The POST method: A useful acronym for planning a Social Media strategy

30 Jul 2009

At the Online Marketing Show the other week Ciaran Norris of Mindshare referred to the Forrester POST method in his seminar on Social Media. It’s been around a while but this was the first time I’d come across it. Basically, it’s a useful acronym which outlines the approach you should take when thinking about using Social Media.

So before you jump on Twitter or Facebook because ‘everyone else is doing it goddamit’ take a look at this baby. (And how handy is it that it’s POST and not BAUF or AGWN or something else that’s instantly forgettable?)

P is for People: Who are you trying to reach? Who’s your audience? Where do they hang out? What’s the best way to reach them?

O is for Objectives: What exactly are you trying to achieve? Increase in sales? Brand repositioning? Better customer service? And how will you measure your success?

S is for Strategy: How will relationships with your customers change? What will be expected of you as a company? How will you handle negative comments?

T is for Technology: So now you know who, why and how, you should have a good idea of what to use. Wikis? Facebook? Twitter? Flickr?

So get your plan in place and then start using Social Media. Not the other way round.

Any useful acronyms you use in business? Share in the comments.