Corporate Social Media, from Macro to Micro

This concept of going from macro to micro must be the most significant development brought by the social Web. While in the past, the official position of a company was the *only* public position a company would have, today, a company's public face is a composition.

In fact, if it's done its job well, an organization could have a myriad voices, all different, yet all on the same cultural page.

Essentially, you would build the macro with a co-opetion of micros - from employees, to peers, to partners. If everyone in any organization could express themselves, unless you had an orchestrator, you'd probably have a cacophony. Not good.

Finding the hidden assets in an organization is just the tip of the iceberg, it's all that goes on underneath to educate, coach, and support them that makes a great deal of difference to how you design your business.

Uncovering your company's hidden assets was the subject of yesterday's #socialmedia conversation on Twitter. You can find the live chat here.

1. How do you find those people within an organization?
2. How can you enable them?
3. Do we need to change the skills we recruit for?

Were the main questions. A lot more emerged during the conversation. Corporate social media is going from macro - the top-down one voice - to micro - the all around voices consistent with every interaction. During the chat, a few threads emerged. For Q1:

• follow the passion - for the business, the work, the company and brand
• find the touch points of opportunity - people on the front line, in contact with customers
• activate internal collaboration - chats, common tools, sort of like the company's water cooler 
• check LinkedIn and social networks to see who participates already at personal level
• build internal networks and let those voices emerge

Will your company all of a sudden become social if the culture isn't? Chances are it won't. Those companies that already love their customers, shine that passion when using social media. So should every employee passionate about social media be seen as a representative of the organization?

While in most cases the dialogue and involvement must start with a commitment to transparency at brand level, passionate employees with no coaching could end up hurting the business - even when participation starts from good intentions. Think about inappropriate disclosures and behavior.

Someone at the tail end asked about involvement by sales. The caveat is that often sales groups are too eager to please and less cautious about disclosures. That's where education and training come in to gain perspective, business and marketing savvy. For Q2:

• activate the company vision and culture
• educate and coach for business savvy
• earn trust - this means having project credibility and authority
  
• set the example from the top

This part is really about creating a plan that gives guidance to the process and that is shared with employees who will be involved in social media. The general guidelines could include company's overall mission, positioning and "voice". I say they must delineate the objectives, a clear strategy, and the tactics that will help a company achieve them. Can you educate for "interesting"?

Organizations address negative comments, but there isn't a formal process to prepare employees involved with social media to deal with negative responses. How do you help them not take it personally and respond appropriately? More enabling techniques:

• prepare them for online dialogue - the negative, too
• guide them with a process
• share the vision and the objectives
  

One of the most powerful forms of self-awareness is playing back what you do for you to see. It's much more powerful than feedback, and it's a valuable coaching technique. We closed with the one million dollar question. Q3 - to change or not to change the skills we recruit for? Some further thoughts we shared were:

• we need more completers [thank you, Kat French for this one ] and fewer beginners - this is where the execution imperative comes in. It's also where many organizations mistake volume for effectiveness
• we want to have active listeners - this makes the difference between knowing what you're listening for and just hearing
• we want individuals who are willing to be coached and who have the ability to be engaging and to connect

Too many companies start with doing before they think about what they're trying to accomplish - and before they monitor to build a baseline. Companies have an opportunity to build the human aspects in the micro interaction that will make a macro impression on customers, partners, and employees.

Here's the thing - micro interactions will allow a richer experience than a sanitized macro message. Life is in details, we live moment by moment and gather our impressions the same way. The most effective form of connection is that we make at the emotional level. I don't know about you, I find it hard to tell a generic story. It needs to fit like a glove, and feel real.

And for the record, as sometimes tools that are not free are more powerful and appropriate to use, so is a professional who gets the business and can execute. The culture of free is a reality, but you do get what you pay for. Weigh in.

__________

Thanks to Marc Meyer (@Marc_Meyer) and Jason Breed (@jasonbreed) for inviting me to curate this conversation and to the many participants: @JoeKikta @CathyWebSavvyPR @JGoldsborough @PowerfulHER @jonnytee @socialmediabham @mejohnson1 @HeyPeterman @semantic @BlakeGroup @djwaldow @DenVan @MiguelALlano @CharityHisle @vaspersthegrate @ckieff @jdojc @WriterChanelle @wvpmc @designdamage @augieray @tamadear @MKMartin @SaintJer @BethHarte @MackCollier @ShannonPaul @CatherinVentura @JeffHurt @MisfitToo @patgelado @KatFrench @missdestructo @thebrandbuilder (drop me a note in the comments if I missed you).

[Leonardo da Vinci and the Golden Mean]

Comments

[amymengel]

I was lurking on the chat yesterday and really enjoyed the snippets of conversation that I caught.

What strikes me most about this thought of allowing a more distributed company conversation or message is that it really has to go from inside out. If you don't have a culture that breeds employees who are passionate about the work they do and who they do it for, then you're asking for trouble. A few disgruntled employees who air it out online can really sour the macro message.

Just as employees who represent their company online need to be prepped to deal with negative interactions, as you mention above, companies need to be prepared to handle negative interactions by/from their own employees. Much of this preparation comes from having everyone on the same cultural page, as you put it. Create a culture that employees *want* to talk about positively.

I think many companies jump into the idea of creating conversations with customers through social media and embracing this idea of open dialogue without doing the same internally with their employees.

[Marc Meyer]

I think the hidden nuggets here are what you said at the tail end here Valeria, "Too many companies start with doing before they think about what they're trying to accomplish - and before they monitor to build a baseline."

To this, I say you are exactly right, and what ultimately happens is that they abandon with the assumption that it just didn't work. Furthermore, you point out:

"Companies have an opportunity to build the human aspect in the micro interaction that will make a macro impression on customers, partners, and employee..."

