Think of your social media strategy as a platform supported by four pillars.  You really need all four to stabilize and support the platform to make the strategy work.

1. Communication
2. Collaboration
3. Education
4. Entertainment

COMMUNICATION: Every company already does something to communicate with its audience.  How is your communication perceived by your audience?  How do you measure the effectiveness of your communication strategy?  Which particular strategy triggers the most beneficial action, response, or behavior from your audience?

With some social media tools, you can measure things that eventually translate into something on your company profit and loss statement.  For example, let’s say you develop a monthly e-newsletter delivered through a service such as Constant Contact.  Your email might include a special discount offer with a link to your web site where your customer can request more information or place an order.  These requests or orders are easily measured and a cause-and-effect relationship can be determined.  With most programs like Constant Contact, you can measure how many people open your email and how man click on which links within the e-newsletter.

COLLABORATION: Every year numerous books and magazine articles are written about collaboration in the workplace.  It’s hard not to be in favor of collaboration, but why do some organizations do it so well and others fail miserably?  Is is the company culture that makes a difference or perhaps the skills of those who endeavor to collaborate?  Could it be the tools used to collaborate?

Charles Schwab took an interesting approach to this opportunity by creating a customer advisory community with approximately 400 members who discuss issues, share opinions, and provide feedback that influences Schwab’s product offerings.  In July 2008, Schwab extended an invitation to be considered for their Schwab Client Forum.  In exchange for 5 to 15 minutes of mindshare per week, Schwab offered selected panel members the opportunity of  “periodic rewards such as online gift certificates, occasional drawings for other gifts, and a few surprises along the way.”  the response from their customer base was overwhelming, and within a few days of launching the e-mail invitation, the community was full.  It appears that Schwab has learned something powerful about the power of engaging your customers through collaboration.

EDUCATION: Many of us have had the experience of standing helpless and hapless in front of a plumber as we try hard to understand what the problem is and what the solution will cost.  You realize that your plumber has expertise, and when that expertise is combined with an ability to effectively educate you about your home’s plumbing, you have been engaged by the plumber experience.

How often are you/your company required to educate your internal or external audience, and do you look for opportunities to do so?  Your ultimate social media strategy should leverage your expertise, the expertise of people within your company, and your customers’ expertise as well.  Several social media tools and applications can be used to engage people through education… YouTube, Flickr, blogs, and discussion boards to name a few.

ENTERTAINMENT: If kitchen blenders can find a starring role on YouTube, there’s no reason for just about any business to be optimistic about the prospects of entertaining your audience by finding those attributes of your product or aspects of your company that others might consider entertaining.  Be cautious, however, because entertaining doesn’t necessarily mean funny.  In fact, humor can be dangerous terrain to traverse.  What some people find funny is patently offensive to others.  Christian Lander’s blog is a fitting example of content that many people find hilarious and others inappropriate.  Lander is building a brand around an audience who enjoys an opportunity to self-deprecate, but his brand of sarcasm and irreverence could prove disastrous to other product offerings.