The Social Media Imperative
Yesterday I was honored to discuss Social Media with the all-high mucky-mucks at a FORTUNE 500 company.
It wasn’t a “pitch” in the traditional sense. There was no RFP to respond to; it wasn’t a case where we needed to displace a competitor. The execs just wanted to talk about how they might make creative use of their content to engage more directly with people; to make a positive impact on people’s lives.
This was refreshing. They didn’t want to discuss how a Social Media program might improve their brand or marketshare. They wondered how their vast resources might be applied to make people safer & happier.
That’s the way to start a Social Media-inspired campaign!
As we discussed the cool tools & techniques that might be integrated across the online landscape, their enthusiasm for the campaign idea visibly increased. “Can you guys sleep over? Maybe we could find some more time tomorrow? We have to do this, we just have to: this is the future.”
Our li’l corner of the blogosphere tends to get cynical about the exploitive cretins who only see dollar-signs in Social Media. Maybe it’s partly due to the upcoming holidays, but I got re-energized by the infectious joy on-display in that all-too-corporate conference room yesterday. These FORTUNE 500 execs were eager to engage, for all the right reasons.
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Comments
Todd,
Good post. While you are right to be refreshed by their "non-exploitative" approach, I'll bet they will receive tangible benefits from their program anyway. That's the best part. Hard to prove until after they do it, but I'd put my $$ on it.
~Jim
Posted by: Jim Tobin at Ignite Social Media | November 20, 2007 09:48 AM
That's refreshing, Todd. I've become convinced that a lot of the hurdles and opposition to new approaches come from lower levels in an organization.
It's the specialist with a defined responsibility and budget that blocks most new initiatives. That could be an IT manager, an advertising manager, or a marketer that really likes POP.
Really, there are some "old school" marcom types acting as the gatekeepers.
Posted by: Colin McKay | November 20, 2007 10:48 AM
Ok, I've got to ask. What 2 or 3 things were they most excited about, and what did they envision as the business objectives those elements of would help achieve?
Posted by: Albert Maruggi | November 20, 2007 10:52 AM
Good to hear, Todd. New approaches like this really do need champions within organizations. It bodes well for this company that their senior execs 'get it.'
Posted by: Dave Fleet | November 20, 2007 11:04 AM
Albert - They were most excited about leveraging the TONS of content (much of it video) that is now left unused in closets and on CDs/DVDs; finding a way to provide it in a helpful (aggregated) way to the community, to do with as community members see fit.
They were excited about providing a place for like-minded people to discuss and share and help each other, with the Company's help as-needed.
They were excited to see how FB and Twitter and YouTube and Flickr and blogging and content-creation, etc., could all "fit together" in a sensible, non-exploitive way.
They were excited about CANNONS (blowing OUT the content), not PORTALS (drawing people into a place where they didn't necessarily want to go).
We didn't talk about metrics (yet). We talked about engagement for engagement's sake.
Posted by: Todd Defren | November 20, 2007 11:55 AM
Every now and then I run into marketing types - especially from the Fortune 1000 - who find the idea of losing control to be liberating.
In fact it is.
Posted by: David Parmet | November 20, 2007 01:01 PM
Todd -
Sheer genius on the leveraging multimedia content,
Glorious on the like-minded people place,
Practical on the putting all the pieces together because a fragmented information society does not live by one medium alone,
There is joy in engagement, but are there metrics. Hmmm?
Is there a metric when my mechanic said he could put new tires on my car, but if I was able to pick the tires up at a distributor I’d save some money? And 3 months later I brought my other car in with a $1500 front end job? Yeah them there’s some metrics.
Is there a metric in the head of a CEO networking group who listened to my situation and said “No, my group won’t help you with that, but I recommend you get the book Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham." When I read the book, bought copies for my colleagues, and hired him to provide some more guidance on structuring the organization, were there metrics in that? Yup.
David, you posted about losing control being liberating. That’s exactly right, why? Because in their heart they know they don’t have the control others think they do. They are living on the edge everyday. If you were truly in control there would be no worries, and all the forecasts would come true. When they are able to let go, they are now free to do the right thing, and in the case of social media, the right thing is to participate with all your energy, wisdom, and curiosity.
That is why I believe social media should be viewed as a movement in society.
Posted by: Albert Maruggi | November 20, 2007 02:18 PM
We marketing people are a little confused by this new approach. It does appear to be "backward" to things many of us have done for years. Thank You for the different perspective.
Posted by: Mary Schubel | December 12, 2007 02:20 PM