Social Business Lesson: What is reflected?
As I was at the beach this summer, I caught this gorgeous picture of the moon reflecting on the water!
It got me thinking about how social reflects your company's culture and for you personally, your personal brand. Social really reveals all the parts of your culture -- good , bad, and neutral.
The moon's shine above in the picture is ampliflied by the water, just as your company's cultural elements are amplified by social.
One of my favorite quotes is:
"Social doesn't transform your culture. It reveals your culture."
This fact is why i advise my clients to do a cultural assessment before starting down the social path.
Here's a quick tidbit of that assessment. And I'll leave you with this question. What does social reveal about your culture?!
Are you Engaged?
This week so far I have been asked a dozen times to define engagement. Here's what I came up with .....
When you look closely, you see that engagement isn’t mostly resulting in better marketing. People are not clamoring for more of that. What’s happening instead is that marketing is being replaced by engagement, by useful assets, by value. In exchange for their data – who they are, what they’re looking for, even where they are standing or driving at this moment – they expect some kind of benefit in return… whether as customers, or patients, or students, or citizens.
Engagement. ]Your emotional connection with your client or employee, usually created by exceptional experiences that are integrated, interactive, and identifying. A Social Business connects people to expertise. It connects individuals whether customers, partners, or employeesas networks of people to generate new sources of innovation, foster creativity, and establish greater reach and exposure to new business opportunities. It establishes a foundational level of trust across these business networks and thus a willingness to openly share information, developing a deeper sense of loyalty among customers and employees. It empowers these networks with the collaborative, gaming, and analytical tools needed to engage each other and creatively solve business challenges.
Engaged Clients. Clients who are attentive, interested, and active in their support for your brand, product, or company. The depth of their conversations online showcases their knowledge and care. They recommend and passionately advocate on your behalf in the blogosphere.
Engaged Employees. Those who know the company’s values and are empowered to leverage those values with their partners and clients. They know their role and understand how to reach out to the right expert. These new social employees are about commitment and success.
Talking Social Business with Airlines in Prague with a new Social Study for Airlines
The GLOBAL AIrline Summit.
On September 9, I’ll be talking with senior airline executives from around the world at the IBM Airline Summit in Prague, Czech Republic. The theme of the summit is “Smarter travelers expect smarter airlines: Delivering an exceptional customer experience while optimizing operations.”
Today’s travelers really do expect more from airlines than ever before. Yes, we expect smooth operations, a pleasant flight and good value.
But more and more we expect personalized customer service while we are shopping for a trip and during each step of the journey, delivered consistently through all the devices we use.
The NEW Socially Connected Airlines.
Today, meeting those expectations depends on using the latest social business tools to help the airline workforce keep the planes on schedule and to create exceptional customer experiences.
I recently read a related article in Business Travel News that might interest you by Paul Campion, an IBM colleague in the UK.
The SUMMIT. A Breakthrough Event!
At the summit, airline executives will share their own experiences and hear speakers from other airlines, industry analysts, a leading international airport, Coca-Cola marketing, Netflix, and from IBM.
We’ll be launching some exciting new social business research sponsored by IBM with PhoCusWright - “Social media in travel: mayhem, myths, mobile and money.” The study will provide clear quantitative insights around what travel companies need to manage, mobilize, and monetize their social strategy.
Of course, the Summit won’t be all work and no play. I hear that we’ll take a tram ride and walking tour through Prague’s beautiful old town. Then we’ll share a meal in one of the city’s great restaurants. I’m looking forward to it. Watch this space for my blog post after the event.
Social Lessons from the beach: A little bikini is no match for a big wave!
Yes, both of my daughters love their bikinis on the beach! But as we went wave riding, they learned quickly that that little bikini is no match for the big wave!
The same is true in social! Sometimes the wave is too big for just company spokespeople and with 70% of online consumers trust peer recommendations #1, you will need more than just the "bikini" squad. You need a brand advocate.
A brand advocate is a person who is passionate about your brand and references you as a matter of course. They could be an influencer or a client or an employee. Determining your brand advocates is about listening and selecting based on common interests, knowledge, and other key elements critical for your business.
In addition to seeking out your advocates, it is important to determine your best friends, or your tippers. These are those people who influence your brand online and those whom others listen to about your products.
These key influencers have a set of characteristics. Typically, they are people who have strong relationships, and are an expert or authority in a subject. Sometimes influencers are those who get attention, taking an atypical view, or are just loud. I was recently at a virtual conference and heard a speaker talk about an influencer as someone who is honest, trustworthy, and knowledgeable. They have a consistent opinion that is objective and not influenced by someone paying them! These items drive a level of social trust and that trust persuades another person to take action.
Finally, developing social trust is about showcasing care and value. Listen and change where needed. Always be honest, and demonstrate value-add to your clients and the industry.
These are the top elements of your plan to build your brand advocates:
[lb] Determination of your friends or brand advocates today: A friend is a client, a potential client, or an influencer who recommends your brand, company, or product because they like it so much, they feel compelled to discuss it. Determining those who are your friends or brand advocates is important to your overall social trust plan.
