Being a Social CMO

Social media is one significant channel of communication that has broken most barriers between brands and their target audience. As a Chief Marketing Officer and a new age manager, it is fundamental to categorize the market dynamics and not only understand conversations consumers are having with each other, but participate in them as well.

It is crucial to identify the most appealing content, arrive at a preferred tonality and present content differently on various social media platforms. Be it banking on influencers, communicating directly or targeting communication to consumers on platforms that they regularly frequent, making a strong social media presence is no longer a choice, but an absolute necessity for a CMO.

Here are some vital traits a CMO should possess to make a mark on social media:

Be Curious: Whoever said ‘Curiosity killed the cat’ clearly never learnt much! To truly understand the ever changing current social media platforms and all the new ones that pop up along the way, curiosity should be in your DNA. It’s fundamental for a CMO to understand every new channel, platform or process in order to make your mark and stay with the times.

Use Multi-channels: With a number of social media platforms available, customers usually settle with a few that they are well versed with and get absolutely hooked. A CMO needs to identify which of these platforms to communicate via and how the communication should vary. This multi-channel expertise will help the CMO lead the team to plan and execute more efficiently and skillfully organize marketing campaigns as well.

Being Tech savvy: To lead social media marketing today, you need to study and understand the various technological intricacies of the medium. Right from a supporting app, to the trendiest form of presentation of that information, all these details help get your social media game on. It allows you to emerge as a path breaker, thereby helping your brand garner more attention and ultimately secure a market advantage.

Pay attention to Design: Social media is like a children’s story book, the better the images, the better the book. It goes without saying that the story needs to be phenomenal, however great designs can take you a long way. It’s very crucial for a CMO to understand the structure, elements and colours that narrate the brand story skillfully to the audiences.

Understand Data: It’s all about the DATA! Many research studies have suggested that being data driven has helped many top CMO’s understand finances, estimate reports, and work out more constructive plans — all of which are vital in growing a company.

Time and again, most of the successful CMO’s have revealed these qualities are essential in order to excel. Social media can exert a tremendous influence on buyer behavior, therefore making it doubly important for a CMO of today to scrutinize what and how they choose to communicate with their target audience whilst increasing marketing communication touch points.

By Zafar Rais, CEO,MindShift Interactive