If I were to start a social media blog today, I would call it simply “Stating The Obvious.” The types of topics we would cover would fall along the lines of:
1. “Social” is something you are, not something you do. If your company culture doesn’t focus on building relationships with your customers, then chances are that you won’t use social media to do it either. The “media” doesn’t dictate how social a company is or isn’t. It simply enhances its ability to be a social business – if in fact it is – or illustrates the extent to which it isn’t.
2. You cannot outsource customer relationships to an agency. Can you outsource your presence at Thanksgiving dinner to an agency? Do you send your PR team to social events and parties when you have better things to do than attend? Social media isn’t any different. Why? Because it is “social media,” not “delegation media” or “pretend media”. Research and intelligence, sure. That can be outsourced. Creative? That too. Implementing technologies and helping you with strategy? You bet. Marketing, PR and advertising? Of course. But the relationship part: Shaking hands, being there when customers ask your for help, participating in conversations, making them feel at home when they do business with you, none of these can be outsourced.
3. A blog is just a blog. It isn’t a magical trust and influence publishing converter for the web. Publishing propaganda or marketing content is just that, regardless of the publishing platform. Just because you publish marketing content on a blog doesn’t mean it magically morphs into something “authentic” that “engaged customers” will spread through “word of mouth.”
4. Marketing on social media channels isn’t “social.” It is just marketing. Just as publishing marketing content on a blog doesn’t make marketing content any less manufactured and biased, publishing content on social media channels isn’t “social.” Every time I hear a company proudly state that they have a social media program when in fact, all they have is a marketing program that uses social media channels, I feel sorry for its stakeholders and customers. This is one of two things: Delusion or spin. And by “spin,” I mean a lie. If you are a professional in this space, either build a real social media program – one that is actually social – or get out of the way because those of us on a mission to do it right are coming in hot.
5. Transparency isn’t just a word. If you don’t intend to practice it, don’t preach it. Transparency isn’t a flag you get to wave around only when it is convenient. Disclosure also shouldn’t be something your legal department needs to brief you about. You already know what’s right. And by “right,” I don’t just mean “ethical” or what you can get away with. I mean “right.” Do that. Treat your customers with respect and treat your program on foundations of integrity and professional pride.
6. Change management, not social media tools and platforms, is at the crux of social media program development. Because social is something you are, not something you do, most organizations cannot succeed in the social space by changing what they do and not who they are. A Director of Social Media can only do so much. “Social” speaks at least as much to your company’s DNA as it does to its business practices. If you don’t really care about your customers, social media won’t magically transform you into someone who does. You have to want to become this type of individual, and for your organization as a whole to follow suit, in order for the socialization of your business to be successful.
7. People are more important than technology. Hire people who care about other people. If you hire and promote assholes, your company will be full of assholes. It doesn’t matter how much Twitter and Facebook you add to your company’s communications or how many awesome monitoring dashboards you buy if you are a company of assholes. Guess what: An asshole on social media is still an asshole. Start with your people, not your tools. They are what makes social either work or fail.
8. Social media should not be managed by Marketing anymore than your phones should be managed by Sales. 41% of social media directors are marketing professionals while only 1% are customer service professionals. Would you care to guess as to why it is that only 1% of social media programs seem to be yielding actual results (and I mean business measurables, not just web measurables) while the rest are just making noise and turning anecdotal BS into “case studies?” (See item 9 for further insights into this.)
9. Shut up and listen. Everywhere I look, I see companies spending a good deal of their time (and budgets) focusing on producing content, blog posts, social media press releases, tweets, updates, events, and looking to “content strategy” to make sure it all fits smoothly together. That’s nice. Too bad they don’t spend at least as much time thinking about their listening strategy. Maybe they would actually get somewhere if they did. Listen to your customers. Listen to your competitors’ customers. Everything companies need to know is passing them by because they are too busy talking. Shut up, already. Nobody really cares what you have to say, and if they do, they don’t need to hear it all day long. Really. Just make great products, consistently create exceptional experiences for customers, and focus every bit of energy in making sure no customer of yours is ever disappointed, and you’ll be good to go. If your communications serve your marketing department more than they serve your customers, you are doing it wrong.
10. Any consultant, “thought leader,” agency or partner who doesn’t tell you these things isn’t fit to be consulted on the subject. Do big promises, miracle cures and fairy tales sound like reality to you? “If you buy X, your business will suddenly grow and improve?” Really? Does “we have the best secret formula” sound legitimate to you? It doesn’t matter where your new “advisors” have worked, who they have worked with or how many people follow them on Twitter. Of course they are all going to have great stories to tell. It’s called “marketing.” Ever heard of it?
