The RICE strategy

Recently i have been writing a social media strategy for the university which is currently still in draft. I decided to create a condensed version of the strategy with a snappy acronym. Slightly contrived i admit but easy to remember. So here i present the RICE strategy for social media:

• Research - before you do a thing examine why you are planning to use social media, see if anyone else is doing something similar, what sort of platforms there are and how applicable they are to your plans, also check what is used in the age-group, sector or geographical areas you wish to engage with.
• Invest - there is no point making a token gesture in social media, a proper presence requires a proper investment. Social media is an ongoing dialogue with your users so needs investment in time and patience as results may not be immediate or even that easy to quantify.
• Commit - your organisation needs to buy into social media and integrate it into it's existing marketing and communication functions. Social media is a dialogue not a broadcast like traditional media so you need to be in for the long run to get the best of it.
• Engage - as social media is a dialogue you need to engage in discussion with your customers. Build a community of your users and customers and this can help drive the development of your social media.