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Quantifying Social Media Management

As a start-up company, I find I am hungry for information pertaining to my business.  There is plenty out there, just waiting to be discovered.  I’ve found articles on marketing, media and communications which range from the very informative to the totally bizarre. Everyone has a method, a tip, a trick and an opinion.

I was delighted to see an ad pop up on Facebook which promoted a free social media seminar.  Goodness knows there is always room for more knowledge on this topic.  And so I decided to sign up to see how the big boys make a presentation, what strategies they offer and also learn how they structure their services.

I was pleased that during a very rapid announcement of facts, figures and trends I followed right along and actually anticipated the direction of the presentation.  I did learn a few helpful bits of advice which I am already implementing in a new client’s project.

At the end of the seminar, we were handed a folder including company information and price sheets.  $4995 per month will buy you a very slick social media management program.  But I had to stop with the outline of what you get in your package.  Example:

30 Posts per month (Twitter and Facebook)

4 Blog Posts

4 re-tweets, re-posts, of industry relevant content

1 optimized press release per month

2 external posts per month

Twitter follow campaign

As soon as I read the list I thought, “How can you quantify social media services in this way?”  Surely there is no possible cookie-cutter formula of what makes a successful campaign, so how can a large media firm whip up the perfect batch of posts, tweets and re-tweets? What if there is some major event in my industry that warrants more than 30 posts?  What if I launch two products in the same month, do I still only get that one press release?  And if the industry is posting lots of useful information I’d like to share with my clients, does one re-tweet a week cover it?

While some structure needs to be provided to a client who is outsourcing social media marketing, I just cannot see how following such guidelines lays a foundation for a successful campaign.  Social media is anything but predictable and rigid, nor does it really play by any set of rules. So how is it that some companies feel they can wrangle a strategy down to a one-size fits all formula?

What are your thoughts on this type of packaged program?

Tags: marketing, social media, strategy