[lb] Determination of your “best friends” or tippers: These are people who influence the rest of the clients and potential clients online and offline, usually about 5% to 10% of your product’s or category’s population. These tippers are important people for your overall strategy and your company will pay extra attention to them.
[lb] Brand advocacy strategy: A brand advocacy strategy is a plan to determine those actions your company can take to build brand advocates, or people who are passionate about your brand and reference you as a normal course of business. Part of this strategy could be in the content that you share, your shared vision of a point of view in the market, or even support of a common cause that is outside the primary goal of making profit[md]for example, making the planet a better place.
[lb] Content activation plan: This is a plan to create content, distribute content, promote content, and measure its success. This content activation plan is usually determined in the Social Business Digital Council. The goal of the content is to showcase your company’s subject matter expertise or point of view (POV). It is critical when starting a community, and for guarding your reputation.
[lb] Determination of key methods to establish social trust in your space: Based on your company’s goals, a trust plan is formed to create and protect trust through online experiences and dialogues with a company, product, or brand.
With this brand army, you can ride the wave with confidence!!!
Social Trend #3: Innovation is accelerated in Culture through ideation & predictive
Happy Monday! Social Business Trends are shaking the world and today's Social Coffee Break is about our third trend.
Innovation must be part of a corporation's culture. Things are moving so fast those who can change and adapt will be most competitive. In today's Social world, innovation is accelerated through social. See how ideation (crowdsourcing) and predictive capability (analytics) accelerate innovation in corporations!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJnafM6HnlA&feature=youtu.be]
You are never too old to boogie board -- or to social network!
In my summer vacation series, here's my next lesson from the beach!
I got to use my boogie board to surf the waves and the wave pool! What I learned is that you are never too old to boogie!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roQxFb0B9Pw]
Just like you are never too old or too high in a company to use social networking. The fastest growing group on Facebook are those over the age of 55! Did you know that 32% of top CEOs have at least one account on a social network! The % of CIOs who say that social is important to their business has more than doubled in the last year per the MIT Sloan Management Review.
What are you waiting for? Catch the wave and boogie!
You can't feed just one seagull (a series on Social and Vacation!)
This past week I was at the beach -- with a very relaxing time in the sun. The whole time I was there I saw social in so many different ways.
Once when my daughters tried to feed one seagull , they ended up with a whole flock. You can't just feed one ! Or can you?
In Social, you should respond to comments in a way that showcases that your brand really cares and engages around client concerns. Responding is an important part of interacting and engaging with your audience, while also humanizing your brand, improving brand loyalty and creating brand ambassadors.
But you don't have to respond to all negative comments. Have a well thought out plan and know what "level" of comment that you want to respond too. In some cases, have other clients speak on your behalf. Unlike at the beach, you don't have to feed all the seagulls.
Thank God it's Monday! Social Business Trend 2
Everyone always celebrates Friday so I thought today we'd celebrate Monday with a great Social Business coffee Break.
Today we are focused on the 2nd core trend in Socialytics: Marketing not just to a demographic but to the power of 1. (Reminder; trend 1 was the power of information sharing and that driving a need socially to recognize expertise and trust!)
As always tell me what you think!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP4ebWmGHos&feature=youtu.be]
A brillant combo: Universal laws of sales and social!
Soooo, are there universal laws in sales? Yes! By adhering to these laws, can you increase your value within your company and with your customers?
Join my colleague Jeffrey Gitomer in one of several cities in the US, as he shares his 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. Learn how these laws can help you better engage and build relationships with your customers.
I have to say.. he makes learning fun! And he just shared with me the secrets of Karaoke and selling ... ! Yes see you in the Karaoke lounge at IBM Connect 2014!
I will have the opportunity to join Jeffrey in a few cities to explore how you can leverage social tools to share knowledge within your organization and create a smarter sales force.
The first seminar will be held in Orlando on September 3, followed by Atlanta, Las Vegas, DC, Philadelphia, and other cities to come.
Visit Jeffrey's website here for more information www.gitomer.com
I look forward to seeing you there! Sandy
Sweet tea and screen doors. Social Businesses could learn alot from them!
Yes, I am southern pure as they come! I love my sweet ice tea, grits with butter, screen doors, and Kudzu.
In the summer, the screen door is an essential element of everyone's home. The screen door's entire point is that it's not a barrier. Its job is to open easily. It is a welcome to all visitor's and friends that approach it.
Is your social media site like that screen door? Does it open and welcome others in?
Tips to make your site as welcoming as that Southern Door!
- Do you make people type in that "code" to enter? Don't!
- Is your site mobile friendly and usable?
- Do you have stellar content ? Content is Queen!
- Is Video part of your strategy? Video is the highest trusted media! Use it wisely!
- Do you have a Twitter Widget on your Home page to engage your audience? (Check out my blog on IBM Voices!)
- Can you feature other guests on your site?
- How do you listen? All relationships listen first!
- Are your employees empowered to really represent the brand on your site?
- Have you chosen the right social tools that welcome your audience? For instance, if you are selling to men, Pinerest may not be the best first choice.
- Do you constantly review the feedback and make changes to adapt and change?