I liked Srinivas Kandikonda’s article in Technology News about the need for a social media strategy and although he is writing about media organizations, the lessons apply equally to  any business today.

Here are his main points:

The need for adoption of social media and delivery to multiple mobile devices is increasingly becoming essential for retaining and attracting new customers

The smart phone is the next content platform.  It’s a powerful touchpoint and a highly personal channel. From news and product information to coupon campaigns and location-based marketing companies can engage consumers wherever they are to influence the buying decision and strengthen customer relationships.

Companies are taking a holistic approach to branding and delivering content to various platforms such as televisions, Internet, mobile devices, social media sites, print and other channels.

Good content shared on multiple channels is becoming a valuable asset. Companies that leverage social networking, content and knowledge assets will be those best positioned for future success.

The content that gets published across these channels should be consistent and be managed together

In a recent Washington Post article, 10 Mistakes Companies Make in Social Media, Debbie Weil said “Organizations and companies using social media should have a hub on their primary Web site where users can find links or feeds to blogs, Flickr photo galleries and other third-party Web sites. This also gives customers or constituents a single go-to URL”  A social media newsroom fits this description perfectly.

Search engine optimization plays a major role in driving traffic to the website. The site should be optimized not only for its own content, but also for the content published on various other channels.

Have one overall  keyword strategy.  work with your SEO colleagues and incorporate the keywords and phrases into all your PR content – news releases, blog posts, tweets.

A comprehensive social media strategy enables customers, as well as employees, to interact with each other using Web 2.0 tools, integrated with internal and external portals

As the Cluetrain Manifesto said: Corporate firewalls have kept smart employees in and smart markets out. It’s going to cause real pain to tear those walls down. But the result will be a new kind of conversation. And it will be the most exciting conversation business has ever engaged in.

Advanced analytics that can track campaigns that are spread across multiple channels are an essential part of this strategy.

Managing hundreds of pieces of content distributed across multiple channels presents a significant challenge, but there are products available that can help you track all your PR, news and social content. Radian6 is one.  Marketwire just acquired Sysomos to do just this.

At the Media Relations Summit in New York City at the end of June there were comments in practically every session about how much the media landscape has changed and that as the jobs description of a journalist changes, so too does the work of a PR person.  Content on multiple channels is a big part of PR today.  We have to know how to create it, how to distribute is and how to track views and engagement.

Related articles that you might find helpful

Delivering an Exceptional Customer Experience in a MultiChannel World

7 Steps to Effective MultiChannel Marketing