25 Reasons Social Media Can (Should?) Be Anyone's Job

Social Media is still a new thing to many people and companies, so I’m thinking optimistically - even aspirationally - here. There are most certainly companies that are ahead of the curve with the way they’re allowing social media to be an undercurrent of many aspects of their business. Here, 25 ways that social media can apply to lots of different job descriptions, no matter what you’re in business to do. Add yours, too, in the comments!

Marketing and PR
This is the obvious category, of course, since these are the folks responsible for crafting, managing, and communicating the company’s messaging to customers and prospects. It’s often (but not always) the “home” for social media in a company. Here, social media can:

• Help you understand if your customers are online, and if they are, what sites and tools they use most.

• Provide insights into your own company culture and highlight your business’ comfort level with social media tools.

• Give the company a human face through online discourse, highlighting the people behind the brand and the hearts and minds that drive it.

• Let you hear how your community – instead of the company – defines the brand. Messaging in their language is more likely to stick.

• Give you human insight into market dynamics, instead of relying on only structured reports or surveys. Take the “pulse” of your community, from their perspective.

• Hear how your competitors are perceived online, too, to identify additional ways to differentiate your brand from theirs.

Sales and Business Development
In sales, finding and solving problems is the key to success, and good listening skills are essential. In the world of social media, business development pros can:

• Locate prospects that might be self-identifying elsewhere on the web without making themselves readily apparent to the business.

• Listen to the words your customers use to describe you, for better or worse. They might write your sales pitch for you.

• Maintain relationships with customers before and after the sale by continuing to connect with them online.

• Again, competitive analysis and insights about how and where your competitors are reaching the prospects that you might be looking for.

• Identify trends and niche markets that you might not yet be tapping.

• Hear how your prospects and clients are articulating their needs and pain points so your future presentations and proposals can address them directly.

• Open more channels for communication – different tools and sites – and provide opportunities for dialogue that are more comfortable for customers.

Customer/Client Services
Customer service can be a never-ending, demanding job but it’s absolutely a make-or-break piece of any business. So, how can customer and client service pros tap into social media?

• Identify product or service issues that are being talked about online first. Believe it or not, some people don’t come straight to the company with their issues.

• Say thank you to clients and customers in their own space.

• Solve minor issues on the spot (even in other peoples’ online territory, like their website or a community forum) and demonstrate that you’re listening. Be the conduit back to the company to resolve more complex issues, faster.

• Build trust by developing and maintaining relationships with customers during a critical time – in between sales.

• Serve as the outward-facing voice of the company to build its’ community and provide a direct line of communication back to you.

• Actively ask for feedback from your customers about their recent experiences with you, and what would have made it better. Doing it live and online turns it into a living, breathing dialogue instead of just another static survey.

Product or Brand Managers
Even though product or brand managers aren’t always directly customer facing, social media can still play a key intelligence role. By listening, your product and brand teams can:

• Identify quality issues in competitor’s products for a leg up in product improvements.

• Hear customer’s “wish lists” that they’re posting on the web for products you may not have, or enhancements to the ones you do.

• Work with customer support teams to develop comprehensive responses to product or service issues in real-time.

• Help develop a useful FAQ for customers and clients based on common issues communicated on the web. Instead of relying on third party forums, make your company site the destination for information.

• Gather anecdotal evidence of innovative ways that customers might be using your products (that could be very different than what you intended!). Great example: Ikea Hacker.

• Create product tutorials that directly address the feedback and issues you might hear from users online. (Best part: go where they are and introduce them directly.)

I didn’t break out executive ranks above because I’m thinking there’s an executive role in every category (?). But as several people pointed out to me, executive buy in is critical. Otherwise, the big gold mine of information gathered via social media won’t be worth a fig. Somewhere, someone has to do something with the insights and use them to move forward.

Seems as though that might be the biggest challenge of all: what to do when you know the information is valuable but there are disconnects? Executives might delegate without being invested in the results. Managers might not be empowered to act. Production folks might not have all the information they need to understand why that information is important in the first place. Perhaps another post for another time. I’d love your thoughts on this one!

Thanks to Geoff Livingston, Frank Martin, Gianandrea Facchini and Sonny Gill and all of my fantastic fellow marketing/social media mavens for their great input on this post! You all teach and inspire me daily.