Or maybe I would call that blog “The Emperor’s New Clothes: Alive and well in 2011.”
* * *
Chances are that you’ve already bought a copy of Social Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts in Your Organization (Que/Pearson), but what about your boss? Have your clients discovered it yet? Have you shared it with your employees and coworkers? (It makes a great gift, and it will make your organization stronger.)
Brand Building and Online Marketing Blog 
Ain’t that the truth?
Yup.
Very well-said 🙂
Thank you.
Brilliant man.
More business owners need to hear this message instead of the fluff and BS they’ve been spoonfed for the past couple years.
Time to start a team of superhero social media avengers and mythbusters to finally clean up this space.
All we need is a platform. Know any producers on Bloomberg TV?
Love this post. I agree with every word, and this is what our clients should expect from us if they hire us to work with them on social media in any aspect. Thanks for your continuing diligence on trying to get people to understand how to get the most out of their social communications. 🙂
I’ll have to put this out in the next business book then. 🙂
Spot on as always.
Thanks.
Change management is one of the most difficult aspects of adding a new process, technology, or even shaping a new environment.
If I had to name the biggest obstacle it would be change management based on that.
If they are resistant to change and believe that Social is something you do instead of being social you will not change their mind and get them on track. The same for the other points if they company hires assholes they will continue to do the same because that is how there company culture is created.
Exactly.
Elegant.
Short. 😉
I love you man!
I had you at Hello.
Great stuff. If it is this simple why are so many people getting it wrong
No idea, Paul.
Amazing post. Thank you so much!
Thanks for reading. 🙂
This. Seriously, nodding my head the whole time .. People ≥ tools, not ‘delegation media’, no miracle cures. Yes, yes, yes.
“Shut up and make great products” – boils down to that, doesn’t it? Make something of value, that helps people live, work, play; offer good service, support and listen to what you can do to keep and grow your business. If a blog and a Twitter account was the silver bullet to marketing success and riches, think everyone be doing it. It’s not, it takes work and investment in relationships – online and off, ‘social’ or not. FWIW.
It never was complicated. Unfortunately, many consultants just make it seem that way so they can sell crap companies don’t need.;)
Dear Olivier,
As for me #4 is crucial, but I do wish social media were used for GOOD marketing purposes.
I tend to be a little too down to earth, but here in France it’s gonna be a long time before social channels are used for actual social purposes: you know how France is, don’t you? We don’t care about those stupid customers: they should be thankful for the products we sell them.
For now Social Media are mainly used for 3 reasons: low cost PR (hey I’ve got this awesome product I want you to talk to you friends. Would you be kind enough to do it? For free?), “back to the 50’s” advertisement (hey did you know that my awesome product comes in 45 trendy colors. Would you be kind enough to talk about it with your friends? For free?) or “Hard discount like” sales promotion (hey did you know that if you buy my awesome product before the end of the month you’ll get a second one for free. You know the end of the story…).
Seeing Social Media in a marketing perspective would mean using them to: listen to your audience (what MR has done for decades), understand who they REALLY are (not what they do, we are not talking about web analytics here: I’ve never actually met a “bounced visitor” or “people talking about this” IRL), fulfill their needs (this Maslow thing we’ve heard about at the University) and propose relevant offers and engaging branding (did somebody just say “insights”?).
If “thought leaders”, “gurus” and other “conversation ninjas” could at least understand that and spread the word into the market, my guess is that Social Media usage could get more mature and that it would accelerate the REAL social switch of all traditional MarCom people.
What’s your opinion about it?
Well.. my thoughts about it are all over this blog and my book. 😀
The problem is that for the most part, the “thought leaders” aren’t thought leaders at all. They know NOTHING about the way businesses and markets really work. They’re like sportscasters sitting in their press booth, talking all day long about teams and players and coaches and stats, but incapable of actually managing a team or leading it to victory. They’re pundits: talkers, no doers.
What we need aren’t “thought leaders” but “action leaders.” People who DO. The real knowledge isn’t in our heads, it’s in our hands.
As for “gurus” and ” conversation ninjas,” they’re basically all assholes. They’re kind of like “thought leaders” in training, just waiting for their turn at the big microphone.
If companies want to see results, they need to first know what results they want to see, and then build a model that gets them there. Social media has a part to play, but only a part.
What’s mostly lacking in this space is competence.
Cheers, Nicolas. A bientot. 🙂
Preach it. I particularly like the bits about doing what is right, dropping the bullshit, and delivering a genuinely valuable product while providing exceptional experiences for each customer. That’s where it’s at.
Always has been. Always will be.
AMEN!!!
