You're likely doomed without strategy in any form of dialogue. Would you deploy emails without a strategic baseline of goals and assumed metrics? Would you put your money into a media buy without a plan? – all of these things are achieved with a bit more ease when your brand is recognizable.

With that said, whether you have the pre-existing following of a Dell, Oprah, or Perez Hilton… or are a small start up looking to engage within Twitter to communicate to potential purchasers – you NEED to plan. You must continually create legitimate dialogue and relationships and it must be logically integrated with existing communications programs.

I would find it hard to believe that Dell is attributing 100% of the sale being made JUST by using Twitter and the fact that they are as dominant as they are.

Manish says “No strategy necessary”, although one sentence before he clearly states that facilitating the conversation should be the strategy companies should use.

I think this boils down to the fact that for Dell, customer service is in the fabric of the organization, where for many other businesses, this is an actual strategic direction they need to pursue.

Jordan
http://jordanwillms.posterous.com/manish-mehta-isnt-the-value-of-social-media-w

Since social technology is new there is a lack of knowledge relative to its impact on strategic thinking and the related disciplines. Traditionally strategic thinking has encompassed organizational alignment of key elements present in most organizations. These elements included: organizational design, culture, leadership, management, communications, marketing, technology, human relations, finance and market research. There are a host of subset elements for each of the primary elements but in essence strategy was about development and deployment of a road map that maximized the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire organization.

A social strategy defines how the organization can better “relate and communicate” with all its constituents. Constituencies includes people (markets, suppliers, customers, investors, society and employees) who interact with the organization, internally and externally.

Because the reach and richness of social technology is new it has never been considered of strategic importance until now. The ability to relate and communicate impacts everything, everyone and at speeds never before experienced. The knowledge domain of these issues simply does not exist but is evolving day by day and the related changes impact everything and everyone.

Strategy is about having a road map to reach strategic objectives. Social strategies is about how to ensure your organization is ready to follow the map effectively and what new knowledge is required. Knowledge about the technology but more importantly knowledge of the inter-related dynamics it creates and the impact those dynamics have on results.

Stay tuned as everyone learns the disciplines and knowledge required to develop and execute a social strategy. Doing so requires a new mind map that is in opposition to business as usual and defines a new road map for business thinking and processes that are unusual. Not having a social strategy means your organization will likely fail in the emerging markets which is quickly replacing all markets.

Having “no strategy” for a new and emerging communication method (I’d rather like not to talk about it as channel) is the strategy in itself. And for sure the company has a business strategy where they have derived their marketing and also their communication strategy from.

And BTW: Listening to the customers isn’t all new because of social media – this should be part of any MARKETING strategy. Social media just makes it easier for brands to listen and to learn and having conversations and interactions. And that’s what SOCIAL MEDIA is about…

I’m coming from the strategy side and I’m a big fan of social media. But I’m still learning each day… And so should brand managers as well as agencies: learn to use social media as a communication platform and not yet another one-way channel to shout out their message. And that is part of a STRATEGY, isn’t it?

Oliver T. Hellriegel
http://xeesm.com/Hellriegel/

Dell is a $60 billion corporation and must have definite and clear strategies which run over multi-years with regular say annual review and adjustment. You don’t run $60b firms and change them like you do a corner store – that’s just facile thinking.

Through Twitter marketing itself, Dell made over $6.5 million. The number of tweets sent out by all of Dell’s Twitter accounts were about 1.5 million and over 100 employees have been sending out tweets for the company.

Firstly, 0.01% of sales, through what was essentially a direct marketing approach is hardly the basis for throwing out strategy top to bottom for global $61b firm.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for social media and a big fan of Dell and a social media practitioner. I know the benefits, and am learning more each day.

Do results and circumstances change strategy? Yes of course but they don’t push strategy from pillar to post every day as those who say that “things move to fast to have a strategy” would have you want to believe. Is there such a thing as emergent strategy? Yes of course, and I tire of people saying “Facebook doesn’t have a strategy” and doesn’t know how to earn money etc etc – of course they are smarter than us and they have an emergent strategy in place – give them credit.

Does Dell as a $60b firm have a strategy will could be called “emergent” – personally I doubt it. Let’s get back to how you casually engage with and coordinate your own 100 people who are sending out 1.5 million tweets – with great respect I don’t think Mom and Pop at the corner store would have any idea of how to PLAN this.

But wait, what’s the difference between a plan and a strategy? Well actually I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. Dell thought through what they were doing, without knowing how it would work out and shape up. It was PART of their business strategy and “A means to help determine it” not THE means. And they have done a great job and Mr Metha has done a great job of igniting the conversation.

If more executives dip their toe in the water all the better. It is very hard to teach a person to ride a bike if you have not ridden one yourself, and that’s what it often feels like when I am talking with execs who have an urge to get their people and company involved but are not involved in social media themselves.

Walter Adamson @g2m
http://xeesm.com/walter