February 12, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Who really owns social media? Hint: not you!
I've been reading the back and forth conversation about the ownership of social media over on Shel Holtz's blog.
This subject keeps cropping up more and more. It reminds me that far too many folks in corporate would rather focus on turf ownership than quality strategy. It's like a never-ending game of Monopoly gone horribly wrong. It makes me feel like I want to break out in hives.
Mitch Joel says that digital agencies should own the social media landscape. He says that traditional advertising agencies struggle with adding digital strategies to the pot and PR firms don't have the technical savvy to execute (I agree with this bit since this is a service that my company provides -- quite lucratively -- to PR firms).
Shel makes a good point by saying that it's not about "ownership" per se. Shel says:
With or without a Chief Repuation Officer, though, the accountability for a company’s social media belongs inside the organization.
My take is a bit different:
1. I agree that it isn't about ownership. And, yes, the final, line item accountability is definitely an internal matter.
Recently I spoke at the Social Media Summit and I was asked this same "ownership" question. My answer then is my answer now: corporations are so busy trying to work in this new space with old school business models, it's no wonder they're not making any headway.
The entire premise of social media is the word "social." Get it? As in, being friendly and sharing.
Now, I'm not one of these airy-fairy people who thinks that business is a democracy -- because it ain't -- but a company's social media efforts and governance needs to be shared amongst whatever departments and parties make sense for that particular company.
If it's just two departments, then so be it. If it's five then it's five -- as long as it's organized, of course.
2. Along the same lines, I think all the nuts-and-bolts aspects of social media should be outsourced -- organizations have better things to do than learning how to set up a Movable Type infrastructure, but the conversation, content and community should be watched over by the company.
3. Let we not forget that the real owners are the community members themselves. (Yep, I just had the throw that one in.)
Posted by Lena West on February 12, 2008 04:00 AM
January 22, 2008 | Comments: (0)
It would appear that niche communities are all the rage -- at least for the moment they are.
You know what they are...you've seen them. Total virtual communities dedicated to just one topic -- like Snooth.com for wine connoisseurs and silvervixens.com for women "of a certain age." (Disclaimer: my company programmed silvervixen.com.)
I've read several articles over the past week or so touting niche communities as the best online marketing vehicle for businesses. As they say, the money follows the crowd.
So, what's driving the trend?
1. Approximiately $920 million dollars was spent in 2007 in ads on social networks -- and 8 percent of that moolah went to niche sites. Um, yep, that's enough to start and drive a trend.
2. The big companies are in it -- so it must be good
But, here's what I think is really the driver:
3. Companies benefit from being involved with a very small aspect of social media -- and yet they're still just buying ads. They don't have to change their modus operandi one iota -- and they can tout that they're "engaged with social media." Same sh*t, different tactic.
It's funny how the world works when you have the money to spend.
Posted by Lena West on January 22, 2008 04:00 AM
January 13, 2008 | Comments: (0)
The nitty gritty.
ROI.
The devil is in the details.
God is in the details.
Measure twice, cut once.
I think it can pretty much go without saying that measurements are critical to any social media strategy. I mean, how else will you know, objectively and for certain, that the darn stuff is working?
I think we all cede to that.
I submit that measurements are more than just a component of a strategy, I say that measurements make it more likely that the strategy is a successful one that generates serious results.
Why? Because:
1. People are more apt to do what they're supposed to be doing if they know someone is watching. Although the measure of someone's character is how they act when they think no one is looking, the truth is many people will only do what they are supposed to (e.g., start the campaign, post a comment on an influencer's blog, send the press release, make a phone call, etc.) when they think someone is watching or measuring the results of their work.
2. What we focus on expands. So, if you're spending a fair amount of time running the numbers and examining metrics, you'll naturally get more to measure simply because you're paying attention to it. Kinda like when you figure out where your money is going (e.g., making a spending plan), you naturally save more money because you're paying attention to where your money goes.
3. What doesn't get measured gets forgotten. If you're not remembering -- or don't care -- to check the metrics of your social media efforts, eventually you'll forget about the whole initiative. Examining the numbers ensures that the task is on your radar and you're more likely to attend to other aspects of the task as well.
The next question is, which metrics should you measure?
I'll answer that in my next post.
Posted by Lena West on January 13, 2008 07:18 PM
December 17, 2007 | Comments: (0)
It used to be that health benefits and a generous number of sick days were enough to have top-notch talent scratching at your corporate threshold. Now? Not so much.
This is a quote from a soon-to-be-released white paper I helped author about social media for internal corporate communications:
"The modern workforce is very used to using blogs, podcasts and other social media tools in their personal lives. It becomes a near impossible stretch for them to lead interactive, digitized lives at home and shift to low-tech, paper-based, one-sided communication in the office. It just doesn’t translate."
