One of the first activities of Mambo’s Social Media program is the audit. With the audit we take a 20,000 feet view of a client’s marketplace, consumers, communication issues and competition in social media. We discuss what is working and what isn’t; where there is whitespace in the market; and how to capitalize on these trends now.
Every audit report for every client is different. Radically different. Just acknowledging that is critical for the analyst. It truly is a Zen-like I discipline. I:
- Clear my mind of ideas or pre-judgments about an industry or company.
- Take in and review over 200 entries from our social media listening system, THE BEAT.
- See what is there and what isn’t there.
- Tell a story.
And how do the audits differ? One client doesn’t converse with their fans or groups members – they just broadcast messages. Another client doesn’t broadcast their mission, but converses daily with all their fans. One client blogs, but doesn’t use the opportunity to establish thought leadership with prospects. Another client is loved in the blogosphere, but struggles with mainstream press recognition. A political client is getting traditional media coverage, but desperately wants community leaders and bloggers on their side.
Here’s the other Zen component: You trust that the story will emerge. You dive into an industry and the behavior of the target audience, marketing best practices, and trust that the patterns, or marketing trials, will speak.
So far, they have managed to guide the strategy for an array of clients to success…measurable success.
