How can you manage the risks of social marketing?

1 Identify and assess the risks

Prior to launching a social marketing campaign, it is essential to identify and assess the potential risks that may arise from your objectives, strategies, tactics, and messages. These risks can include offending or alienating your target audience or other stakeholders, misrepresenting or oversimplifying the social issue or the solution, facing legal, ethical, or regulatory challenges or backlash, damaging your reputation or credibility as an organization or a social marketer, and wasting resources or failing to achieve your desired outcomes. To help with this process, you can use tools such as SWOT analysis, risk matrix, or stakeholder analysis. Additionally, it is beneficial to consult with experts, partners, or representatives of your target audience to get their input and feedback.

2 Develop a risk management plan

Once you have identified and assessed the risks, you need to develop a risk management plan that outlines how to prevent, mitigate, or respond to each risk. This plan should include the risk level, impact, and probability of each risk; the risk owner responsible for managing it; the risk strategy (avoiding, reducing, transferring, or accepting); the risk actions and indicators; and a contingency plan in case the risk occurs or escalates. It is important to document your risk management plan and communicate it to your team and other relevant stakeholders. Additionally, you should review and update your plan regularly in order to reflect any changes or new information.

3 Monitor and evaluate the risks

Monitoring and evaluating the risks and effectiveness of your risk management plan during and after your social marketing campaign is essential. You should collect and analyze data and feedback from your target audience, partners, media, or other sources to measure the impact and outcomes of your campaign and identify any potential or emerging risks. Additionally, track and report on the risk indicators and the progress and results of the risk actions to assess the risk status and performance of your risk management plan. If necessary, adjust or revise your risk actions or contingency plan to address any issues or challenges or to take advantage of any opportunities or successes. Lastly, document and share your lessons learned and best practices on risk management with your team and other relevant stakeholders to improve future social marketing campaigns. Social marketing can be a rewarding experience; however, it requires careful risk management to ensure that it is effective, ethical, and sustainable. By following these tips, you can manage the risks of social marketing and reach your goals.

4 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?