Is Your Company Thinking that Social Media is a Job?

I'm asking because technically, it really isn't.

Let's take a step back and think about the strong word in the term social media. We've had all kind of media for ages - print, then the novelty of radio, then video that supposedly killed the radio stars (they also said that sound in movies would never take off, oh my), then the Web.

Well, there have been many technologies in between and now plenty in continuous development (and fashion), I'm just skipping through this.

The progression is easy to see even within each medium and format. I remember when television commercials had their own time slot, then they became more intertwined with the programming, to the point that now you Tivo them (imagine a language plastic enough to make verbs out of product names).

We're seeing the same devolution online where media companies sell more and more interrupting ads because ads online do not really deliver the same results as they did and still do in print - not even close. But you can measure your lack of results with ever increasing levels of precision.

That's why you integrate off line and online and advertising with many other tools in your marketing communications mix.

Why do we ignore the ads better online? It turns out that to be effective, online ads need to be by companies and products you want to notice in the first place. Amazing how everyone is noticing the online Apple ads at the New York Times talk to other ads now, for example. We ignore the others because when we're online, we're there to be social.

Sure, we're social animals offline, but online amplifies our behavior. We expect to talk back or even initiate a conversation. And in the case we are just sitting on the fence or observing, we want to find out what our friends or peers are saying about a product or service before we go to the company's Web site or we take action in any way.

Why do people go online in the first place? For many reasons - self-expression, loneliness, intellectual curiosity, networking and relationships, narcissism, entertainment, community, intellectual stimulation, peer pressure, collaboration, globalization, common interests, modern life demands, to feel human. I could go on. In social media people want to share. If you want an example of that, look at what happened after the death of Michael Jackson.

While people want to share, marketers want to sell.

Indulge me on a lateral example before we get to the crux of this post. Think about the other sexy and trendy topic - that of green and sustainability. Companies focus their attention on things - namely their products and buildings - rather than the effects that their policies have on people. Jeffrey Pfeffer (hat tip Mark Earls) writes:

[...] companies and their management practices also have profound effects on human beings and the social environment.  And the evidence suggests that, in many instances, these effects are even more pervasive and more harmful than the effects on the physical world. 

As a few examples, companies in the United States have cut health insurance to both their active employees and retirees, causing problems in accessing health care.  Many organizations have either curtailed completely or diminished their contributions to employees‟ retirement, and have thereby shifted the financial risks of having enough resources to retire to their workers. 

Such actions have increased financial stress.  And the waves of downsizing and economic insecurity created by wage givebacks and involuntary, part-time work have had profound affects on both psychological and physical well-being. 

Human nature doesn't change, but human behavior does.

This social media thing is not just about a series of tools that whomever you hire needs to be more or less proficient in using to help your business. There's an awesome discussion on job titles and skills led by Olivier Blanchard (read the comments).

If you did approach media as new channels, then to gain a presence there, you need a team. Let me say that again - this is not the job of one person. Even with a team, without the support - or alignment - of the whole business, you are like the company that slaps a coat of "green" paint and checks the box on sustainability. 

Because it is direct to customer and prospect, social media can help you in many areas:

• customer service - gathering information and recommendations in addition to real time support
• research and analysis - tracking new trends, gathering feedback
• marketing - bringing ideas back into the business and products to a market that wants them
• public relations - communicating efficiently with stakeholders
• product development - R&D, finding problems to solve
• innovation - collaboration, inspiration, influencing

But it won't do those things for you. Before you have a culture where sharing is not only possible, but encouraged, you need to a have qualified and experienced team of people leading the organization there. People who are able to analyze issues, problem solve, recommend, implement, learn, and give you the business results you seek along with the proof of return on your investment. Your returns will be proportional to your ability to align the organization behind this team.

Depending on the challenges your organization faces, you may look to hire marketers, communicators, customer service reps, and public relations professionals (exemplary list), who understand the dynamics of social media and have used those tools for business. There's a big difference between using these tools to just hang out and to generate conversions.

My colleagues responsible for SEO and SEM know and understand marketing, for example. It's important that you stay grounded in that because SEO is but one sliver on Web and online presence. You can be optimized all you want, if the content has no value and does not map to your buyer's needs, you get a lot of first dates and no game.

The true spirit and message of The Cluetrain Manifesto was not that companies would learn to market in new channels. If I cannot persuade you to read the book (it's free), Geoff Livingston will, so read his post. Geoff quotes Locke:

We long to be part of a world that makes sense rather than accept the accidental alienation imposed by market forces too large to grasp, to even contemplate. And this longing is not mere wistful nostalgia, not just some unreconstructed adolescent dream. It is living evidence of heart, of what makes us most human. But companies don’t like us human. They leverage our longing for their own ends… Our role is to consume.

There is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. This is about people re-adjusting and rebalancing the very idea of business. Building a sustainable company should consider the human as well as the physical dimensions of company actions. Social media tools have brought this conversation to the fore. 

Best practices for utilizing the tools are being developed as we speak.

There are professionals out there who are broadening the scope of their business knowledge by researching, and observing, and doing. If we look at a group of prominent names in social networks at the moment we can see that these professionals are grounded in business skills.

Amber Naslund has experience in fund raising and brand building, Olivier Blanchard has built brands, CK is a marketer with more than ten years in solo business in NYC (if you can make it there...), Frank Eliason has deep experience setting up and managing customer service support, Chris Brogan has built his practice learning part time - an overnight success years in the making, Peter Kim joined the conversation from the research and analyst side after being in marketing. I could go on.