What do you think, folks? Help me round out the list with your ideas, and let’s share these with our colleagues, clients, teams.

cool image by Ralph Bijker

50 Days (and counting) until SBMU!

Have you signed up for SBMU yet? I'm going, and last month I told you all about why. I hope you'll join us - you've got until August 29th to get the early birdie deal. Go on! I'll wait. (Jennifer is even helping you find airfare deals to get there.)

Done? ok!

So why am I posting again? Because whether you're going or not, your biz might just be right for sponsorship of this super event. You've got a tight knit audience of small and medium business owners and decision makers that might just need to do business with you. And I'm a big proponent of sponsorships that do what they're supposed to do: connect great businesses with the people who need them to solve problems and might not find them any other way. (We all know it's a big pond out there...)

In particular, SBMU is putting on a speed networking event as part of their activities that benefits COSI, the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus. 100% of the proceeds from the tickets and silent auction go to COSI's Community Access program that provides tickets to the center for low income and at-risk families. And the event is open to the public, so beyond just connecting with SBMU groupies, you're reaching out to the Columbus community. My love for a good cause runs deep, so I hope you'll give it a look.

Can your company be a sponsor? Benefits include logos, links, and mentions in Search Engine Guide and Small Business Brief Weekly Newsletters, email connections with conference attendees, a chat with the charity networking event attendees to let them know about you and what you're up to, and the best part: admission to the conference. Go here and have a look at the sponsor packet to see if this or another SBMU sponsorship might be a good outreach for you.

(Note that I mean outreach, not just any old marketing buy. You're reaching and communicating with a savvy audience that's dedicated to investing in their business and in relationships. And you'll get to connect with them personally.)

If you think your company might be a fit, or you know someone who might, drop the Unleashed team a note.

I can't wait to absorb and learn and network and surely have some fun. See you in Columbus!

New York Times Wants to Censor and Influence Bloggers?

On Saturday, I posted about the New York Times and their coverage that same evening of the BlogHer 08 Conference in their online Fashion & Style section (The Sunday Styles section in the print version). I was particularly upset about where the paper placed the story and the overall tone of the article. I also wrote a brief letter to the editor that day that expressed my thoughts on the topic. You can read my post and my letter to the editor right here.

Yesterday, I got a phone call and an email from a New York Times editor in response to my letter, asking simply if I would please call her. So I did, about an hour later.

The contact is an editor for the Thursday and Sunday editions of the Times’ Styles section (known as the Fashion & Style section on the online version). She said she was contacting me because she wanted me to consider revising the letter I had written to the editor because they couldn’t publish it as it was. (She also mentioned that she had read my post and several others expressing similar criticism for the story and its placement).

So, naturally, I asked why. She said that my letter specifically criticized the placement of the story, which it did. But she went on to explain that the Times’ sections operate somewhat autonomously, and when one section gets a good story, they would never “give it away” to another section. She said that the section in which a story was placed was not something they “controlled”, but that it was based on which section editor got the story or whom the reporter chose to pitch.

Effectively, she told me that they wouldn’t publish my letter if it talked about the placement of the story since the section placement wasn’t “something [they] could respond to” and was something they “don’t have an answer for”. Instead, she suggested that if I framed my letter to focus instead on tone and content of the story itself, I could resubmit it to her directly for publication consideration.

What?

There’s a couple of big lessons to be learned here about proper outreach to your community, and how not to engage with bloggers.

Mistake #1
First of all, a letter to the editor is intended as an expression of opinion by the readership of a paper. A publication could reasonably edit a letter for length, but suggesting that content and intent of a letter be revised and resubmitted for the purposes of making it easier or more palatable to the paper isn’t reasonable (or ethical, in my view).

In this case, the Times didn’t want to publish my criticism of the editorial judgment because they would have then had to explain how and why stories get placed in specific sections. They also might have had to defend the content of their Style section and justify why it was a suitable place for the BlogHer story after all. So they’ve made my letter to the editor about what it does (or doesn’t do) for them, instead of about engaging and including the voice of their readers.

Lesson: When engage in dialogue with your community, you lose credibility and respect when you try to censor or influence that conversation just because you don’t like what’s being said.

Mistake #2
In our follow up correspondence after the phone call, the editor asked that, should I choose to blog again on this topic, I not reveal her name because she’s “not a higher-up in the section” and would “rather not be seen as speaking on behalf of the section in print.” However, her phone call to me was from her desk at the Times, and her email to me was from her New York Times email account. In both cases, she was clearly presenting herself as a representative of the paper whose duties, per her email to me, “include [responding] to letter writers.”

