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Strategy Matters delivers news, tips and strategies for effective communications through traditional and social media. 
Why You Should Be on Google+

Google+ is one of those relatively new social media tools that puzzles many, myself included. I've checked it out, dabbled with both a personal profile and a business page, deleted both, and started all over again. I have a few people in my circles and some people have me in theirs (many who are absolute strangers to me).

Recently, though, I had one of those "a ha!" moments about Google+ and why, for just about anybody hoping to be "discovered" online, it's a must-use tool. 

Here's the thing:

Google+ is a Google product. Google is a big player in organic search. Google is using Google+ as a primary driver of the search results it delivers to those using its search engine. 

What does this mean? It means that if you're on Google+ and you have a critical mass of followers who are sharing your content with others, you (or your business) will show up higher in search results. For online marketers that's what it's all about! 

Google+, unlike the other popular and prevalent social media tools, isn't really about interacting with others who are on Google+. It's about being on Google+ so the literally billions of people using the Google search engine have a chance of finding you.
 
The bottom line: if you've not there already, it's time to start getting serious about Google+.  
Celebrity, Silliness and the Masses

Did you watch the Oscars? I did. It's an annual event I look forward to each year for a couple of reasons:
  1. I live in Wisconsin and, after the Packers are out of the playoffs, it's about the only thing I have to look forward to other than spring.
  2. Each year I have a goal of seeing as many of the big category nominated films as possible. It pushes me outside my comfort zone and I've discovered some great films, actors, actresses, directors and writers in the process.
  3. I have a long-held dream of someday attending the ceremony, not as a guest but as a nominee in either the best adapted or best original screenplay category. (Yeah, I know...)
Anyway, if you were watching this year, you may have caught "the selfie"--a photo that went literally around the world thanks to social media and a global preoccupation with celebrity. The last I looked the post had been retweeted more than 2 million times, making it the most retweeted tweet ever. Wow. 

I think the greatest number of retweets I've ever achieved is about 20. 

The thing is, I think there's something we can all learn from this. What does it take to make a tweet "retweet worthy"? Make it fun, make it relevant and make it real-time. 

Oh, and having an audience of more than 40 million people helps. 
 
10 Reasons Your Strategic Planning Efforts Fail
 

I really love strategic planning. I also love strategic doing. And I REALLY love seeing positive results generated from both planning and doing. But, I often work with organizations or individuals who fail to achieve those desired results. Why? There are a number of reasons, some within their control -- some not. 

 

My Top 10 List of Why Strategic Planning Efforts Fail: 

  1. Planners didn't start "with the end in mind." I highly recommend establishing accountability and a reporting process up front, and aligning desired outcomes with other organizational measures.
  2. The right people aren't involved in the planning process--and that includes the detractors. Involve them up front or they will almost certainly try to derail the plan later.
  3. The mission, vision and values of the organization don't reflect reality. Yes, this matters. 
  4. Goals and objectives are not well articulated, or aligned with the plan goals and objectives, as well as with the organization's. Planning processes should not be separate from other organizational processes. They should drive those processes.
  5. The SWOT analysis is based on opinion rather than facts.
  6. Input isn't gathered broadly enough. I've worked with any number of organizations that are reluctant to include their employees in their planning process, even to the point of not wanting to share the plan with their employees. I always find that reluctance interesting--and instructive. Who, after all, do they think is going to help them implement the plan?
  7. Not enough time is put into developing strategies that are unique and forward-thinking. Too often strategies are little more than restated goals (and, again, if your SWOT is built on sand you're doomed here anyway...)
  8. Things change. No plan is carved in stone. Internal and external environments are constantly shifting and plans should be modified to reflect those shifts.  
  9. There is no system in place for measurement and regular reporting. Process measures are okay, but outcome measures must be part of the plan and those measures need to be reviewed, reported and possibly modified. 
  10. There is no real accountability. If tactics aren't implemented or results aren't as expected, what happens? If your answer is "nothing," there is no real accountability. If this is the case in your organization, you're sending a very strong message that the plan really doesn't matter. 

Want to know more? Top 10 Tips for the 7 Steps of Strategic Planning. 

Creating an Integrated Marketing Plan 
 
I was asked recently to provide some information for an article on how to create an "integrated marketing plan." It's a phrase and concept that has become quite prevalent. In truth, though, effective marketing plans have always been integrated. 
 
All that means is that all of the elements are planned to work effectively together to achieve desired results. 
 
If you're considering ways that you could get more out of your marketing plan through an integrated approach, follow these steps: 
  • Have a very clear understanding of your target audience -- and be *specific* about who your target audience is. It's very important to clearly identify both demographic and psychographic (attitudes, interests and behaviors) both to help develop key messages and to identify the best communication channels to reach them.
  • Research and understand the competition -- both direct and indirect. Direct competitors are "obvious" -- e.g. McDonald's is a direct competitor of Burger King. Indirect competitors represent "any alternative option" -- so, in this case, that might be the corner grocery store. Why is this important? so that you can effectively position what you have to offer against any other option your target market might have to choose from. And, so you can..
  •  ...determine what it is about what you have to offer that is different in some meaningful way from your competition and meets the identified needs of your target audience.
Those, of course, are the "big rocks." There are a number of other important steps along the way to ensure that your communication tactics are well aligned with your goals and objectives--and that they serve to connect and compel your audience to some desired action.
 
We have a couple of white papers that provide some additional detail that may be helpful:  
 
We Invite You to Join Our LinkedIn Group!  
We recently launched a new LinkedIn group -   
 
We're hoping the group will generate some good discussion and sharing of best practice insights among communication professionals. It's a closed group, meaning that we are carefully monitoring participation and limiting it to those who are committed to opening sharing information in a non-promotional manner.
 
We hope you'll join the conversation! 
Volume: 6 - Issue: 3
 March 2014
Strat Comm logo
In This Issue
Who You Should be on Google+
Celebrity, Silliness and the Masses
10 Reasons Your Planning Efforts Fail
Integrated Marketing Planning
We're In the News! 








Research Matters
Some recent news and  research you may be interested in--we were!  
 





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