Startups and Social Media: Planning is Sexy!

You might have read my recent post about the Six Issues that Startups have with their social media. I’ll be diving a little deeper into each one now. So why is planning sexy? Because you can’t spell success without sexy! Well, you can, but it would be dumb. Plus, everyone wants to succeed and be sexy! You can’t argue with logic, man.

Get Someone on Board

Get someone who lives in the social space. That means, they’re involved in social media every day. You want someone who breathes this stuff, not someone who pins one pin every month to Pinterest, or checks their Twitter account every July (no matter what!). They need to be reading Mashable, TechCrunch, using the top social media platforms, and knowing what direction social media is going.

Have Someone Who’s in Touch with the Team

Your social media manager doesn’t have to be a developer, but they should be able to communicate with the technical team. They need to be involved in meetings so they understand your product, so they can speak on your behalf. They need to have someone to contact in case of emergencies or if they are out of town, too.

The Social Media Manager Can Get the Word Out!

Social media is about connection, engagement, and social capital. Your social media manager can start to build excitement about the product even before launch. Why not share some behind-the-scenes glimpses into your world so people are interested in where you’re going as a brand? For instance, if you’re attending a big conference, you could be posting pictures of the team.

Be Generous First

Listening is such an important and overlooked (and sexy!) skill. Without listening, how will you know what your customers really want? With social media, you can be listening even before you launch! Know what the conversation is so you can join in.

Connect, Connect, Connect!

Your social media manager can build connections pre-launch

Your social media manager can build  the connections that you’re going to need before you launch, so when you do launch, you’ll get out of the gate get much faster. They can drive business offline and into real life meetings for you, make introductions, and set up everything on your social media to reflect your brand promise.

What Did I Forget?

Why else is planning sexy? Please leave your comments below! Thank you!