Every day. 😀
Social media power has been recognized as influential force for effective promotion of a business. A business can become part of other a community that is built around some particular business type. Social media strategy either builds a brand image or destroys the identity if not utilized properly.
Yes.
Can i print this out put into the frame and send as Xmas gifts to half of the world ? I think this would be the most valuable free gift any corporation ever received! I agree with every single word, comma and period in you post.
Yes. Can you? Please?
Hi Olivier,
I particularly liked 7, 8 and 9 as they connect very well with us as an SME. We are also seeking to build the brand, so I went to a brand licensing event in London yesterday. I couldn’t help but notice many similarities in the layout of the exhibits and the strategies. Do most companies follow a narrow path?
Not only a narrow path but an incomplete one at best – when it isn’t completely wrong. Trust your gut. You know what’s real and what’s fake. 😉
Thanks Olivier.
Absolutely fabulous post! So many people waste time marketing “at me.” They just don’t get that it’s about the customer’s experience – the service, the attention, the caring, and ultimate the happiness. But first you’ve got to win them over! It’s all about keeping them satisfied after that. If you don’t know how to listen – you don’t stand a chance!
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Great post. All the basics in one piece, I love it. One question I have is around measurement and metrics. Social is on the mind of almost every executive these days, so what measurements or metrics do you suggest we use when showing progress of our programs to the big wigs? While some might simply want the “social” box checked off, most in my experience, want a pie chart or bar graph they can show the board.
The easy answer is “buy my book,” but you can also go the short route and read this comment I left on the Harvard Business Review blog this week:
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/10/how_social-digital_is_your_com.html#comment-340306616
Ultimately, what execs need to understand is that THEY decide what the metrics and KPIs need to be. Don’t let a social media “expert” dictate what they are. Ultimately, what do they want? More sales? Okay. Set a target. How much in volume or dollars by what date? Start there.
Step 2: Does that come from net new customers? Does it come from an increase in buy rate from existing customers? Does it come from an increased yield (average purchase value) from existing customers? Help them figure that out.
Step 3: Once you know where you want to be by date X and what general transaction mechanisms will get you there, put together your action plan. How are you going to get that done? That’s where SM comes in. How does it fit in that picture? How will it plug into marketing, sales, product mgmt, PR, custserv, tech support, etc.?
Step 4: Understand how to connect the dots. My #smROI presentation on slideshare (also here if you search for it) explains the broad strokes of it.
The important thing to remember is that social media metrics lead to business metrics. They are indicators of behavior in your market that may or may not result in further behavior changes that may or may not lead to an increase in sales (in this instance). You have to understand how your activities lead to a sort of domino effect of behaviors. Measure that. Connect those metrics. Tell the story of how activity on SM channels contributed to a 15% increase in sales QoQ or YoY, and SHOW how that happened. … Or where it was working but further down the line, something messed it up. (Example: Activity leads to mentions leads to likes, leads to increases in positive sentiment, leads to people visting your stores in higher numbers – presumably to buy or test your product – but don’t buy it because the stores are out of stock, or the price isn’t what they thought, or customer service sucks, or the checkout was just too chaotic for words.)
The important thing is to let the execs tell you what they really want. SM metrics serve their needs. They plug into that path from activity to outcome. 😉
Fabulous article. Hit the nail on the head with this one.
When you’re a hammer… ;D
I disagree with point 2. I think it should sit within the organisation but the reality is some companies do not have the resource to implement daily interactions within social media. If they do often they might need direction from Social Media agencies. Agencies offer expertise and that expertise can take many forms. community management being one of them, understanding tone of voice being embedded within the company essentially makes the community management from an agency very much someone who is part of the business they are doing it for.
Duncan, thanks for the comment. For the sake of clarity, I have pasted Point #2 to below so it will be easy to reference.
First, I am not saying that companies should not outsource certain elements of their social communications programs when it makes sense to. In fact, here’s some of what I said:
“Research and intelligence, sure. That can be outsourced. Creative? That too. Implementing technologies and helping you with strategy? You bet. Marketing, PR and advertising? Of course.”
When you say that “they might need direction from Social Media agencies. Agencies offer expertise and that expertise can take many forms,” that is precisely what I am saying there. So… while you seem to think that we disagree, we agree: Some aspects (many aspects, even) of a social communications program can be outsourced properly.
Second, what I AM saying in #2 is that customer relationships cannot be outsourced to an agency. Emphasis on – customer relationships. (See #2 below.)
Here’s the part that can’t be outsourced: “But the relationship part: Shaking hands, being there when customers ask your for help, participating in conversations, making them feel at home when they do business with you, none of these can be outsourced.”
