Last month, I spoke with Haynes and Boone, LLP of Austin, and we had a Q&A session on Social Media. While there are so many best practices out there on how to blog or write Facebook posts or Twitter tweets, they asked me to share what has to happen beyond Facebook and Twitter to make your Social Media strategy a success.

What is the purpose of participating in Social Media?

The universal purpose of participating in Social Media is to communicate with your target audience. Remember that communication is a two-way street. Social Media is not effective if you only push information out. It is essential to listen and respond to what others are saying about your company and your industry.

Each company should also determine specifically why they are participating in Social Media. While daily 100,000,000 videos are viewed on YouTube and 5,000,000,000 minutes are spent on Facebook, a company shouldn’t participate in Social Media just because everyone else is. Have a purpose and goals to measure your success just like you would for other marketing initiatives.

Even if your company is not “participating” in Social Media, people can still be out there talking about you! Don’t ignore unsatisfied customers or your raving fans. Be aware of what is being posted about your company by registering for Google Alerts. It’s free, and you’ll receive an email whenever something is published online about your company name (or whatever keyword phrase you want to monitor).

Should the Marketing department manage a company’s Social Media campaign?

Your Social Media campaign should match your company’s culture and experience across all departments – not just the marketing department. Social Media communication should be transparent and personable. The more people who contribute, the better your Social Media campaigns will represent your company and reach your audience in an authentic way. Your company has a wealth of expertise, and Social Media is a great way to highlight your depth of talent. Listen to everyone in your company and let your Social Media presence reflect that.

While contributions should come from all departments, a company should determine what level of approval is needed before blogs and other posts are published. A quirky marketing agency will not have to be as strict as a pharmaceutical company who has to be sure all communication meets government regulations.

How much time should a company devote to Social Media?

Businesses love that so many Social Media sites are free, but anyone who has managed Social Media knows that it is only free in the sense that Facebook pages, Twitter profiles and Hootsuite are free to use. It takes an ongoing commitment of time to make Social Media successful. Time is valuable, so it’s important to plan ahead to minimize the time it takes to execute your Social Media strategy. Establishing a Social Media budget is key to be able to measure the success and ROI of the campaign. Budget and work effort should be determined and managed similar to other marketing initiatives.

How should a company respond to negative comments?

It is nearly impossible to avoid negative comments about your brand being posted somewhere online. How a company responds to negative comments is crucial. If a company responds that they are listening and are working to resolve the situation, it can impact the public’s sentiment towards your company in a positive way as the issue is being resolved.

Don’t wait until a negative comment is found – establish a plan now! Who will initially respond and who is responsible for managing the issue resolution process from start to finish? If there are customer concerns and recommendations that you are already aware of, publish the list on your website or blog to let your audience know you are listening and that you are working on creative solutions.

Do you think companies participating in Social Media are really listening before responding?