Kodak's Social Media Success: Part 2

Yesterday, we started talking with Kodak about their social media initiatives. Today, the team talks about their plans for the future, and what they consider ROI for their efforts.

How do you hope to build on the success you’ve had in social media, and involve it in your future communication plans? Do see your social media efforts increasing, decreasing, or staying the same for 2009?

Krista Gleason: Kodak is focused on growth and we are always looking at new and innovative ways to communicate, share information, and build relationships with customers. Our participation in these various forms of social media gives us the opportunity to spread our message further and to a larger audience. Our focus now and going forward is how to best integrate all these tools in our communications. For example, when we do a traditional press release, we also consider a companion blog post, we twitter about the news, we post to Facebook and delicious, we might do a podcast, we join the conversation in blogs and forums.

Was involvement in social media a natural progression for Kodak, or was it a culture shift for you?

Krista Gleason: In many ways, our involvement in social media is a reflection of the new company we have become – what we often refer to as the New Kodak. Film remains an important part of our business but Kodak is also now a foremost leader in digital imaging and printing.

What departments and staff members are involved in social media at Kodak, and how do you determine who is involved in each project?

Krista: In April, we named Jenny Cisney our Chief Blogger and she is responsible for overseeing all our social media activities. As Chief Blogger, Jenny also covers trade shows and events (like the Olympics) and represents Kodak at social media conferences. Tom Hoehn is our Director of Brand Communications and Convergence Media and also plays a lead role. We have an internal Blog Council that meets regularly with representation from our film business, consumer business, graphic communications business, and technology office. Our employee bloggers represent virtually all aspects of the company including technology, R&D, product development, branding, marketing, online, etc.

Jenny Cisney: It’s easy to find people in the company who are passionate about what they do and about Kodak products. There are a lot of photography enthusiasts who are eager to share their pictures and tips.

Kodak does a great deal of sponsorship and events; have you found social media to be a valuable part of these efforts, and why or why not?

Krista: Yes. A great example of this is our announcement of the Kodak Challenge – part of our new partnership with the PGA TOUR. In addition to the traditional press release and press conference, we also had several blogs about the Kodak Challenge, podcasts that were also posted to YouTube, several people twittering including Jenny and our Chief Business Development Officer Jeff Hayzlett who made the announcement, we posted photos to flickr and Facebook, and news on delicious.

How do you define your “ROI” from involvement with social media?

• Feedback from readers and customers via the blogs and email.

• Invitations to speak at top-tier conferences, including BlogWorld Expo and BlogHer.

• Links to our blogs from other blogs and online articles.

• Recognition from social media experts and media such as:

Mario Sundar - #1 Olympic blog, 2008
Debbie Weil - 5 examples of effective corporate blogs, 2007
PR Week - 5 corporate blogs that built buzz, 2007
Business Week
Mentions and compliments in the book “Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online” by Andy Beal and Judy Strauss.

• Awards: Earlier this year Kodak won three awards for our blogs – the PRSA Bronze Anvil, American Business Award (Stevie Award) and an Interactive Media Award.

What advice do you have for other companies contemplating social media tools like blogging and podcasting?

Jenny Cisney: If you start participating in social media, you have to be dedicated to it. You cannot leave your blog untouched for weeks. Make sure you listen to your customers and take their feedback into account. Be sure you get back to them in a timely manner. And remember your blog doesn’t have to be like other company blogs. Tailor your social media to best suit your business.

My special thanks again to Krista Gleason and Jenny Cisney along with the entire team at Kodak for sharing their story with us! I've got some great takeaways from this that I'll share with you tomorrow, so stay tuned.