider Social Media a function of their “Marketing Plan” so what needs to change? A shift in focus and understanding that social media is a channel to connect with and provide value to your existing users.

Social Media should be the responsibility of a cross functional team member who works with marketing and support teams.

This means this person (or people) serving the community act as a bridge between Marketing and Support. How do they do this? By sharing learnings, metrics and goals with these teams everyone can better serve the customer / user. Social channels are an important part of amplifying Content Strategy, Press Efforts and Paid Acqusition.

If your startup is in the early stages I would recommend that the person who is responsible for social media channels also be responsible for support channels. The best social media people are going to be community focused, not marketing focused.

Why are these responsibilities important anyway?

Social media is just one of the many channels to connect with your customers and users. This role can be effective by amplifying success stories of customers. Answering questions and supporting customers wherever they are (across social media channels). Organize in-person meetings or partnerships to foster a community. If this person/teams goal is to produce value for current users they can focus on retention based metrics.

What should you do as a social media manager?

Begin to understand how your role is community and support focused — Not on how many Tweets or Posts you can make with the right hashtags, but number of customers you’ve helped and how many of them stayed as customers. Begin to understand the tactics and tools of community building and support. See your role as community. not social.

What should you do with your team?

Merge your social media and support teams to work together and share the same goal(s). This transition can be a little difficult but the end result for your customers and users is far better service.

Want to chat about marketing teams or growth at your company? Reach out to me on Twitter @realscottmcleod or LinkedIn or Email

Or check out my collection on Building Startups for more helpful content.