Why Corporate Social Media is Difficult to Do

Generalizations are always dangerous. If we're not careful, we sweep the complexity of human interactions under the rug. And we would not want to do that. There is a range and richness in behaviors within various contexts that we'd be hard pressed to document, let alone describe. Indulge me in this post. I will make a leap and jump directly from observation to conclusions. No research, no surveys, no back up aside from gut and experience.

The main reason why corporate social media is difficult to do is that social media by definition wants to express voice and opinion. When we discuss something someone else has talked about, we link, we provide credit directly. Hat tip, recognition, trackbacks, comments, all of those good practices researchers use when they quote studies. We quote opinions the same way. It's the honorable thing to do. We give credit where credit is due, we get credit for the same reasons. If I am basing my thought on your voice and opinion, I highlight that.

What happens inside organizations is quite different. A final draft of something - whether that be for the Web, Intranet, piece of collateral or anything really, needs to be touched by and blessed by a cadre of people. The more the people, the more bases are covered, the more diluted the final product. Mash-up? Hardly. Perhaps a collection of best practices. Are they really better? More often than not, these communications miss one critical component - voice and opinion.

By all appearances, it would seem that the social aspect would be captured nicely with so many people touching each piece. Au contrarie! Why? The most critical aspect, the credit to the author is often missing. The company owns all materials, yet hardly any credit is given to the people who actually had the ideas that went into it. Have you ever seen a list of contributors on the back of a piece of collateral? Maybe for white papers and newsletters - and in that case to provide a way for customers to talk back to someone.

What about using the quote and piece verbatim? What about letting each team member's contribution stand on its own? Organizations are very uncomfortable doing that. Corporate social media is difficult to do. This is not to say that corporate use of social media is impossible or inherently undesirable. But, when launching social media projects, companies should understand that they are slipping a sardine into the goldfish bowl. Which is great, if you like sardines.

Comments

[Geoff Livingston]

Maybe it's me, but I don't see it as that hard. It's actually very easy. But, it's a different approach than most have been trained to do. Change is what's hard, not corporate social media.

[Valeria Maltoni]

"Couldn't we just all get along?" is on the same wavelength, too. Thank you for pitching in, Geoff!

[Richard Becker]

It's a good question and I agree that its just a matter of adoption.

Some corporations already do credit people in employee publications, annual reports, newsletters, and employee/organizational videos, but sometimes it depends on context of the communication. It is necessary on a brochure or white paper? Probably not. Some communication is institutional (we) and some is not (individual). So, in making the decision, it's partly a matter of asking what the purpose of the communication is, regardless of the medium.

I can see it work either way. As long as its engaging, authentic, and maybe inventive, it could work.

Best,
Rich

[Brian Clark]

>>Generalizations are always dangerous.

Heh.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Rich - the other thought I have here, which is probably quite subtle in the post, is that a piece of collateral may not be the best way to talk about what the company does. That is a conversation for another day. There's a flicker of something at the edge of my thinking. I want to allow it to breathe a little before sharing.

@Brian - as in naughty or as in ditto? The gift of brevity.

[Brian Clark]

As in nice irony.

Your statement, of course, is a generalization, so can it be trusted? :-)

[Valeria Maltoni]

I was very upfront about it. It is valid only within the context of my experience on the inside in 5 industries and 9 companies. Small, mid-size and large companies. One not for profit. 3 as a temp. One in Italy.

It's a pretty varied sample.

[Brian Clark]

I'm sorry Valeria, I thought you were making a bit of a joke with your opening sentence. Generally, the use of "always" or "never" outside of a fundamental rule or law is a generalization. Hence, the irony of saying "generalizations are always..."

Your points about generalizations in this article are dead on, though. So, again, I just thought your were having a bit of fun to see who would catch it. :-)

[Valeria Maltoni]

And you did catch it, Brian :D Glad to host a bit of a Copyblogger conversation here, too. I can use some learning every day. Thank you.

[Connie Reece]

"Slipping a sardine into the goldfish bowl" -- great metaphor.

[James Ryan]

It's ok to make a sweeping generalisation of complex social interactions as long as it's accurate

:-)

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Connie - it all came together quote so well with the image of the fish jumping to conclusions : )

@James - that's a good one. I'll need to remember it!

[John Johansen]

Irregardless ;-) of the generalized generalization statement, this is a good post. I've been working on formulating why metrics in social media are so hard to pin down and I'm coming to the conclusion that it's because they require generalization.

I'm going to take a few more ideas from this post (with credit given) but don't want to spoil it. :)

[Valeria Maltoni]

Could it also be because social media dynamics are not about keeping score? Just a thought. This need to measure everything will be the death of marketing. It will start begging the question - what have you done for me this moment more often. Some will not like the answer.

Looking forward to reading your post.

[MattG]

I don't think it is necessarily difficult to do, just different to do. I would say you mentioned the one thing I dislike the most about corporate social media, which is the lack of opinion. Opinion is really what makes an article different and meaningful for me, but when you take that away you are left with a bland piece of copy, rather than an intriguing story.

MattG