Member Avatar for MktgRob

I was reading a site where the author listed the following 3 barriers for companies in terms of acceptance/involvement in Social Media Marketing:

1. The Business Case: most need hard data to justify the investment of time, energy and resources (people) in social media.

2. Limited Understanding and Resources: few brand marketers know what to do, where to start or how to plan and budget for a social media campaign.

3. Scarce Capabilities: While there's no shortage of self-proclaimed SM experts, great players are not necessarily great coaches. Few have the knowledge and skills to develop a strategic plan. Twitter is a tool, not a strategy.

Admittedly, I have dealt with 1 & 2 recently but are these barriers also to companies developing online communities once they have gotten into social media marketing? I know it sounds like an odd question but I have heard of companies who get themselves all set up with social media channels and then start to ask 'Now What?' once their presence is established.

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A short, practical roadmap that builds on the thread: raised the familiar "set up and stall" situation, and pointed out that ongoing alignment and maintenance matter. The gap most companies face is operational: converting an account into a living space for members requires purpose, facilitation, and measurement — not just another publishing channel.

A simple 30/60/90 approach to make a presence into a functioning community:

  • 0–30 days: define the community purpose (what members get that they cannot get from marketing), select a single primary platform, identify 1–3 member personas, assign a community lead and clear roles, and set 2–4 success metrics.
  • 30–60 days: recruit a seeded cohort (high-value customers, advocates, employees), run a few focused interactions (problem-solving thread, AMA, small event), document moderation and contribution rules, and refine the onboarding/welcome flow.
  • 60–90 days: formalize a content and event cadence, launch a volunteer/advocate program, integrate a feedback loop to product/support, and report early outcomes tied to at least one business metric (support deflection, trial-to-paid conversion, retention).

Useful measurement priorities: active-rate (DAU/MAU), contribution rate, retention cohorts (30/90/180 days), time-to-first-response, member satisfaction, and direct business impact (tickets deflected, conversion lift). Expect a 6–12 month horizon for reliable signal and treat the community manager as a strategic role rather than a part-time task.

Further reading on community strategy and KPI frameworks is available from established practitioners such as CMX and The Community Roundtable: and Community Roundtable. For a general definition and context, see Online community.

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Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

A client posed the same question to me recently. Many people believe that creating profiles on various social media communities is all that is needed. This is just a tactic and not a strategy. The strategy involves thinking and executing:
1. Brand's positioning
2. Brand's messaging
3. Setting tone
4. Ensuring that all the social media tactics evoke the same positioning and messaging to strengthen the identity
5. Getting dirty with keywords, products, services, and really making these profiles alive with the business' offerings.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

A client posed the same question to me recently. Many people believe that creating profiles on various social media communities is all that is needed. This is just a tactic and not a strategy. The strategy involves thinking and executing:
1. Brand's positioning
2. Brand's messaging
3. Setting tone
4. Ensuring that all the social media tactics evoke the same positioning and messaging to strengthen the identity
5. Getting dirty with keywords, products, services, and really making these profiles alive with the business' offerings.

Thanks for the feedback but I think you were thinking of one of my other posts when you posted this reply here.

Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

Well its inter-related. The "Now what?" factor comes in the maintenance phase of social media plan. Furthermore, additional tactics/strategy that is implemented after the "Now what?" needs to keep it inline with the factors I mentioned earlier.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

Well its inter-related. The "Now what?" factor comes in the maintenance phase of social media plan. Furthermore, additional tactics/strategy that is implemented after the "Now what?" needs to keep it inline with the factors I mentioned earlier.

I agree they are inter-related, I just saw your reply and it read so much like the reply to the other one that it did not seem pertinent to the initial message. No worries, all info is good info.

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