Most Social Media efforts will fail - or will they?

As we continue "persuade" and "coach" CEO's and other top executives to enter the world of Social Media, it is apparent that some just aren't ready to jump in the pool. Why is that? One reason I see is they are worried about failing, looking bad, embarrassing themselves or their companies and a whole host of reasons connected to image. When a CEO learns about Social Media for the first time, the reaction is usually one of "wow, I had no idea the potential power and the potential danger of social media."

The potential power is easy, replace most of your traditional media at a fraction of the cost and reach more people - easy. The potential danger is a bit more difficult to get your arms around. There was a very solid blog posting by Liana Evans of Search Engine Watch. She referenced a study by Gartner Group which said that 60% of the Fortune 1000 companies will engage in some form of Social Media by 2010 and half of those will fail - half! That means only about 1/3 will be successful - that is a very low number considering the resources these behemoths have at their disposal.

Why will most companies fail? She has some thoughts which I echo completely and thought they might help to share them with you. She offers 5 things you can do to help you not be one of those that fails. While they are all important, three of the five are worth mentioning. They are:

1. Plan a strategy that includes all stakeholders - absolutely necessary to start with a strategy of what you really want to accomplish - what do you want your engagement in social media to look like in 6 months or a year - this is critical to start with the end in mind.
2. Be Transparent - there is nothing worse than trying to pretend to be something you are not in the world of social media - the audience wants to get to know your "persona" and not somebody else.
3. Recognize that its not about you - it is about the relationships you will build with people and these people will want to follow you - help them - share what you know with them so they can be better by interacting with you.

If you strive to focus on just these three areas, you will not only survive, you will THRIVE.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

twitter: @BlaineMillet