Collaborate or Die

Collaborate or die...of irrelevance.   While others collaborate and become stronger and more successful, your company will simply fade into the background if you don't evolve.  I, like Jack Welch the former CEO of General Electric for 20 years, believe that the best ideas can come from anywhere and anyone.  Command and control cultures are quickly becoming a thing  of the past.  There are two types of leaders...those that surround themselves with the smartest people in the room..and those who need to be the smartest person in the room.  The best leaders are the ones who surround themselves with the best people.  After all, if a leader knows it all, why hire managers? Why not just tell people what to do and have them execute?  The future is about collaboration and it won't happen unless it is fostered from the top down and integrated into the culture of the company.  Collaborate should't be just limited to employees within a company.  Companies should be collaborating with their ecosystem partners and customers as well.  

There is a big big difference between social media marketing, social media, and leveraging social media technology.  While many business to business (B2B) marketers are having success with some social media technologies like blogs and many of the popular social media sites, the true future of social media in the B2B space is the integration of social technology into the day to day operations of the business.  Gone are the days where someone has a burning action item and shoots off an email to a list of people and then waits for someone to respond.  Now a question can be posted for all to see and the best answer can come from someone unknown to the poster, who has just solved a similar problem in their work group.  No more reinventing the wheel or having a burning request die in email in boxes.  

There are a handful of enterprise social technology companies that enable enterprise-wide collaboration, such as Jive, Salesforce Chatter, Microsoft Yammer, IBM Connections, etc.  Many companies believe that if they implement enterprise social technology it will facilitate collaboration among their employees.  That's just backwards.  Collaborative cultures enable social technology not the other way around.  I evolved AT&T's call center product portfolio into a collaborative contact center portfolio of high-tech services.  I learned a lot integrating collaboration capabilities into an existing technology platform.  Mainly that people won't collaborate just because you give them some new technology.  It's not about the technology.  It's about the people and the way people interact.  Once there is buy in and acceptance to a collaborative culture from the top down the benefits of collaborative technology can be realized.  Not vise verse. 

Social business and Enterprise 2.0 are about enabling collaborative cultures, not about delivering collaboration technology and hoping for the best.  It's all about culture first then technology, not the other way around.  Companies need to embrace a culture of collaboration first then implement the right technology to enable their culture to flourish.

Socially yours,

Greg
Social Media Greg, AKA SoMe Greg
Gregory T Simpson
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Social Media is About Eating Yogurt & Spreading the Word

What is social media all about?  As the title indicates, it's about eating yogurt and spreading the word.  I'll get to that in a minute.  It's really about about communicating and interacting with others and others communicating and interacting with you.  How can a business benefit from this?  Businesses benefit when the communications and interactions are about their business.

As a strategic marketing consultant I spend a lot of time educating clients on social media and a recent experience is a perfect example of how social media works and how businesses can benefit from it.  I was referred to an owner of self serve yogurt stores who was interested in learning how his business could benefit from social media.  I met him at one of his new stores that had recently opened.  It was around lunch time and he graciously invited me to grab a cup and fill it up with his delicious flavors of frozen yogurt than add whatever toppings I liked.  After I made my masterpiece we sat down and started talking.  One thing led to another and he asked me about his customers checking into his stores on Facebook.  I demonstrated to him how it worked by checking-in at his store on my smart phone saying something like, "Having a frozen lunch."  Almost immediately, I received a message back from one of my Facebook friends.  He said, "Hey, you're right near my office.  How is that place?"  I said, "really good, they have a lot of interesting flavors and great toppings."  He responded, "We've been wondering how it was ever since it opened.  We'll have to get over there and check it out."  That my friends, is how social media works.  A user broadcasts where they are and what they are doing and anyone interested responds, then a conversation ensues, usually for all friends of both people to see.  In this case a simple check-in and response gained this self serve frozen yogurt business owner a new group of customers from a nearby business office.

A business owner would have thought I was crazy years ago if he asked me to market his store and I told him that instead of paying me to market his business, he could simply create a page that his customers could access and the customers would do the advertising for him, for free, and bring in new customers who would then in turn do the same, and so forth and so on.

Businesses also need to remember that the conversations may not always be positive.  Just imagine if I checked-in and then put a mouthful of frozen yogurt in my mouth and it tasted awful.  My response to my Facebook friend's question would have been very different and for all to see.  This is why I advise my clients that at the very minimum they need to monitor social media to see what is being said about their business.  Without social media monitoring, businesses don't know what is being said about them on the popular social networks and if they don't know, they can't respond.  If they don't respond, customers and potential customers think they don't care.  This can have the exact opposite effect of my example and actually drive customers away and deter potential customers from ever doing business.

Not only is it important to listen and respond to what is being said about your business, it is also important to listen to what is being said about your competitors.  This affords you  a great opportunity to help a dissatisfied customer of your competitor and turn them into your customer.