They say in journalism that nothing is ever truly off the record. The Times, however, via this editor, is asking to be exactly that.

Lesson: If you’re going to be a part of the conversation, be transparent. Own your viewpoint and speak as yourself. Otherwise, your community questions your motives and you lose their trust.

So what should they have done?

Here’s my take:

• Either chosen to publish my letter as it was, or chosen not to publish it as is their prerogative (after all, publication isn’t guaranteed). But never should their response have been to try and convince me to amend my opinion because they didn’t have a suitable response.

• Commented on my post. The editor mentioned that she’d read my blog post about it, and that gave her and the Times the perfect opportunity to engage in the conversation and contribute their perspective.

• Respected my stance rather than trying to influence it. They didn’t have to agree with me. But trying to get me to revise my letter to the editor or suggest how I should treat future blog posts tells me that they’d rather control the message than have a discussion.

Let me be clear that I think the Times, in theory, made the right move by reaching out to someone who is clearly speaking up about them, and to them. Engagement is much better than ignoring. But the question becomes what does more damage: Not responding at all, or responding and trying to influence a letter writer or blogger to amend their content?

I think the piece itself and the editor’s response to my letter underscores the lack of respect that the Times has for bloggers, their readers, and their influence within the larger media community. The overall tone of the exchange with the editor, while courteous and friendly on the surface, leads me to think that the Times not only wants to unduly influence the conversation, but that they might be taking this ill-advised approach with other bloggers, too.

This whole situation highlights an archaic and potentially damaging system that papers like the Times are using to determine where their stories run. I think they ought to be rethinking this for the sake of integrity.

So what do you think? How would you have reacted to such a request? Do you think the New York Times handled this correctly? If not, what should they have done differently and what are the lessons to be learned?

Photo by Anderson Mancini

New York Times Commits a Fashion Faux-Pas about BlogHer

It's not often I get on my soapbox on my blog; my intention is to share with you, my good readers, a bit of widsom and insight and share everything I've learned in kind from all of you. But I'm hoppin' mad at the New York Times for how they've managed to undermine some fantastically accomplished and groundbreaking women from BlogHer.

BlogHer is a community of women bloggers who blog about everything from cars to health and wellness, technology, green causes, law, social change and dozens of other topics. With over 13,000 members and over 10,000 blogs on their directory, it's a powerhouse of content, expertise, and community building. These women are driven, and influential.

So imagine my frustration - nay, disgust - when the New York Times managed to write a story about their recent BlogHer08 conference and put it on their Fashion and Style page?

It prompted me to write a letter to the editor:

I’m so disappointed that you managed to completely undermine the professional, hardworking group at BlogHer by parking that article on your “Fashion & Style” page. Why not Business? Technology? These women are changing the face of technology and the online world, and you’re parking them off in a trivial corner instead of among the gamechanging minds of Web 2.0 where they belong.

This is exactly why glass ceilings exist. Way to take a legitimate, amazingly powerful event for professionals and treat it as “aw, how cute!”.

Shame on you.

That pretty much sums it up for me. I'm thankful that events and communities like BlogHer are garnering recognition in mainstream media for the incredible things they're doing. Blogging and social media are changing the face of marketing, communications, and mainstream media. But I am so distressed that this particular event was treated like it was some cutsie fashion show with a bunch of women getting manicures, drinking tea, and giggling with one another over soap operas. Even the article has a rather condescending tone, as if they NYT was surprised and amused at this little gathering of mommies who blog.

Blogging is a commitment. It takes dedication, passion, and focus to do it well. It is shifting boundaries all over the world about how people, businesses, and media get and share information. And communities like BlogHer are the essence of bringing people together to learn, share, and teach one another (sound like any of the definitions I've given about social media???).

So I repeat, shame on you New York Times. BlogHer members - and all of the evangelists of Web 2.0, social media, and community - deserve better than that.


Image credit: Wendy Piersall of Sparkplugging.com

Social Media Group Therapy

Groups for social media enthusiasts and practitioners are popping up, and that's a great thing. Whether you're a lone soldier looking to network, or a large corporation that needs to take social media beyond the basics, there's a group for you. Here, just a few that I've come across in my travels (and feel free to share yours in the comments!):

Free Memberships

Marketing 2.0

Marketing 2.0 is a burgeoning community that, in their own words, "is a community of passionate marketers sharing ideas, insights, advice, stories, and occasional rants and raves about how to operationalize Web 2.0. In other words, how to bake things like social media, conversational marketing, and online communities into the foundation of marketing."

