Whether or not Air Canada uses the right social media monitoring services (or, for that matter, is monitoring social media at all) is irrelevant in the wake of a disastrous public relations episode in which a 10-year-old boy’s wheelchair was damaged during a flight to New York City. It was only after Tanner Bawn’s troubles were picked up by the TwitterSphere that Air Canada scrambled to respond.

The episode drives home two points: Air Canada needs to do a much better job of monitoring the social media landscape, and Canadian companies, in general, are still not moving aggressively to take advantage of what social media has to offer as a communications, marketing, sales, customer service and crisis management tool.

A month ago, I did a post asking which Canadian companies were doing well at social media. The response in terms of comments and tweets was far from overwhelming. Sure, there are companies using it well but, overall, Canada is lagging behind in social media – much like we did in e-commerce and Web 2.0.

It is difficult to explain why Canadian companies have taken a cautious approach to social media given the amount of activity and the number of people on the bandwagon. Many Canadian companies are just starting to dip their toes in the water, while trying to figure out if its fits strategically and tactically with their other operations.

While it is important not to plunge into social media without a sense of what you want to do, your objectives and target audience, social media is something you just have to do at some point, particularly if you’re a consumer-facing company. Even putting a toe in water will provide companies with valuable experience of what works and what doesn’t so they can start to get a better handle on how they could have an effective social media presence.

Here’s some advice for companies thinking about getting into social media but not sure what to do:

1. Start by asking why why you want to social media. Is it because social media is all the rage? Does it offer obvious benefits in terms of marketing, communications and sales? Is the competition using it?

2. Establish what success looks like. It could be more sales, better customer service, a stronger brand or a new way to engage with existing and potential customers. Whatever the goal, select one that is relevant, and then measure against it.

3. Identity the target audience(s) and whether social media is how they are consuming information. If your customers don’t use Facebook, then Facebook may not be the best social media service to embrace.

4. Be realistic about the resources and people to make social media happen. As much as a good strategic plan is a necessity, many companies fail at social media because they don’t execute tactically. This means having people who can work social media on a day in, day out basis, regardless of how many services are being used. It means making sure the organization as a whole embraces and promotes social media so it’s not a siloed or orphaned activity.

5. Be patient. Social media success doesn’t happen overnight. I advise clients it takes about three to six months to get a good handle on what’s happening. During this period, companies must have a steady social media presence, provide good content (videos, photos, links, contests, etc.) and continually monitor and measure to make adjustments.

For any company looking for advice or answers about social media strategy and tactics, I’d be happy to happy to talk. Click on the contact link for more information.

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