The challenges of starting a social media campaign.

We're in the planning stages of a new campaign to help a client launch a product, which is always fun. Well, it's fun if you're a big geek who obsesses over social media.

Whenever we go back to square one, it's always interesting to revisit those early challenges of getting a campaign off the ground. So while they're on my mind, I thought I'd share and see what you folks have run into.

1. Setting goals.  Whether you're talking about Facebook fans or widget downloads, the question is, "What will we consider a success?" Get too conservative, and the client will wonder why it's worth it. Aim too high, and you'll be destined for disappointment.

2. Alleviating fear. Anything new is scary, so you can't blame clients for being worried about things like commenter backlash,  hackers, or affiliating themselves with the wrong crowd. The best we can do is try to dispel myths through personal experience  and confront each fear well in advance with a phalanx of safeguards.

3. Explaining the technology. You can bet that on the client side and internally, some people will be familiar with the sites and ideas you're talking about, and some won't. It can be tough to strike a balance where you don't talk down to people, but you also don't sound like a computer programmer.

4. Planning for the unpredictable. It never goes down like an episode of The A-Team, where they create a freakishly complicated plan that goes off without a hitch. You have to stay fluid, ready to kill the parts of the campaign that don't work or ramp up the parts that become unexpected hits. Then you can sit back in comfort, light a cigar and say, "I love it when a plan comes together."

5. Picking the date for your Viking Funeral. We coined the term "Viking Funeral" as a joke, but it's actually not a bad idea. If you don't want to be maintaining this campaign for the rest of eternity, why not go ahead and plan when and how you'd like to finish it off? Send it out in a blaze of glory instead of watching it wither and die on the frigid tundra of obsolescence.

Those are my big five. What about you guys?

Comments

[Patchchord]

"Viking funeral." That's brilliant.

[Dave Allen]

I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring and share my own thoughts with you. It's a rumination on social media after being a panelist at two seminars in June.

www.social-cache.com/2008/06/on-social-media-blogs-and-advertising

Dave Allen, Director, Insights & Digital Media, Nemo Design

www.social-cache.com

[Patrick Mason]

David,

I liked your post. We have found the exact same thing with our clients. They have heard rumours, we seem to be telling tales from the front and guiding them to realistic expectations of what to expect.

Cheers - pat