And here, you’re right and I am wrong. I didn’t express myself properly. Truth is that participating in conversations CAN be outsourced. Being there when customers ask for help, that too CAN be outsourced. You can hire an army of digital customer service representatives that spans the globe, from Mumbai to Caracas, call them ‘community managers,’ and sit them in front of a computer in three 8 hour shifts every day, and they don’t even have to be your employees. In fact, they don’t have to know a damn thing about your products, your company, your market, the customers they interact with. You CAN outsource every little bit of digital social communications/social media you want, and you will have no trouble finding someone willing to take your money. Hell, you can even pay people by the thousands to pretend they like your products by clicking buttons and letting their accounts be used as proxies for positive comments and reviews.
Unfortunately, when we are talking about building a relationship with a customer, none of that gets you very far. That’s the difference between “presence” and actual “engagement.” (It isn’t always just a buzzword.) It’s also the difference between “response” and relationship-building.
An outsourced community manager isn’t building a relationship between customers and the company he/she has been subcontracted to work for. What that outsourced community manager is doing is monitoring, responding, curating and publishing.
The example I always use to illustrate this is Scott Monty at Ford. Scott works for Ford. He’s an employee. In fact, he’s pretty high on the food chain when it comes to Ford comms. He doesn’t work for an agency. He isn’t an inside or outside consultant. He isn’t a made-up character or a subcontractor. He’s inside Ford. What’s the impact of that? The relationship I have built with Scott online carries over to the brand. Before he and I started talking on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere, I didn’t like Ford. I would have never considered buying any of their cars. Now, that’s completely changed. I still don’t own a Ford, but I’ve gone from “Never” to “Probably.” That’s extraordinary, when you think about it. 100% of that finds its origins in that one relationship. Think about how meaningful the right type of online and offline interactions, in the right context, can be.
If Scott Monty had been an agency guy, that transference would have never happened. He would have just been there to fill space: Here today, gone tomorrow. Monitoring, responding, curating and publishing are NOT the same as building relationships: Handshakes. Familiarity. Trust. Affection. Respect. Human-to-human relationships carrying over into the brand. It’s a social mechanism that is hard-wired into our monkey brains, and it is one aspect of “social media” or “social business” that seems to completely elude most marketing pros, especially on the agency side. Yes, you can (and should) outsource certain aspects of your digital comms. But the ones that touch on brand-customer relationships, no. Don’t. If you do, you’re screwed. If you don’t build that piece into your social media program, you’ll just be marketing on social channels, NOT building a social business.
Cheers, man.
[From the post:]
“2. You cannot outsource customer relationships to an agency. Can you outsource your presence at Thanksgiving dinner to an agency? Do you send your PR team to social events and parties when you have better things to do than attend? Social media isn’t any different. Why? Because it is “social media,” not “delegation media” or “pretend media”. Research and intelligence, sure. That can be outsourced. Creative? That too. Implementing technologies and helping you with strategy? You bet. Marketing, PR and advertising? Of course. But the relationship part: Shaking hands, being there when customers ask your for help, participating in conversations, making them feel at home when they do business with you, none of these can be outsourced.”
This is the most interesting point of a solid list for me. Because if we are being completely honest, an agency (and I work for one) can make more money by managing social media presences for clients. Also, many companies “don’t have time” or don’t think they do and want to hand it off to the agency. So those are factors we are dealing with when considering this point.
That said, the ideal situation is a company that reallocates resources to social media education, listening and participation BECAUSE they understand it can help their company culture shift to focusing more on the customer experience, which is where brands have to be looking these days. Customers are in fact our marketers. When we spew marketing, as you say, we in fact just spew, When we engage with customers and give them stories and experiences to share about our brand, we market. Via word of mouth.
Scott Monty is an incredible ambassador for Ford. And he does the job better than any agency could because he works there. What he really shows, and something I’ve seen with one of our healthcare clients, is that a company will struggle to see the true value of interacting with customers via social media without doing it themselves. The only negative (and I’m nitpicking here) is what happens if Scott leaves Ford. Do they have the culture set up to continue being a company that focuses on the customer experience? By this point, they probably do, because of what Scott has helped instill. All I’m saying is that true culture change is what we really should be consulting most clients to seek. And that takes significant time and effort, which is why sometimes we have to take short-term steps (managing a client’s social media presences) to reach a long-term goal. Great discussion topic. Thoughts?
It was interesting what you said about marketing and how some companies use social media more as advertising space and trying to persuade people instead of talking with them. i am in a social media class and we have been talking about how to use social media as apart of the communications strategy.
Every company is going to be different. The important thing is to explore every possible angle to see where SM can benefit the company.
i subscribed you almost 7 months ago but read your first post today .its superb and has created a new sensation and windows for me.