It just doesn't. Think about it, you're at home...you're Twittering, posting to your family's blog and using Google Apps to set up your family's annual vacation. You go into the office and you're liberated by...email? Ah, no.
Companies that think by not being involved with social media, they're only missing out on the opportunity to be more competitive with other companies in product and service categories need to think again.
Hate it or love it, social media sets the imperative for all corporations to compete for clients/customers AND talent.
While on my speaking tour, an attendee shared a story about a company with a pretty solid track record and decent growth rates. It seems that a smart young woman, fresh out of college, was interviewing for a tech position within this company. When she was offered the position, she hesitated to accept.
When asked why she simply said, "Honestly, I took a look at your website and I'm not sure that your company is advancing technologically. You don't have a blog, and your website is basically flat. You're a tech-based company and I thought you would be a bit fauther along in your adoption than this." Clearly, the company wanted to employ her, but she was not sure if she wanted to be employed by the company.
The tables have turned in more way than one. Companies can no longer afford to compete on cash, bennies and perks. They need to be cool and hip - or at the very least have a clue.
The war for talent is real. A company can have the best strategy, top-flight alliances and generous cash reserves, but without its people - the human capital - it's merely a corporate shell with a tax obligation. People and their ideas feed the machine. They are what keep it going. Ideas and innovation are people-driven.
Companies that don't have a seat at the Internet's conversation table really are not part of the dialogue and good companies with bright futures are all too often being overlooked as potential employers.
Organizations that are not engaging with social media are getting the short shrift on top talent, because no one wants to work at an old-fart of a company.
Refuse to think one dimensionally about social media. Yes, it's about increasing your footprint, a competitive advantage, thought leadership, presence and all that buzz stuff...but it's also about "getting the right people on the bus". And, we all know how important Jim Collins says THAT is.
Your website SAYS your company is about innovation. It SAYS you hire the best and the brightest. It SAYS you're looking for the right people. It SAYS you're leading your industry into the future.
Ladies and gents, as we slide into 2008, talk has never been more cheap.
Posted by Lena West on December 17, 2007 09:22 AM
December 10, 2007 | Comments: (0)
This past weekend, I was invited to a colleague's holiday party. I found myself rubbing elbows with the CIO of a multi-national imaging corporation.
Of course, he asked about my career and when I explained that I'm a social media strategist and consultant, he asked me flat out, "Should I be blogging?"
After I got clarity that he was considering an internal blog for corporate communication, I then gave the dreaded reply, "It depends. What are your goals? Why do you think you should be blogging?"
To which he delivered the social media strategist's death knell, "Well, we figure since everyone else is doing it...."
That's the thing...even really smart, accomplished people have no idea why they should be using social media. They're just doing it to keep up with everyone else. Which is an OK supporting reason, but if keeping up with other companies is the sole reason your organization is blogging, you're headed for a social media train wreck.
Here's why:
- I don't know about you but every time I've ever done anything because someone else was doing it, the task or project quickly lost it's appeal and my "victory" was hollow at best.
- When I'm not in touch with the real reason for doing something, I grow to resent doing that task and when you resent having to blog, it comes through in every conceivable way -- from infrequent posts to lame-o topics.
- You don't get to really focus on taking the project in the direction it needs to go because the task you've undertaken is a part of another company's strategy.
Social media yields stellar results under the framework of "Right Action."
Right Action, in the non-Buddhist sense, is: the right people, doing the right things, in the right way, at the right time, for the right reasons.
Once your organization implements and develops a social media engagement plan under these terms, you'll be good to go. Until then, who knows?
And, of course, that begs the question, "What is right?"
*chuckle*
Another post...another time...
Posted by Lena West on December 10, 2007 01:11 PM
December 03, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Just like people who don't vote don't have the right to complain about the governmental administration, brands that refuse to create their own 'turf', lose their right to complain about anything negative said about their organization in the blogosphere.
Social media is like the lotto. You have to be in it to win it.
By now you should know that you can't control online conversation(s) about your brand(s). Period. You can only attempt to MANAGE the conversation.
And, the only way you can ever expect to even manage the conversation is to have, what I call, a 'turf' to which you can direct a wayward conversation. You need your own social media vehicle. You can't expect to drive someone else's car (blog/podcast/community) to your own desired destination.
As you know, I recently completed a four-city speaking tour where I was speaking to IR and PR types about social media. I had a great time, but was stunned to get so many fear-based questions, like:
What do we do if someone says something bad about our company?
What do we do if someone spreads lies about our company?
What do we do if someone doesn't tell the whole story about something that's happened with our brand?
My answer to that?
