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Nov 27, 2009 -

“Talk to your readers like you would talk to real people in professional situations. In other words, avoid overly pedantic or ‘composed’ language. Don’t be afraid to bring in your own personality, and say what’s on your mind.” – Intel, excerpted from its social media policy guidelines

Companies are increasingly hip to the benefits of using social media to grow their business, humanize their team, connect with partners, deepen relationships with customers, manage the brand, augment traditional campaigns, establish thought leadership, research, network, and so on….

And increasingly, organizations are developing guidelines and strategies around their social media efforts. That requires companies to address some fundamental questions, including: Who will be the face and voice of your brand, exactly? Who "owns" your social organization's online social profile? 

Here are some profiles of people to consider, as excerpted from the brand-new guide on social media policy and strategy, A Step-by-Step Guide to a Successful Social Media Program.

• The CEO (or other high-level executive).

Pros: Customers or prospects can develop a stronger connection with an organization when they feel they have a personal association with its leader, or one of them.

Cons: Personality is important in the relaxed social media world: Is the executive comfortable engaging in this way? Also, if you’re looking to give value to your audience, the executive may not always be the best source for information about your products and services.

• The marketing department.

Pros: They know your brand; they know your customer. Marketing knows what appeals to those you want to appeal to.

Cons: Social media is about sharing,  not broadcasting. Make sure your marketing team’s strategy does not strictly revolve around product promotion and the broadcasting of company messaging.

• The company mascot.

Pros: A fun personality that encapsulates the company culture can open the door to plenty of creative opportunities.

Cons: Novelties can wear off quickly. Social media types prefer to interact with the real deal—someone they can identify and trust.

• The intern.

Pros: The younger generation is generally more comfortable with social media. Plus, social media takes time, and intern pay is low—so why not marry the two?

Cons: Can a junior staff member effectively uphold and protect the brand’s fragile reputation? If everything an intern posts need to be approved, will that delay the process and effectively remove the freshness, immediacy and authenticity of his or her efforts?

• Separate identities for each distinct customer interest.

Pros: If you have multiple brands or diverse customer segments, using separate identities to serve each will likely be more effective and appealing to the target than a single overarching presence.

Cons: Caring for multiple properties requires more dedicated resources, as well as more coordination. Poor execution makes a company seem scattered or fractured.

• Multiple individuals.

Pros: Encouraging all employees to participate expands visibility and reach. Divvying up responsibility among a few people spreads the time required, so that no one employee's schedule is saddled.

Cons: It can be chaos. There can be greater potential for message inconsistency and disconnect in tone, duplication of content, and general confusion both internally and with your customers when you rely on multiple representatives and personalities. 

• Your customers.

Pros: Companies who encourage customers to share their experiences on the company’s behalf have a presence that feels honest and real, because it comes from independent sources.

Cons: You must be willing to surrender all control.

What works for your company? Who is the voice of your organization on the various social media channels?

Bio: Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer ofMarketingProfs.com, which provides strategic and tactical marketing know-how. She also blogs at her acclaimed personal web log. Follow her on Twitter @marketingprofs.

Photo Credit: BL1961