For nearly 20 years we have guided the biggest companies in the world on social media initiatives ranging from launching global campaigns to being expert witnesses in complex legal cases involving social media, and we thought it would be helpful to drop this post around the common failures we see in small to mid-sized companies that the big players (Fortune 500s, etc.) don’t typically suffer from. 

First and foremost, the concept of tangential relationships where even though you love your neighbor and their kid is a smart person, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a social media expert and have the expertise to guide a local or major brand. Though so many people get duped into these scenarios because nowadays everyone claims to be an expert but who truly is in the end? 

Secondly, think about a “seesaw effect” where the more you push to produce results with people that don’t understand the business/marketing world actually leads to more problems because you have too many cooks in the kitchen, and also cooks that have never prepared this particular cuisine. Would you want an Italian chef making your sushi or a brain surgeon doing your heart transplant? No. 

Lastly, companies across the world need to wake up to what’s happening today in the digital marketing space and really grill people/companies before hiring them to provide marketing “solutions” because many are operating in glass boxes with regurgitated information commonly found online. 

But what approach/team will make your company initiatives successful?