We’re not about to get political here, and tell you what you should think of any proposed federal bailout of the Big 3 American carmakers. Instead, we’d like to shed light on how one of those companies is using social media to spread the word about their POSITIVES — which is a side of the story that the mainstream media isn’t covering very much these days.
Scott Monty (a May 2009 Business Smart Tools speaker) is currently a one-man social media team employed by Ford. One of his biggest challenges is overcoming the wave of negativity directed at the auto industry during this time of economic uncertainty. So Scott has been striving to make sure you, the people, have access to some positive facts about Ford that are otherwise getting lost in the shuffle.
That’s because Scott believes it’s in the public’s best interest to know as many sides of the story as possible. If the mainstream media are tilting in one direction, Ford can utilize Scott to help share another perspective, and make sure the public has access to some balanced facts.
How could YOUR company use social media to help the world learn more about YOUR positives?
Shel Holtz and John C. Havens have written a new book about the value of transparency in your business communications. It’s called Tactical Transparency, and it features extensive quotes from both Valorie Luther (founder of Business Smart Tools’ parent company, Creative Concepts) and BST speaker Cindi Bigelow (President of Bigelow Tea) — so you know WE like it.
But if that’s not enough to catch your attention, consider this:
When communicating online, how much information is TOO MUCH information?
Where do you draw the line between business communications and personal communications?
Who’s controlling what your employees say online (or in person) when they represent your company?
How do you handle a PR crisis?
If any of those questions got you thinking, then perhaps Holtz and Havens’s new book is worth picking up. (And if you’d like to learn more about transparency from one of the authors, John Havens, you can talk with him at the Business Smart Tools conference in May!)
(Full disclosure: Creative Concepts, the parent company of the Business Smart Tools conference, developed and produced the following video.)
Last year, The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes teamed up to deliver nearly 600,000 holiday cards and letters to members of the US armed services, as part of their Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign. This year, they’re aiming for 1 million cards and letters — and they need your help.
Can YOU send a card or letter to a US serviceman or servicewoman this holiday season? Whatever your politics, one thing we can all agree on is that no one should be alone during the holidays — and, as the following video makes clear, no matter how far away our soldiers, sailors, pilots and marines are from their homes this holiday season, they certainly don’t have to be alone.
When things are going well for your company, being “social” in social media is easy. But as soon as a company or an industry experiences trouble — from an economic hiccup to a full PR disaster — it can be tempting to bar the gates and limit all public information so you can better control the message.
Guess what? That rarely helps — and, in these days of instant commentary, it can even make things worse.
Now that the public expects companies to be social, they also expect those companies to be more transparent (read: honest). After all, if they’re engaging you in a one-on-one dialogue, they (subconsciously, at least) begin to feel as though they deserve straight answers during times of crisis. (And don’t they?)
When things start looking gloomy, resist the urge to bunker down and cut off all outside communications. Instead, use the trust and goodwill you’ve built through your social media channels to keep your loyal customers (and critics) in the loop on the situation — and, more importantly, what you’re doing to fix it.
Once the cloud passes, your loyalists will feel as though they’ve weathered the storm with you — and they’ll be even more excited to tell others about what you’re doing right.
One of the benefits your company enjoys with social media is the opportunity to engage directly with your audience / customers / critics / competitors. But WHO is doing that engaging on YOUR behalf?
Some companies empower their executives to speak their own minds, in their own words (for example, the Bigelow Tea Blog often features posts from Bigelow’s President and other department heads, along with daily information about tea).
Sometimes a company designates specific employees, often within the communications or marketing departments, to become the “official” voice of the company’s social media accounts (check out Frank Eliason, who operates Comcast’s account on Twitter and, in doing so, has become one of company’s trusted public faces).
Whichever choice you make, consistency is the key. Your customers will enjoy engaging your brand far more when they understand who, exactly, they’re talking to — and they feel even better when they know they’re dealing with a “real person” like themselves, who’s as comfortable talking about company policy as they are discussing football, lunch breaks or rush hour.
Remember: “social” media involves actual people and real conversations. Don’t be afraid to be real.
Researchers from Gartner find that most companies are missing out on using social networking sites when managing their employees. “Businesses which harness how employees use these sites stand to increase savings, productivity and profits,” said Gartner researcher Jeffrey Mann. “It can lead to better productivity if you can mobilize your people quickly through social networking.” Read more here.
Would you use a social networking site for business? Let us know your thoughts!
Flickr ( http://flickr.com/ ) – One of the largest photo-sharing sites on the planet (and powered by Yahoo), Flickr offers users the ability to host, share, comment upon, print and order merchandise featuring the photos they (and their fellow users) have taken and uploaded to the site.
Flickr is great because you can post pictures easily on your blog or website from events, meetings, products and more!
Twitter ( http://twitter.com/ ) – A cross between a public forum and a private instant-messaging tool, Twitter is compatible across multiple web applications and mobile devices. It’s also, for many users, inexplicably addictive. Many are calling it micro blogging and for those looking for new jobs, it’s the new 140 character resume.
Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/ ) – Originally a social network only available to college students, Facebook has since opened its doors to all users, resulting in explosive growth. Facebook’s designers are dedicated to open source code, which allows anyone with a working knowledge of the programming languages used to power Facebook to create applications and widgets that will run within it – essentially, a social programmer’s and marketer’s paradise.
LinkedIn ( http://linkedin.com/ ) – The working professional’s social network, LinkedIn allows coworkers and collaborators to connect with each other online, recommend each other via testimonials, and introduce their colleagues to one another if they don’t already know each other firsthand.
MySpace ( http://myspace.com/ ) – The original trend-setting social network, now owned by FOX/News Corp, perceived privacy and content control issues have caused MySpace to fall out of favor with the more web-savvy Facebook crowd. Recent improvements have returned the site to a more stable, enjoyable atmosphere, but there’s one large reason MySpace will continue to be undeniably relevant regardless of performance issues: their user base is gigantic – it’s perpetually among the top 10 most-frequented websites on the planet. MySpace is also the 2nd largest video hotspot next to YouTube.
To learn more on how to use social networks for business, join us at the Business Smart Tools conference.
YouTube ( http://youtube.com/ ) – The best-known and most highly-trafficked web video site in the world, YouTube is a repository for user-generated videos, classic commercials, music videos and pop culture oddities of all stripes. If it’s ever been committed to video, odds are, it’s on YouTube (legally or not).
Blip ( http://www.blip.tv/ ) – The closest thing the web video world has to an actual “channel,” Blip is home to the web’s budding TV and film moguls. Unlike YouTube, their services are designed for original video creators who intend to produce multiple episodes or videos over a long period of time, rather than arbitrary and unconnected content. Blip’s homepage features a rotating lineup of some of the web’s best original video series, with easy navigation, searchability and subscription options.
Our clients love both of these sites. A good example of creating a video for YouTube where it still conveys the corporate message, go to our client Ruth Ridgeway and learn how she does what does so well! Video here
@davefleet But most companies are so dependent upon "controlling the message," they fail to see the benefit in reacting in real time. in reply to davefleet1 day ago
@davefleet There's the rub: social media buzz is an opportunity for biz to respond at the public's behest, rather than on their own schedule in reply to davefleet1 day ago
