THINKing

Posted: 30 Apr 2009 06:15 AM PDT

In part 1 of this series we talked about the strategic approach to social media. Now, it’s time to start asking some serious questions about your target audience.

Is it going to be the end consumer, strategic allies or channel partners? Architects, for instance, could deliver more value to you than the person living in the home. This doesn’t preclude you from having a program for all channels. But it is best to go after the best customer first.

So, who is your best “customer”? What demographic, psychographic and geographic attributes do they have? What do they need or want from you?

Where will you find them? What are their media habits - both online and offline? What’s the best way to reach and interact with them?

Based on this knowledge, what should be the focus of your online or social networking presence? Are they looking for fact-based information, inspiration or both? Or perhaps a digital customer service approach is the best way to go.

When you answer the questions above, the other tumblers will begin to fall into place. Should you be on FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter or all of the above? What about a blog, a wiki, or Youtube? Your audience definition answers will tell you your next steps.

We’ll do some more social media planning in our next installment.

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