Thanks for the kind words.
Not to blow smoke up your comments, but God, and I grateful for this post, Olivier. Those who claim that notion that “social” media is going to change business as we know it just indicates that the speaker doesn’t know business.
People do business with people. Not logos, not brands, not “gurus”. People. Social media is about people. Not your product. Not your service. Not the latest Justin Beiber haircut. Well, maybe the latter one. But still…people.
As a ‘Marketing Director’, yes, I’m in that 41% you mention, and I’m just as guilty of ‘marketing’ when I should be ‘connecting’ on Twitter or any other channel. This is a great reminder, though to not do that as much.
I wish businesses would embrace the wabi-sabiness of social media. Not everything fits in an Excel sheet and yes, it can get muddy and – the horrors! – unprofessional at times.
But that’s what people do.
You know, kind of like this rambling, messy comment.
I have no idea what you just said, but… I think I like it. Carry on. 😀
Great post! Thank you.
I firmly believe whether the company, the team, the associates understand #1 (be not do) and #6 (change mgt) is the make or break for a social program.
Thanks. Yes. Those are pretty key, aren’t they.
Been saying the same myself for years. Glad to see someone articulate it so efficiently.
You’ve been right all along. 🙂
“If your communications serve your marketing department more than your customers, you are doing it wrong” has surely got to be one of the most genius points you’ve made in a seriously good post. Love it, thanks.
🙂
You’re completely wrong.
Love and kisses,
Social Marketing Intern
Global Outsource Agency
I stand corrected.
Thanks for the great post Oliver! My favorite is when I find organizations that are present on numerous social media platforms but are totally unengaged. Being present is clearly not enough. I think the problem lies in the overwhelming possibility of the medium. It can be debilitating.
“what do we do with this?” is an all too common question.
Truly frank and in accordance with the new disruption zeitgeist, your almost sound like a TBWA executive. And that’s a good thing.
😀 Thanks.
What a brilliant article. Some time ago I went to a social media ‘event’ – 90% of attendees were in marketing or advertising roles. Some of the questions being asked astounded me – questions that anyone who had spent any time in a good customer service department would have known the answer to.
I thought perhaps I was missing something – but I’m pretty confident now that I’m not the one who didn’t get it.
Sadly, think we’ll see a lot of casualties from businesses being run over by (or laying in front of?) the social media bandwagon.
Thank you for saying it like it is.
Good post. This supports the ethos I’m trying to share with companies in my DIY Social Media workshops.
I agree with every statement here. social media is about listening to what your customers are saying, picking up and acting on those points not simply using social channels to shove promotional stuff down their throats.
Excellent article, very concise!
Yes, yes, and yes. It is, if you are thus inclined, much easier to sell some grand-talking social media strategy to a company than it is to get them to hire you as a change manager (thinking from the perspective of a freelancer)…
I just had a job disappear because corporate decided they didn’t have the money for new hires now; the company in question would still be great. There is a student competition now starting here, to design social media strategies for different companies, to gain them “friends, likes and followers” – that’s the very title under which it’s running! – and the students get nothing but contacts and a chance to supposedly prove themselves… anti-social in these times of #occupy, right from the start.
How do you change that when you are external, though?
First time here Olivier, and have to compliment you on your candid and accurate assessment.
Social media marketing is the current buzz in the market (any market). Like any latest buzz there are plenty of vultures hovering for the weak and innocent who feel they are missing out and just “have to get on board” and are willing to listen to the first vulture who turns up.
Keep telling it like it is.
Thank you – really enjoyed reading this.
Thank you for speaking the truth, Olivier!
I am holding a Social Media seminar at an Atlanta area Chamber of Commerce in a couple weeks. I plan to co-opt your statement “Because social is something you are, not something you do, most organizations cannot succeed in the social space by changing what they do and not who they are.” Proper credit will, of course, be given to my fellow South Carolinian.
Thank you for your insightful thought leadership.
Ritch
~ BrandON! marketing.technology
Excellent, excellent points. As both a student and teacher of how to utilize social media as a tool for business, I am so glad you brought these out. I am constantly driving home the fact to my students that the Internet and social media is all about building relationships. Great job.
Great post. Though, I would emphasize the importance of listening to colleagues, vendors and competitors as well.
Very nice! “Listen” (don’t spew) was a great point. When the customer starts the conversation and you respond it’s likely to be good for both sides. Even if you screwed up, go ahead and eat some crow (it’s high in fiber) and show the customer he was heard and you’re improving and making progress. I think this is better than ten posts about “check out our awesome product, we’re infallible!”