Posted by John McTigue on Tue, May 04, 2010 @ 06:34 AM
I'm going to play Junior Attorney for a couple of minutes and argue the case for making social media an important part of your business plan. Tomorrow, I will argue the case against. Then we'll put it to the jury.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury,
Why should your company embrace social media as part of your overall strategy and daily activities?
Your Customers Have Changed Their Preferences. So Should You.
Buyers feel empowered now. They want dialog with you and with their peers about you. They don't want your marketing message; they want useful content. They don't want your mass marketing blasts; they want to find you when and where it's convenient. These things are all possible via social media. They are difficult without social media.
Social Media Is Becoming a Preferred Mode of Business Communication.
Remember e-mail? That was a pretty big deal as it started to catch on. It's still with us, but more and more, it's about Facebook and Twitter. It's about staying connected more often and with less overhead. Think e-mail without the in-box. Social media is rapidly gaining ground as a preferred tool for business collaboration and research as well. I learned just about everything I know about social media via blogs and Twitter and Facebook. We will still want face-to-face, telephone and e-mail for more formal, private communication, but everything else is social these days.
Social Media Can Make or Break You.
You can generate more qualified leads and increase sales by leveraging social media. You can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty by staying in touch with them more regularly and without the hassle of telephone or the delay of e-mail. You can make a big splash by going viral with a great piece of content. On the flip side, you can monitor what people are saying about your brand and engage them where they are. You can avoid problems by testing the waters before releasing the official version. You can even perform market research without hiring a market research company. If you're not at least monitoring social media, you may be missing serious negative publicity that's circulating about you right now. You're missing an opportunity to set the record straight, which can lead to a PR disaster.
Social Media Can Save You Money.
No, it's not cheap. There's a big investment in manpower and training to do social media right. You can realize cost savings by reallocating marketing and communications budgets. Instead of paying for an expensive TV ad with no shelf life, you can invest in people who do social media. These people will keep the benefits coming for years to come. You can also save on customer service by creating real-time channels for customer interaction with little or no software and infrastructure costs. It's also possible to improve productivity and morale by enabling your staff to collaborate both within and outside the corporate walls.
Tomorrow: The Case AGAINST Social Media
Are you convinced?
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Posted by John McTigue on Thu, Sep 24, 2009 @ 01:41 PM
I found this great video by Marty Clarke from a couple of years ago, and I wanted to share it first, then throw in my 2 cents. The basic premise, managing by committee sucks. Nothing gets accomplished. You want to make progress, be a leader and make the decision yourself.
I'm going to roll this ahead to current day and talk about "crowdsourcing". That's the new buzz word for focus groups, design by the public, and yes, managing by committee. The key point of the video is that it's fine to collect everybody's opinion or create a poll, but the decision needs to be made by the senior stakeholder and noone else. There is only one "say" in the decision and that's the boss' say. Without this, there is anarchy and indecision. Not that I admire dictators, but you have to admit, they get the job done. Crowdsourcing is great for collecting data, but it's no substitute for leadership.
So when you're sitting down with your team and going around the room, listen to their advice, but don't tip your hand. They will be more likely to give it to you straight if they know it's up to you to decide. Thank them for their opinions and usher them out of the room. They can wait for you to decide.