If you would simply fully engage with social media by creating and maintaining your very own blog/podcast/community, you'd have some options -- instead of resisting engagement and yet still expecting to manage the conversation. That's just crazy. After all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
I'll say it again, create your own 'turf', where you make the rules and where you CAN have quasi-control over the conversation.
If you have your own 'turf', when you dislike what someone has to say about your brand on their blog, you can simply submit a very nice comment:
"I'm very sorry you feel this way about our company. We're having a conversation about this now on our blog, [insert link to your blog here] in an effort to get to the bottom of things. You're more than welcome to join the conversation and be a part of the solution. Your input is appreciated."
...or some such message...
Just make sure that your comment is genuine/authentic, positive and brings the conversation back to your 'turf'.
Will this always work?
Nope. What in life always works?
Do reporters always print retractions? Nope.
Do you always get apologies from publications? Nope.
Then why start expecting miracles from bloggers???
You'll handle this very much like you'd handle traditional media, right? Right.
So, stop with the whining about what could happen and set up your blog already.
Posted by Lena West on December 3, 2007 11:50 PM
November 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Virtual Worlds and Your Real-World A**
SecondLife might be a virtual world, but you've got a real-world a** to protect, so when the top brass sends you in search of innovation and you want to take a spin with SecondLife, you don't need another about SecondLife. You need the straight dope.
To be fair, the Accenture article is long on education -- which can be a good thing -- but it's short on "what the hell does all this mean to me," which, as you know is my area of speciality via this blog.
So, here are a a few points the Accenture article missed:
1. As you may know from previous blog posts, I recently went on a four-city speaking tour of the West Coast, and I came back with some interesting tidbits. While there, I had the opportunity to sit down with Bryan Carter, Director of Multimedia Services at Avnet and get a private tour of what the company's recent investment in SecondLife has netted. (Look for an interview soon with Carter.)
I was nothing short of amazed -- and that's no easy feat. Avnet has secured its own island and made an exact replica (from the graphical representation of more than 2,000 still pictures) of the technology museum in the company's lobby in SecondLife. A textured globe of the world with real-time weather patterns makes Avnet's SL efforts extra super coolio.
I share this to let you know that it's not just companies with monster advertising/marketing budgets like Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo, Procter & Gamble, and Toyota that are making investments in SL presences.
There are loads of other companies who are silently preparing for the right time to be a first-mover. Which leads me to my next point...
2. Now is NOT the right time to break into SecondLife, but now IS the right time to figure out if SL fits with your corporate strategy, how you're going to use the medium, start purchasing land, and building your company's SecondLife infrastucture.
Much needs to be done thin out the software client, normalize system maintenance cycles (so they don't interrupt the world), and keep porn away from corporate business deals -- to name a few things.
But, whatever you do, don't wait until your competition launches a hot SecondLife marketing campaign in 2009 to start downloading the software.
3. If you decide to do a "soft launch" in SecondLife, remember that the real world doesn't revolve around your company's brand and neither do virtual worlds. Try to figure out how your organization can be part of the SL community BEFORE expecting people to pay attention to you. Attend -- or better yet -- sponsor some local Metaverse meetups. Listen to what the residents of SL have to say. Read case studies about companies that have gotten it right -- and gotten it wrong.
Earlier this year, I interviewed Georg Kolb, Text 100's EVP of Innovation, and he had this to say about SL: "Second Life is not a game. It is a virtual world, and you need to have a strategy to move in there. Success in Second Life is less about first-mover bragging rights and more about contributing to the good of the overall community. Don't just try to push your wares."
4. It's not all about SecondLife, either. To broaden your horizons, check out:
5. And, perhaps, this should have come first or maybe been 2(a), but figure out how SL fits in with your current business goals. There's innovation for innovation's sake and then there's strategic innovation that pays off in more ways than one.
For example, if you don't have the budget to do what you'd like in SecondLife, could you partner with the potential client or strategic alliance you've been courting since last quarter to do a small, yet effective, project?
I've heard time and time again from corporate management their next project could mean the end of their career with company X. Well, the best way to protect your a** (and your job) is to be smart -- and strategic -- about all this stuff.
Posted by Lena West on November 26, 2007 03:00 AM
November 04, 2007 | Comments: (0)
10 Steps for Corporations to Get Started with Social Media - the Right Way
In my last post, I went on a bit of a rant about social media and how corporations need to start the shift from theory to execution. I also invited you to my Nov 6th chat where I'll be going into detail about this subject.
But, here are some starting points for those who just can't wait (or can't make it to the chat on Tuesday) and want an answer to the million-dollar question: How? How can an enterprise start to take action in re: social media?