Your applicant should be excited about your business if they want a job in your company.

They should know marketing, understand communications, have worked in customer support, or have been in the trenches with public relations. Those are the foundational knowledge, experience, and skills that will guarantee your programs and dialogue with customers and prospects will make business sense.

Plus, these newly created positions that incorporate the digital space in social networks are the work of a team, not of a lone ranger. As I said in on Twitter just last week, depending on your product and service needs, you may need a content curator, a community facilitator and a team of experienced product development conversationalists. 

Just to take one of the points on Olivier's list:

Applicant actually knows how to use Twitter to help your company build brand equity online and offline without having to DM people for help.

You need to know not just how but what building brand equity means in the first place.

As for those companies looking to hire professionals who understand how to use these tools - you need to first figure out what your objectives are, then hire someone who has extensive experience solving problems in that area.

If you come across a really good candidate, he/she will be all over social media. She/he understands this is a game changing thing and has taken steps to learn, integrate, adapt, even coach the team, and get results already.

We will talk about how you get there in a subsequent post. Questions?

Comments

[Bert DuMars]

Valeria - First off, excellent post. Integration of social media or social web or social technologies into the marketers strategy and tactics tool bag is key to the future success of brands, products, services and campaigns. But, as you point out, it is not the "silver bullet." Savvy marketers will find the appropriate mix of traditional and new media tactics that reaches, engages and embraces their target customer. I believe one of the keys will be in how the marketer conveys that the firm (business, service, brand, etc...) cares about the target customer. This can be shown through development of better products and services (and yes, even using crowdsourcing and scouring the world for great products, services, technologies and ideas), great customer service (both proactive and reactive), and delivering a great customer experience at all touchpoints. If the marketer can achieve this, the positive word-of-mouth around their brands, products and services will grow.

Thanks again for this comprehensive post. A very good read.

Bert DuMars
VP E-Business & Interactive Marketing
Newell Rubbermaid
Twitter: @bwdumars
Blog: http://www.socialmediaecosystem.blogspot.com

[Laurie Pringle]

I work in the non profit industry. Trying to get folks to wrap their head around this is difficult.

Charities want to create an account and raise money. Some MAY be successful - but most won't and even those that do are missing the point.

This is an opportunity to reach, connect, engage, enlist, build, and so much more. For most people it's a new thing - but in reality, there's nothing new here... It's still about people connecting to people.

I'm seeing WAY too many "social media experts" who haven't the foggiest idea of what it means to inspire people to care.

Great post - thanks!

[Steve Thomas]

Valeria, Thank you for the thoughtful post. You made me think again about Guy Kawasaki who in the mid-80's served as an "evangelist" for Apple (in those days: Macintosh). It seems to me that most organizations need to think "evangelism" not "social media specialist." The idea of hiring a "social media person" is thinking about platform or channel primarily. What will benefit most companies is empowering, equipping and freeing their employees and customers to spread the good news of their product or service. Evangelists will spread the word about your product or service in ways the corporate marketing department hasn't thought of yet. David Meerman Scott has it right in his new book World Wide Rave. Knowledge of the tools is important, knowing what you're using the tools to do, far more important.

Thanks again, love your work.

Steve Thomas
Partner, Oneicity
"Income Solutions for Nonprofits"
www.oneicity.com

[Daniel]

I'm just concerned that an outrageously disproportionate amount of time using social media is spent discussing how to use social media.

I wish there were more people doing it than there are people talking about how it should be done.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Bert - well said! Thank you for the kind words. There can be plenty of innovation in integration at communication level as well. Being where your customers are. In that respect, you may decide that from now on, you use the telephone more often to call on them or answer their questions. It is about rebalancing the business after all.

@Laurie - one of the things you may convince your team about is that telling your story and those of the people who benefit from donations is a very powerful first step in getting the word out. Borrow a page from the Obama campaign, empower those who believe in your cause to spread the word and help collect donations.

@Steve - indeed. The limitations of the marketing department are often those of time and physical resources. I can assure you that we have plenty of creative folks there :) The number one reason why companies don't empower employees is often fear that they'll lose control over messaging. The same is true for academic environments and non profit organizations. It's a habit thinking that only the top echelons can represent the company.

@Daniel - the best for last. Am I discussing tools here? Why air your concern in a post that aims to educate about the importance of figuring out the right objectives and putting in place the right team? Here's another thought for you - have you put into practice any of the advice and how to information shared here and in many other blogs? I'll be happy to point out the case studies...

[Patrick Boegel]

Excellent break down Valeria. To Daniel's point I think one should be looking less at the time exclusively as a drain or burden of social media, and explore how the social platforms can be meshed with one's, for lack of a better term, traditional channels of communicaiton. If you separate them, they are indeed a drain.

[Mark W Schaefer]

I appreciate your thoughts and insights but strongly disagree that social media is not a "job" within the context of a corporation (or non-profit).

Whether you are communicating through an advertisement, public relations or social media, your message, your brand, your mission should be the same.

Social media needs to be planned, measured, aligned with strategy, and integrated into the whole marketing/communication mix. To do it well, it takes time, resources, commitment and involvement. Sounds like a job to me! : )

Mark

@markwschaefer