Most everyone is aware of the field of Social Media by now, whether or not they truly realize what it is or not. You can hardly turn on a television or see an ad without some reference to the popular social channels popping up. But in my opinion, the field of social media is still vastly misunderstood and underutilized by brands and other organizations of all kinds. Specifically, social media tends to be looked at as tool to be used by the Marketing, PR, or in some cases the Customer Service departments without truly understanding its potential to benefit the business as a whole.
The majority of branded pages, accounts, etc. are treated as just another (largely) one-way broadcast channel. I see this all the time in my research for clients. I do a good bit of competitive analysis for my clients, and it is by far the exception, not the rule when I run across a brand or organization that truly ‘gets it’ and engages beyond just blasting out messages to their fans, followers, likes, etc. Beyond the marketing implications of this approach however are other key opportunities that get missed. I believe that in order for companies, brands, etc. to step into the new world dominated by social sharing and customer feedback, the entire organization should become social. What do I mean by this? I mean that instead of just looking at social media as an outbound communication channel, it must be looked at as one of the threads that run throughout the organization. This requires a significant cultural shift in order to truly adapt to this new reality.
One aspect of this is with internal social networking that enables staff members in every department to collaborate, share insights, learn more about the organization, etc. This might involve private micro-blogging tools such as Yammer, Socialtext and others, intranets with collaborative tools and areas for employee input, and other methods for internal sharing. The tools are not as important as the strategic use of them. Equally as important is encouraging the whole team to participate in social media, not just the Marketing department. How often do we read about companies that ban sites like Facebook and Twitter from the workplace? Far too often in my opinion. Allowing the team to jump in and participate in the spaces where the customers are already congregating is a natural fit and encouraging this behavior can have tremendous benefits to the organization that far outweigh the risks of lost productivity.
With the recent moves by Facebook and their Open Graph initiative, there can be no doubt that the world is becoming more social, not less. And fast! I’m fond of saying that ‘we can’t put the genie back in the bottle,’ so companies and their employees must learn to adapt to this new business reality or be left in the dust. This doesn’t mean that it should be a free-for-all online during work hours, and common sense must come into play in order to keep the organization on track, but these aspects can be dealt with without an overly heavy-handed approach. It’s up to each company to come up with solutions that work for its specific situation, but in the end, the trend towards more social sharing seems unstoppable.
If you’re one of the many individuals in the job market today, think about how you can provide value to your next employer through your participation in social media. Do you like the idea of collaborating across departments in a large organization, or do you like working in a more structured environment with clear directives and reporting matrices? Are you the type that would walk up to the CEO after a company meeting and share your thoughts, or would you keep them to yourself, or maybe channel them to your direct supervisor afterward? Rest assured that prospective employers are checking you out on the social web to get an idea of who you are and how you present yourself and communicate online. What do you want them to see? Do you want to show that you’re a team player that likes sharing information with your networks, or are you more comfortable flying below the radar? Regardless of which side of this you land on, these are questions that I believe we should all be asking ourselves if we are going to be successful in our careers. Knowing how the company you are applying with views this topic is important to know ahead of time so you know what type of culture you’re joining.
For hiring managers, does your company want to incorporate more social activity and embrace this type of thinking across the organization? Does management believe that insights can come from anyone on the team, and do they encourage collaboration amongst staff from every department? Are they ready to open up and have this conversation out in full view with the public? If so, think about the implications that your hiring decisions will make on the ability of the company to lead in this area. Remember that those who are graduating now or who have graduated in recent years have grown up with ‘social’ being default. These individuals are the future leaders that will be steering the ship in the years to come, and they are used to open communication and social sharing as part of their daily lives. If you want to attract strong talent amongst this generation, think about how the company’s approach with social media and social business overall will affect your ability to get the most energetic and excited individuals onboard.
The genie isn’t going back in the bottle. It’s time to lead, follow, or get out of the way. Where do you stand?
Brandon Sutton – Social Media Consultant
