Building a Social Organization

Editor's Notes

• #5: The numbers speak for themselves here – we really need to leverage that! Just think of how many employees are already doing this on their own! In addition, you’ve seen the “Yelpification” of consumers, meaning that people look to peers, influencers, and employees using social media and review sites to support their buying decisions. In fact, the Edelman 2013 Trust barometer found that 41% of people think that a company’s employees rank higher in public trust than a firms PR/Marketing department, CEO or Founder alone. On a second point – humanizing your brand makes you more approachable. When wwas the last time you wanted to talk to a logo…you like to talk to REAL people. They are relatable, approachable and also build trust, credibility and eventually brand loyalty! Look at Zappos for example – already you are thinking, this place looks like a great place to work or an awesome business! How could you NOT love a place that is holding an interview in a ball pit?! But these human, behind the scenes shots are relatable – if you interview in a ball pit. But they are HUMAN! Real people behind the brand. Think of the time you saw your high school Math teacher outside of school at the supermarket. You couldn’t believe they were a real person! One of my favorite brands who does this humanization bit really well is Dollar Shave Club.
• #6: How does this compare to your brand pages – it has a bigger impact. Plus – think of when you see posts or tweets from a brand, you’ll likely scroll right through it, because its advertising to you, but if you see the same engaging content posted by a person, especially one you know, you’re more likely to take a closer look.
• #7: By empowering your employees to become brand advocates, they take more pride in their work and you may even be surprised as this will generally lead your employees to become thought leaders in your business and in the industry!
• #8: Your employees will not only provide valuable feed back but they will feel more engaged with your company because of their contributions to new product releases. In addition – by discussing products through social media, they help provide a “buzz” about the products coming out soon. This is so effective that Columbia has hired two people, known as their “Directors of Toughness” to travel the world and test their products all while documenting it on social media to share their experiences. Another example is when Intel was preparing to release new tablet technology and they requested their employees to test it out and share their experiences online. Intel employees found this to be very rewarding and it provided a good boost for their sales. Recently – when Avidia Bank launched it’s Cardless Cash feature – we used our own brand ambassadors to spread the word and our reach went worldwide!
• #10: Stolen from Andrew @ Bancvue Content Creators – are your admins or marketing people. Listeners are great for intel – they have “sources” and a variety of contacts that may be great for social listening or even competitive listening. Conversationalist – These people are your twitter chat hosts, the people who want to generate a conversation, answer questions, etc. Sharers- Not confident in creating their own content but love to share pre-canned stuff. Promoters – they love to promote their business, events, and community excitement. Connectiors – more professional, LinkedIn “I know a guy who knows a guy” but not in a shady way. Cheerleaders – these may or may not be employees but they love all you do – consider these people to help boost engagement.
• #11: You will certainly have Nay Sayers – They may not see the value in social media at all, think it’s just for kids, or are afraid if something goes wrong. Prepare yourself for this. Show the impact, share case studies from other businesses, give them insight to your selection process and most importantly, share with them how you will manage it and prepare for a crisis.
• #16: Yes – this can happen. We have all had employees we know who have gone rogue, whether its on social media or not. So what’s an example of things that are really bad? Think of disclosing personal customer information, leaking trade secrets, insider information, or creating fake profiles to harass your business or competitor businesses. This is where those policies will be REALLY important to have in place. Have stops in place to shut down your social media if need be. Document all posts and be prepared with this documentation for HR and future issues. Be prepared with damage control, you may have to make a LOT of apologies personally and publicly. It’s best to get out in front of these things when they happen.
• #17: Analytics are so important! This will help you not only reach your goals but readjust along the way if needed. Maybe there was not engagement on a post you wrote. If so – it could be the content, the time the post was shared or maybe you need a better image. Revisit these things often. Share your success with your team and celebrate with them and don’t forget to share your success with your organization and especially the naysayers!