1) Get over it. If the powers that be want to try to use social media to control what's said, get over it. If the corporate ego is easily bruised, now's the time for extra thick skin. If you're scared that someone, somewhere is going to say something damaging about your brand, realize they already are and instead focus on not just being a part of that conversation, but also facilitating it - and steering it (NOT controlling it). Maybe you'll learn something new. Check the corporate ego, pride, fiefdoms, control tendencies and all other manner of enterprise baggage at the social media door. If this first critical step cannot be taken, stick to advertising strategies.
2) Pick your 'poison'. What social media tool will the organization use? Will it launch a podcast or blog? An online community? Are you sure that the tool is the appropriate one for the organization's needs?
3) Develop your strategy. Anything worthwhile starts with some sort of plan. Get in touch with why the organization wants to do this. What are its goals, benchmarks and milestones? This is not a two-inch document, but rather a few bulleted items in a list format. Be sure to link your social media goals to the overall business goals so the enterprise trajectory is smooth.
4) Develop your dream team. Who are the people you want on your 'social media bus'? It doesn't have to be everyone from IT (although one internal champion from IT is ideal); your team can include the hip, young intern in marketing. Who is going to man the fort? Which department(s) is/are the business owner? Whose responsibility is it to make sure comments, trackbacks and potential connection points are follow-up on and leveraged? How will partners and strategic alliances be folded into the mix?
5) Analyze and plan for risk. What is the worst case scenario and what will you do if that scenario is realized? Clearly differentiate between a crisis and a bad social media day (they happen). Who are the 'first responders' and what does the triage process look like? Now's the time for phone and decision trees. How will the organization come back from derailing? In the words of Seth Godin, when will your stick and when will you quit?
6) Analyze and plan for success. So many social media approaches don't plan for success. What will you do if your corporate blog is the next best thing since Mark Cuban's BlogMaverick? Will your infrastructure handle the tsunami of traffic? Can your service center handle an influx of calls and emails? How will you address media, reporters and analysts that will tug your team in 90 directions after a successful launch?
7) Implementation. This is where the IT ambassador comes in handy. What kind of system resources is it going to take to pull this thing off? Will you need a dedicated server? Will you build your application from scratch or will you retrofit a shrink wrap application? What's the TCO?
8) Marketing. You already know if you build it, they won't come. So, how are you going to get people to join in your social media effort? What is the best way to identify key blogosphere influencers that might already have access to your market(s)? In which communities/listservs will you place 'moles'? Once you identify them, how will you engage them to make your destination attractive to them? How will you increase the 'shareability' of your blog/podcast?
9) Content. Wow, you simply CANNOT afford to mess up on this one. How often will you post? Who will post? What's compelling? What's old hat? What is the editorial calendar - what will you talk about when? How will you leverage and piggy back on existing/planned marketing campaigns while still providing quality information to your audience? If the organization is publicly traded, what *can* you say, what *can't* you say? (Legal, anyone?) What are your Terms of Use?
10) Measurements and metrics. What doesn't get monitored gets forgotten. Period. Figure out ahead of time how you're going to keep track of all the KPI's. How will you monitor what's being said about your brand/organization? How will general brand sentiment from the blogosphere be determined? How will you keep up with your Technorati ranking? NetPromoter? ComScore?
This is by no means an exhaustive list of considerations, but once the enterprise is able to answer these questions, it's well on its way to ACTION.
What's the saying? "Nothing moves unless something changes." Yep.
Posted by Lena West on November 4, 2007 05:00 PM
October 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)
I know I promised that my next post would talk all about the good aspects of social media, but I lied. Ok, not lied exactly but, that'll come on Tuesday. For now, I want to share a bit about social media tough love.
You know what tough love is, right? Your kid acts crazy and although you want to hug him, you've gotta lay down the law so he doesn't wind up goofing off as an adult.
Same deal with social media. I just spoke (not once but twice) at the Social Media Summit in New York. And, the concern that was most expressed was about dealing with negative statements written about their organization on other blogs (and in comments on their own).
I have a couple few tidbits to share (and this is where the tough love comes in):
[I used to work in corporate so please excuse me if my patience runs a bit thin here.]
1) No one ever promised you a rose garden when it came to social media - and if they did, they were clueless. Your market is going to be talking about your products and services. Sometimes there's going to be great, flattering comments that puff up the corporate ego and sometimes there's going to be comments that take the wind out of your sails faster than a roundhouse kick to the sternum. It is what it is. Deal.
2) Your company shouldn't just be figuring out how to manage negative media coverage now that social media is here to nail your corporate hide to the wall and make sure you deliver on your brand promise. Dealing with these challenges should have been part of the crisis plan from the beginning and if it wasn't, then you need to have a heart-to-wallet conversation with your PR/communications agency pronto.
This is a new ballgame and we cannot expect that playing with old business model rules is going to get us far in this new game.
Posted by Lena West on October 26, 2007 12:50 PM