I personally love this approach and am encouraged by the potential of their membership. I'm particularly fond of the companion community that has a bevy of great information on the blog and through the member forum. Just reading can teach you a lil' something new. (Note: I'm a member).

Society for Word of Mouth

Billed as the place to be for those who seek word of mouth enlightenment, SWOM is a fun community with some great personalities at the helm - BenMcConnell and Jackie Huba. (You might know them from their awesome Church of the Customer Blog or their book Citizen Marketers). It's purpose is to be a free social network for those immersed (or just interested) in word of mouth, and to be a premium educational resource so it's community can bring word of mouth to their own organization. I'm big fans of theirs, so I hurried to join when I learned about it.

There are local groups for SWOMies, as well as a discussion forum, a library of resources, and some great videos. With just shy of 1,000 members, I'm eager to see where Jackie, Ben, and the community take this.

Paid Memberships

Social Media Club

You may have been hearing the buzz around Twitter, Plurk, or the Blogosphere about the SMC's announcement of their 42 board members. Founded by Chris Heuer, Howard Greenstein and Kristie Wells, the SMC says this about their reason for being: "Social Media Club is being organized for the purpose of sharing best practices, establishing ethics and standards, and promoting media literacy around the emerging area of Social Media."

Chapters are getting off the ground across the globe, and promise to deliver some great events and networking opportunities for us social media type people. Membership is truly a steal: Just $100 for a professional membership up to $2,500 for a corporate membership of 10. They even offer a free "open" membership if the hundred bucks is just too much for you right but you'd like to somehow be involved.

There doesn't appear to be a Chicago chapter alive and kicking yet, but maybe I'll kick off an email...

Word of Mouth Marketing Association

According to their website, WOMMA is the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry. WOMMA's mission is to promote and improve word of mouth marketing by:

* Promoting "best practices" to ensure more effective marketing
* Protecting consumers and the industry with strong ethical guidelines
* Evangelizing word of mouth as an effective marketing tool
* Setting standards to encourage its use

Membership includes networking opportunities, access to research, and event discounts. Members include marketing and advertising agencies, PR firms, educational institutions, consumer products companies, and more. Membership fees start at $1,000 per year for small businesses up through $10,000 per year for governing members.

International Blogger and New Media Association

From the IBNMA site: The IBNMA has been formed to serve as a single voice representing members of the industry and as an advocate to promote its growth. The Association’s mission is four-fold, to provide: Research, information, education and advocacy to bloggers, podcasters, social media consultants and others related to the industry in any way.

My buddy Paul Chaney has been talking about the recent relaunch of this org, for which he serves as President. For $25, I think it's worth checking out. They're talking about an intranet for members, and continuing their current benefits that include discounted registration to BlogWorld and New Media Expo. It's still a little new, but I'm all for giving us students of social media more places to gather, share, and learn.

Society for New Communications Research

SNCR is a non-profit think tank that's "dedicated to the advanced study of the latest developments in new media and communications, and their effect on traditional media and business models, communications, culture and society."

With several publications and educational events, including the well-regarded New Communications Forum, SNCR is the academic arm of the marketing 2.0 world. Membership starts at a mere $250 per year for students, and range from $495 for associate membership all the way to $25,000 to be a corporate partner.

Blog Council

If you're part of a large company that's already gone through the growing pains of integrating social media and blogging, the Blog Council might be a great fit for you. It's intended to bring together senior executives to explore issues and share best practices with one another in a private, productive environment.

The member list is impressive; I think it's a valuable place for the "big kids" that are looking to take their social media efforts to the next level. It's also designed to be intensely respectful of demanding executive schedules; events are based on rapid-fire phone calls between members and online forums, and just three live one-day meetings per year that are about peer-to-peer discussions and networking. Hop on over to their website if you are (or know of) a senior corporate executive that ought to be part of this.

I'm sure this is just the start of what's to come in our industry. And don't forget to check out some of the other larger industry organizations like the American Marketing Association, a local Interactive Marketing Association group, or Media Bistro's AvantGuild association. Please let me know what groups I've missed!

Today's awesome image brought to you by VividBreeze