Category: Social Media

Social Business Maturity Model

Enterprise Social, Infographics, Social Media

Almost every day there is another way that social media encroaches upon our businesses. It could be a new technology designed to help us reach new customers or something to help us target buyers more accurately. It could be a new device, some software or a must-have community building platform.

Similarly, in our so-called “personal lives”, we are seeing a blurring of the boundaries – between home and work, work and play, friends, colleagues, connections and family.

But while many of us have been weaving social media into the fabric of our lives, most businesses are at the very beginning of this process. Their efforts are ad hoc, barely repeatable and hardly defined. There is confusion, miscommunication – and even misinformation.

So what then would be a model that enterprises – large scale businesses – could look to? I thought I’d try my hand at putting a “social business maturity model” together. Running vertically are the five stages of enterprise maturity. Each of these stages have key process areas which provide milestones and evidence capabilities that mark the transition to a new level of maturity. It’s a draft, but I’d love your input and suggestions. How can we make it better? What would you add or change?

Social Business Maturity Model

How to Write Copy for Social Media

Creativity, Social Media, Storytelling

When it comes to business communication, I have seen it all. I have written speeches for CEOs, developed product and service brochures, come up with copy for ads, websites, and jingles – and everything in between.

But some of the things that made me successful as a business communicator and copywriter were the things that prevented me from communicating well in social media. Even after some considerable time using social media, I found it easy to slip into a more formal business style for communicating.

Fundamentally there is a dividing line between writing in the voice of the brand and writing in the voice of the customer. I call this the “mirror of intent” – for your communication can go either way. Do you want authority or do you want authenticity? When you know which side of the mirror you stand, you can adjust your style accordingly. But be warned – both approaches are valid for different types of communication. And both take practice and discipline.

The graphic below explains five ways you can deliver on your intent.

These are my observations and were inspired by discussions with the wise and articulate community evangelist, Marilyn Pratt – but perhaps there is something I have missed. Share your experience by leaving a comment!

How to Write for Social Media

Are We Dating or Do You Just LIKE Me?

Pop Culture, Social Media

This infographic by the Online Dating University (via All Facebook) shows that three-fifths of people display their relationship status on the Facebook profiles. It’s not an earth-shattering piece of information, but it does give us an insight into the BEHAVIOUR of people who frequent social networks – it tells us that we live our lives in public. It reminds us that our lifestyles an our choices have been turned inside-out and are – at least on the surface – ready-made for the consumption of others.

But this is far from an isolated trend – it is one that has been tracking for at least the last five years. A recent ExactTarget / CoTweet report on Subscribers, Friends and Followers puts some data around this (and while it is US data, we can still apply the thinking more locally):

  • 73% of US online consumers have  created a Facebook profile
  • 42% of US online consumers are fans (and have liked at least one company)

But, while we LIKE these companies, 51% of fans say they rarely or never visit a company’s page after “liking” them. And if the relationship is over – if a fan no longer wants to see your posts, less than half will go to the trouble of “unliking” you.

There is, however, something we can learn from the world of dating. Look at the IMPACTS of living life in public as shown below. How can your brand affect the etiquette, moods and updates of your fans? What can you do to demonstrate that you are in a relationship and it’s not just a matter of liking each other? Remember, it’s a two way street and do the smart thing – build that knowledge and insight into your strategy.

Infographic-HowFacebookAffectsYou

Creating Trust in Social Networks – The 4 As

Social Judgement, Social Media

Once upon a time, we knew who to trust. We’d look to the badge and we’d look to the brand. The institutions in our society carried with them the gravitas and the authority that commanded respect. The same applied to big brands. And then something changed. Something really big.

How to Build Trust in Social Networks – The 4 As

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Just as the world wide web rewired the way that we communicate, social networks are rewiring the way that we establish, create and maintain trust through those communications. The FOUR As will help you engender trust through your social network interactions.

Lessons in Corporate Social Reputation Management from Dell

Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Media

Dell have learned their social media lessons the hard way. In fact, you’ve probably heard more than one of their success stories.

These successes have been achieved in a systematic way, using targeted approaches and clear measurements. As shown in this presentation, step 1 is listening and engagement, with step 2, the creation of an online influencer relations program.

But the thing I like most is slide 4. Once you are listening and you have begun your influencer relations program, think about the programs that you are going to build out in each of your lines of business. Look for business champions who see the need and have the opportunity. Look for the quick wins and then promote those champions to the other lines of business. Back up these “hero” stories with measurements and outcomes (even preliminary outcomes are fine). And finally, share best practices. Rinse and repeat.

Tackling Corporate Reputation with Social Media

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Organise Your Peeps with Groundcrew

Community, Crowdsourcing, Social Media

Communities can be notoriously difficult to organise – there are always competing priorities, egos and agendas. The same can apply to teams of any type. But what if you could organise your efforts around location and interest? What if you could corral like-minded folk who just happened to be in the right place at the right time?

Well, with this funky service, now you can.

GroundCrew offers some seriously good coordination tools that can apply to many situations. It’s perfect for non-profit or membership based organisations. It’s a perfect solution for companies with dispersed workforces needing to connect their experts to local problems. And it could radically transform the way that we look at responding to natural disasters.

Oh, and for those of us looking for brilliant tools to manage our online/offline communities from a marketing and branding point of view, it’s a no-brainer. And it gives new teeth to the tired notion of “crowdsourcing”. Sign up today. You’ll find a use for it in seconds.

Via @RachelBotsman.

Why Social Media Hurts

Social Media, The Social Way

It is with a touch of irony that we often say “the one constant in life is change”. Yet, despite the continuous fluctuations in our lives we really do struggle to accommodate it.

But coming to an understanding of what “change” actually means for us can indicate clear success or clear failure. It is part of our evolutionary makeup. Equally, for those of us charged with guiding businesses through the minefield of social media, there are additional responsibilities – it is not just about our own personal changes, it’s the changes faced by our colleagues, our management, executives and customers. And it is also about the organisational memory that needs to be recast or reimagined so that we can all make the transition.

Right now, there’s a lot of hurt being experienced and it’s because everything is changing. Not only are our roles changing, but so are our organisations. What we once loved may have to be sacrificed – be it a business process, a responsibility or even a customer. As with all things, there will be compensations – new customers, new approaches, promotions or new opportunities – after all, not all change is bad: but it is still change. And with every change comes a loss.

So how can we cope with this?

To become part of The Social Way – to need to move quickly through our sense of loss. We need to become Yes Men or Women. And one way to do this is to understand how we deal with loss, with grief and how to embrace acceptance.

This beautiful presentation from Leslie Bradshaw talks about the five stages of social media grief (something that Amber Naslund also wrote about recently). This can also be useful (see slide 6 specifically) to help map out the impediments that you are facing (is someone in denial, angry, bargaining or depressed) – before you reach that lovely state of “acceptance”.

By understanding the stage that you, your stakeholders and your organisation is placed, you can begin to address the challenges and overcome the hurdles that prolong the change process and cause the pain (for us all). And then, in parallel, you can begin to work together to create a newly imagined, social world.

Utopian? Maybe. But generosity and optimism are part of The Social Way. Our challenge is to accept the consequences of what that means.

Why Social Media

Social Media: How to Listen

Comms 101, Social Media

Businesses are often advised that the first step in any social media program is to LISTEN. But who do you listen to? What do you listen for? And how do you do it? This infographic steps you through the process I follow. It should get you started. You can download this PDF from Slideshare, or get a copy of the image here.

Social Media: How to listen

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