 So, have a social presence, interact with customer and potential customers, listen to what is being said about your business and respond, and listen to what is being said about your competitors and genuinely try to help them, versus trying to sell them anything, they will appreciate it and remember your business.

From now on, whenever you wonder how social media can help your business, just remember that social media is about eating yogurt and spreading the word.

Socially yours,

Greg

Social Media Greg AKA SoMe Greg

Gregory T Simpson

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Social Media - Don't Believe the Hype

Many businesses jump into social media because they think they should or because their competitors do..so they should...versus knowing that they should and having a plan that incorporates social into the broader marketing strategy.  Don't believe the hype.  

With social media being a "hot" buzz phrase most companies that have created a social media presence are focusing on gaining followers, friends, and likes.  The big question is why and what's in it for those who engage with a company.  Why would I want to "like" a company?  I don't know very many companies that like me.  

Social media isn't about hype...it's about strategy.  It's a key component of an integrated traditional and new media marketing strategy.  Marketing is about being where your customers are.  

When it comes to social media I can easily classify marketers into three distinct categories. 

1.  Social media is something I need to learn more about.  The problem with this group is that you are continually saying this, but you need to embrace social media and it should be on the top of your  list.  Most of these marketers say the same thing every time I see them and it is that they know that social media is important and they need to learn more.  Few of these old school marketers will ever get further with social media than having it "on their list."
2. Social media is just another channel. This group thinks that they know everything about marketing and social media is "just another marketing channel."  No need to learn too much about social media.
3. Social media is a true game changer for marketers. These people think that social media is the be all and end all for marketing to and communicating with  customers.

You need to net out somewhere between two and three.  Social media is just another communications channel with your target audience, but it is a game change in how we/companies communicate with customers.  communications from businesses to consumers used to be like talking through a bull horn (ads, (TV, Print, Billboard, Radio, etc.) and waiting to see, who from all off the people your reached actually tuned in or identified with the message. With social media the bull horn is no longer heard.

The greatest changes with social media are:

1. Customers now have a voice and a direct communications channel with corporations
2. Corporations must be nimble and responsive to their customers requests and input
3. At minimum, companies must listen to see what is being said about them on social media...It's Called Social Media Monitoring and if a company isn't monitoring and responding then people posting think the company
4. Companies need to not only monitor what is being said about them on social media, but also their competitors.  Companies that listen for respond to and resolve concerns from competitors' customers gain new loyal customers. 
5. Companies need to be responsive and transparent.  Be honest with your customers when you make mistakes.

It all boils down to communicating with, serving, and listening to your customers via their preferred channels. They will come to you how they want...it is your job to communicate with them there and make them happy!

Social media marketing enables companies to engage with customers one on one.  The flip side is that the engagement needs to be much more real time and transparent.  Businesses need to be present, listen and respond.

Use social media because it makes sense for your business, not for any other reason.

Socially yours,

Greg


Social Media Greg AKA SoMe Greg

Gregory T Simpson

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Social Media - Jump Right In

People are always telling me that they want to learn more about social media, but don't know where to start. My answer is..."Jump Right In."  Don't be shy with social media.  Try it and see what you like and what you don't like.  There are many social networks that I have joined and tried for a while, then stopped using.  One that comes to mind is StumbleUpon.  I tried it, felt like I was only tagging articles for the benefit of others and not getting anything out of it, so I stopped wasting my time on it.  In the end the return on investment (ROI) just wasn't there for me.  I was spending time using it, but not getting anything in return, so I just stopped using it.  Just like you can do with any social network.  You need to make an effort, use all of the features, and stick with it for a while, before you just write off a social network.  The only way you are going to know if it's for you is to immerse yourself in it...not just dabble in it.   Go Big or Go Home.  If It's Worth Doing, It's Worth Doing All The Way.  Start with one social network and see what you think.

Make no mistake about it, social networks can be a time suck.  Updating your connections on what you've been up to, reading what your friends are doing, and responding to questions, can take a lot of your time.  Time and productivity.  Leverage your mobile devices.  Smart phones, tablets, etc.  Some of the most common push back I get at speaking engagements is from people who say that they have no time for social media.  My response is to use your spare time.  Fit it in.  Make your unproductive time productive.  Whenever you are waiting , pull out your phone and get busy on social media.

Why would anyone want to know what I ate for lunch?  The wouldn't, so don't share uninteresting information like that and bore your followers.  Social media gives you a chance to prove that you are an expert, an influencer, knowledgeable about the topics that spend all of your waking hours focusing on and dedicating years of your life and career to.  Read on your phone or tablet and as you keep up on the topics that you always read about, share the articles on social media with your opinions.  This will establish you as an expert in your field and people will follow you to see what you have to say and share.

Give social media a shot and jump right in.

Socially yours,

Greg

Social Media Greg AKA SoMe Greg
Gregory T Simpson
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