Seeking social media success? Do the groundwork first

Every client is different. The real-life answer to "how and when do we use social media?" is: Who are your users? Unless user types (a more granular view of audience) are clearly defined, a social media strategy is likely to underperform or misfire.

Criteria for defining users must include traditional demographics/psychographics; they must also include generational and regional differences in technology usage.

At Interface Guru, our experience is that very few companies outside of Silicon Valley approach their digital media presence from this perspective, including very well-known and well-funded brands.

I hope this note brings you a useful perspective on social media. The most important takeaway: Get Web 1.0 right before attempting Web 2.0. What does that mean? It means a Web site must be relevant, clean, and usable - social media cannot save a company from a poorly-designed Web presence.