Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Directing the Conversation
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Impact of Social Media Fame
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Punishing Employee Engagement
Many would suggest that the dilemma itself exemplifies the obsolesence of the traditional business model concept, highlighting a need for further developments in organisational culture. Unfortunately this is not always practical. For example, whilst organisations may applaud the increasing societal presence of transparency, they will almost certainly display reluctance to divulge the trade secrets that make them competitive. This is understandable, and is a theme which I shall be exploring later in the week. For those organisations which are keen to encourage customer engagement, guidelines similar to those published by organisations such as IBM represent a safety net designed to minimise employee generated damage to the brand equity. Actions taken when these lines are crossed will depend upon both the reasons for and the severity of the breach.
The nature of business is such that variations in practice between organisations will occur as standard; this is what allows for competition. Action taken following a breach can have a profound effect on the organisation's social media presence; with the potential to either destroy or discredit the organisational offering in the process. Clearly the resultant action is dependent upon both the extent of and perceived motive for the breach. For example, organisational action following an unintentional breach may differ significantly from that following a malicious planned attack. Admittedly the resultant action will be significantly influenced by the severity of the incident, with breaches resulting in serious damage to the brand equity almost certainly resulting in dismissal. What constitutes serious damage to the brand equity? Again, this is something which will depend upon the individual organization.
Whatever action the organisation decides to enforce following a breach, it is imperative that the repercussions are considered carefully; too lenient an outcome may fail to prevent future recurrences, whilst too strict a punishment may deter customer engagement all together. As an organisation it is your responsibility to ensure that an appropriate stance is taken. Recognize the impact of the social media on your business and consider what might happen were it to disappear, or worse still, appear manufactured. On the other hand, consider the potential ramifications that the actions of a negligent employee can cause through their electronic voice.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The Danger of Implementing 'Smart Blogging' Regulations
A Question of Interpretation
According to Scoble and Israel, the problem with smart blogging practices revolves around interpretation. Unless clearly defined, a regulation intepreted by one employee will almost certainly be interpreted somewhat differently by another. Similarly, differences in interpretation can make it difficult for regulations to be adequately enforced. The resultant confusion may deter a proportion of the workforce from representing the brand online; particularly when coupled with fear of organisational reprisal. For those employees still enthused about engaging with the customer online, confusion of what constitutes acceptable online practices may cause the resultant content to develop a manufactured feel. This content is hardly beneficial for the organisation.
Encouraging Employee Participation
Herein lies the difficulty for many an organisation. Whilst strict social media engagement regulations are likely to deter employee participation, as identified above ambiguous regulations are likely to result in an equivalent outcome. It is the responsibility of the organisation to identify appropriate middle ground for employee participation in the social media. Although decisions concerning certain regulations will be obvious, for example with regards to language allowances and trade secrets, other areas will be significantly more up for discussion. For example, to what extent will the organisation empower the workforce to challenge the thoughts and opinions of customers online? It is only through careful consideration of each of these areas that an appropriate strategy will be crafted.
One Step at a Time
Unfortunately there is no single standardised social media strategy. As such, organisations really need to employ common sense when establishing their guidelines for employee engagement. Clearly it would be impossible for each and every engagement to be monitored; highlighting the need for appropriate guidance from the outset. The best advice that I can give would be to examine the workforce and to develop a strategy both with and around them. By working together with the workforce closely, potential areas of difficulty can be preemptively identified and addressed. Whilst this cannot guarantee the avoidance of every challenge to the brand equity, it will almost certainly cause the number of occurences thereof to diminish.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Putting the Customer at the Centre of Everything
I Have the Power!
As has oft been cited in the blogosphere, the online community has the capacity to make or break a brand; a power which they are often all too happy to call upon should it be deemed that the company is not acting in the best interests of its customers. The organisation on the other hand has little to no direct control over the online customer perceptions of the brand; particularly when concerns such as those described above deter the recognition of a social media engagement strategy in its entirety. Whilst careful efforts to influence these perceptions can be made, opinions stemming from the blogosphere are likely to be more readily recieved by the online community.
Customer Action and the Social Media
The Customer Revolution
Make sure that your organisation recognises the importance of putting the customer at the centre of everything. If you continue to rely on outdated business practices, the community will react. This reaction will almost certainly be negative. Help to avoid the creation of negative content by engaging with your customer.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Curious Case of the Blog
What's in a Tweet?
Those actively engaged in the creation of online content seem significantly more likely to author a blog. Notably, many of those on Twitter seem to have a blog. Admittedly I am basing this supposition on the number of tweets I see advising other users to check out a recent post, however that may simply indicate that those I choose to follow have a greater propensity to blogging than others. This suggestion is hardly surprising; the majority of 'Creator' type Internet users are likely to engage in the creation of content across platforms. Blog visibility is therefore likely to prove somewhat deceptive, as those platform users highlighting posts of interest are likely to be responsible for creating blogs of their own elsewhere. Duplicate references to content across platforms may have resulted in blogging appearing more mainstream than is actually the case.
Blogging; the Realm of the Geek?
In spite of blog related references being on the rise, I remain sceptical as to whether we have truly seen the platform go mainstream. In the UK, the number of people actually professing to running a blog is still relatively low. General consensus continues to categorize blogging as the hobby of the 'geek'; a shame given the platform's capacity to advance the conversation. It should be noted that in spite of the comparatively small number of users actively engaging in creating blog content; the Forrester Social Technographics Profile tool suggests that only 15% of UK Internet users fall into the 'Creator' bracket, significantly more users are likely to interact with said material, perhaps even unknowingly. Whilst the number of those engaging in blog authoring is still relatively low, the number of 'Spectators' interacting with this content emphasises the ongoing significance thereof. Clearly it would be naive for organisations to avoid engaging with these users.
Social Media in Society
Whilst certain social platforms have unquestionably achieved mainstream status, most notably Facebook and increasingly Twitter, serious blog creation remains somewhat specialised. That is not to say that this is justification to avoid establishing an organisational presence therein. As the quality of blogged material continues to increase, the number of Internet users interacting with this material is likely to continue to rise. By appropriately targeting and engaging relevant bloggers, organisations can help to ensure that their content reaches interested parties. Has the blog achieved mainstream status? That is clearly debatable. The value of the content created by these Internet users is however undeniable; particularly as the number of spectators remains high. This is undoubtedly an opportunity not to be missed.
What are your thoughts? Has blogging gone mainstream, or does it remain a product of the 'geek'? As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.