Social is Personal. My story. It is powerful.
The power of social is everywhere.
But no where as relevant than in personal life.
My dad was placed in the hospital for emergency brain surgery. I got the news while in Vegas, and booked the first flight out. I had to wait for the plane for over 6 hours -- hoping to get home in time.
I was going crazy in the wait -- and really needed to talk to someone.
So I did something I usually don't do -- I posted something very personal on Facebook about my dad. Much to my surprise, within minutes I had response from friends all over the world. The outpouring was overwhelming --- over 500 comments plus dozens of calls.
- I had calls from friends that I had not heard from since High School.
- Prayers poured in
- Comments of encouragement came in texts, comments, tweets
- And I didn't feel alone
No one gave up either --- days and weeks went by ..... and the love flowed in through twitter, facebook and beyond.
I talk about the power of social in business -- and the power there is very strong and real. But this personal impact -- priceless.
Social Business Coffee Break featuring CAT! (No, not grumpy Cat!)
Happy Monday and welcome to our Social Business Coffee Break!
Today we feature Caterpillar Inc. a leader in building the world's infrastructure, and in enabling progress for millions of people around the globe, .as a Best Practice Social Business!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nSjpxXGQjA&feature=youtu.be]
What are the benefits of becoming a social business?
In most of the visits I do with companies on social, the big question I get asked is what is the benefit of becoming a social business?
Here are a few great benefits that I see:
- Stronger employee engagement. Stronger employee engagement leads to great client engagement. In a social business, employees are smarter, more loyal, and engaged because their organization uses social networks, collaboration systems and shared messaging services.
- Great talent in and around! A "social" approach enables employees around the world to tap into each other’s expertise and connections. Companies can attract top talent and give employees the social tools they need to work together. Executives can layer analytics on top of social technologies to make sure their companies have the right skills and expertise to meet market demands.
- Exceptional client service. A social business is also one where customer service is exceptional because the company reaches out to customers through social networks, Twitter and blogs in innovative ways and acts on the insights it pulls together about consumers. That way, customer service teams have the insights and the analytics they need to predict and resolve problems before they happen.
- Personalized. Value in a Social Business is created not for 'market segments' or demographics but for individuals. Companies can dish up more targeted offers to customers and respond more quickly to their problems. R&D can gain new sources of inspirations and insight from customers and employees so that the products customers want are the ones that get to market ... customized to their particular need, even made to order!
What are your thoughts on the value you see in Social?
Video blog from Social Business Coffee Break Series! Social Selling!
Happy Monday!
Today in our Social Business Coffee Break series we will focus in on the value of using social in your sales process.
I'd love your thoughts as well!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQdKGyCit0s&feature=youtu.be]
Social Business Tip of the Day! LinkedIn Mentions
Social Media Tip of the Day!
Did you know that LinkedIn just announced a new function – mentions – which makes it easier to engage with your network by mentioning connections and companies in conversations on LinkedIn. Just start typing the name of a connection or a company in your status update box or a comment field and select the person from the list that appears in the drop-down.
The person or company you mentioned will receive a notification that they have been mentioned. Mentions will be rolled out to English-speaking members first.
Very cool Social tool for Women in Businesses - the Women's ToolBox !
I have been fortunate to meet an incredible group of women through my professional and organizational roles, and one person who shares my passion for expanding opportunities would like to encourage more women to connect with each other and access great resources through her organization, The Women's Toolbox. Janet Powers, the Chief Executive Connector, will -- in her own words -- help you FIND Your Voice, SHARPEN Your Skills, SHARE Your Expertise and EXPAND Your Network. Its tagline (“Practical Advice for Busy Business Women”) illustrates its mission is to empower, educate, and entertain women.
I had the opportunity to talk with Janet at a lunch I hosted for female executives during our recent global customer event IBM Connect, and she suggested we work together in our support of women's empowerment. As part of her commitment, I am excited to share that if you become a new member of The Women's Toolbox, for a limited time you will receive a copy of my book, Get Bold: Using Social Media to Create a New Type of Social Business. I hope you will learn more about the resources available from Janet's organization, and that you will share the opportunity to participate with the women in your networks as well.
Join online at
http://womenstoolbox.com/join-today/.
Does Social Require you lose control (of your brand?!)
Is losing control of your brand a good thing or a bad thing?
We are used to operating with the idea that we have to protect the brand. How do we lose control of our brand so that our customers have a role in shaping our brand as much as we do?
Well, we know that your brand is not what you say it is, but what everyone else decides. Social enables you to influence your brand and engage where and how others want to talk. You can identify and engage influencers and unleash your employees as a “digital army” by building with customers and convert them to brand ambassadors
If you use Social Analytics to identify needs in the marketplace for specific products, features, or process enhancements by listening and this could allow you to tweak your brand value prop. Leveraging crowdsourcing to engage employees, partners, and even customers in innovation discussions increases the number and sources of new ideas; but also enables the best ideas to become more visible and mature through collaboration.
I LOVE having brands be leveraged by clients is great -- and I don't think that it is anything new. Companies now orchestrate and can shape the brand not based on what we are selling but on their character, their interactions, their experiences.
Check out our IBM CMO Jon Iwata!
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/62205426]
Social in Insurance -- Overhyped or unused?
With over 66% of top financially performing companies leverage social in their processes and over 80% positive impact on trust for CEOs who openly communicate on social, social can mean power to some and hype to others.
In the next 3-5 years the use of social media by Insurers will increase from 4% to 51% as one of the most important mechanisms to engage customers according to IBM CEO study.
Is this because of hype? I don't think so. Financial Services has always been a “social” industry – we are now just shifting from F2F and phone to more online interaction; mirroring the shift of our customers and employees. The leading FSS companies are using social to explain changes to the financial environment and to provide increased clarity around specific products – partially due to changing regulatory requirements, but also to build trust.
Financial Services as a sector suffers from a major trust gap – social is a powerful capability for building trust
Financial Advisors are using social to engage clients and prospects – using social compliance capabilities to provide support for suitability and records retention. Many financial companies have embraced external social media for brand promotion, engagement, and marketing. Leading financial companies have also brought social capabilities inside the firewall. Regulatory requirements necessitate active social compliance monitoring and reporting
Complex, expert-oriented activities (e.g. commercial or specialty underwriting) can be faster (social collaboration) and more accurate (engaging the right people). Networking social capabilities into traditional core insurance and financial services business processes and legacy systems can create dramatic value while leveraging investments you have already made.
Today I am at Prudential for their Technology Leadership Conference and we will discuss these topics and more! I'd love your thoughts - especially if you are in the industry!