Bingo.

Reminds me of the comment, "You never get a second chance at a first impression." Given the viral, microscopic, nomadic, myopic, nature of everything that we do, this statement has never been more accurate.

Great post.

[Jason Breed]

Valeria, Great post and fantastic summary of the chat yesterday. Your guidance enabled participants to engage with quality input that the entire business community who is interested in social media can benefit from. Our goal is simply to move the dialogue of social media forward throughout the industry. Your efforts certainly accomplished that and more.

Rock on!

[Richie Escovedo]

I too was lurking yesterday during the chat and caught a few of these points. (I especially appreciated Kat's "need more completers" idea.)

What strikes me is the idea of being on the same cultural page. Amy is right, the culture has to be one where employees *want* to talk about it positively. An integrated approach cannot succeed if it does not include internal communication and training.

If you missed Amy Mengel's post yesterday, it is great read on internal communication: http://www.amymengel.com/2009/09/six-ways-to-add-social-sizzle-to-internal-communication/

Great recap post, Valeria.

@vedo

[Tiffany]

@ Amy - This is such a powerful comment. The fact that so many companies do want to engage more with External customers yet ignore the need to address the same within the culture of Internal customers is fascinating to me. But I think you see this in corporate communications often. And right now, it's even more difficult to get a priority for the internal customer with budgets tight and sales so critical externally. But in times like these, the internal customer is perhaps even more pressured, stressed, and likely to share this online as well, so it really is very critical to address their needs.

So, to start these conversations, I keep the the Dominoes YouTube video in my belt. You show that and the United Breaks Guitars song to someone and say, see, these have the same impact of negative brand messaging on a large scale. And one you explain is an external customer service issue unaddressed, while the other is in internal customer's message about the brand. This hits the point home, I think. Everyone has the opportunity to have a voice now.

What frustrates many, I think, is that They Did Not Ask for or Approve of This (insert new way of communicating here).

So I spend a lot of time educating on concepts like, the customer has their own printing press now, so we have to find the best way to engage with the external customer and equip the internal customer.

@ Valeria - Thanks for this great post. I'll be referring to it often, I think.

[Aaron Hughling]

Really enjoyed reading this, nicely done!

[Yvonne DiVita]

The big question lingering in my mind is: how do we help brands overcome their reluctance to manage the message? Is there a magic phrase, bullet, or white paper that can show a BIG brand the error of its ways when it throws content into social media, without proper thought or strategy? And, how do we empower brands to embrace the niche markets that really want to engage with them, when they're still wedded to the numbers garnered from television ads?

[Harriet Meth]

@Amy - You hit the nail on the head with your insights about the dichotomy in how companies often react to external vs internal customers. The biggest single challenge for so many companies is the lack of consistency in how their employees, a/k/a internal customers, talk about the company, the culture and other critical messages in their external conversations.
@Valeria - Thank you for this cogent appraisal. What it comes down to is the ability to executive consistently - internally as well as externally. And that takes a very strategic approach to communication alignment. Not just messages but coaching and support to bolster employee communication skills and confidence.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Amy - it looks like your comment hit home with me and many others. You are spot on, trust needs to begin with positive action and reinforcement on the inside. If the culture is stilted, if risk is abhorred, then everyone is already walking on eggshells.

@Marc - abandoning ship before even getting to the high seas is a symptom of deeper issues. The thing is that unless you are truly committed to making it work, it probably won't.

@Jason - we had a great group joining the conversation. There are several nuggets in there thanks to what everyone contributed.

@Richie - Kat's words were pure genius, I agree. We need new words to move this forward. The current language is a bit tired. Amy has the gift of simplicity, something I strive for. Thank you for offering the link.

@Tiffany - I believe in educating, coaching, and leading by example. People don't know what they don't know; we're social animals, and providing a way for them to see how others interact and collaborate is very powerful. That's sort of what we all did when we started online, isn't it?

@Aaron - thank you, and nice to meet you.

@Yvonne - there's no magic bullet. Brands don't throw content, people do. That's where we should focus. Niche is powerful with community. What is lacking is manpower and resources at the moment, I think. Only so many hours in a day and the need to focus on high priority for the business.

@Harriet - I couldn't have said it better myself.

[gianandrea facchini]

While I had not time to follow the chat live, I went through yesterday. Great insights, indeed. What strikes me the most is when we talk about corporate culture and how it is spread across the workforce.
This is a tough task for every corporation.

I suggest you to watch a video from a MCAD professor Daniel Pink. He says :don’t do things for instrumental reason, do things for fundamental reason.
Acting for instrumental reason will soon make clear any lack of transparency, any hidden goal in your action.
While acting for fundamental reason, because you think that what you do is inherently valuable, will boost the empathy of your action.

And this seems to me particularly true in the internal communication, the relation with your employees, with your first brand ambassadors.

[Jeff Hurt]

Valeria:

I jumped in the conversation at the last 30 minutes or so and it was very valuable for me. Thanks for moderating.

So much of what others have said here resonates with me. I believe that a fundamental shift needs to happen in many organizations. That shift starts with talking and listening to each other. It’s so basic yet vital to success. It takes time and intention.

This past year, I hired a facilitator for our staff, members and volunteers. The goal was for everyone to begin to have and speak a common language and understand the core of communications. We could not move forward without some accepted practices about human dynamics and communications. We needed to be on the same page about active and passive listening (in person or virtually), the science of our emotions, how to avoid an emotional highjack, and the science and art of a response, especially during a high emotions and low trust situation. While the business world would classify this type of education as “soft skills,” I believe it is the hard work of these soft skills that make or break an organization in today’s Web 2.0 world.