strategy

Hey Social Media – It’s not all about You!

January 15, 2010 By ajmunn 5 Comments

A common complaint from those advocating for the adoption of social media within their workspace is the difficulty they encounter in getting management or executive approval and/or the slow pace of adoption.

All too often our approach to social media advocacy tends to focus too much on social media. In our quest to prove ourselves and have our ideas accepted we run the risk of presenting what amounts to an alien set of tools and concepts to decision makers. These decision makers may often have a very different set of associations and expectations of social media than we do.

A more effective way of getting our message across would be to take a holistic workflow approach rather than a social media approach. Presenting a case for improved productivity, collaboration, communication, cohesion and less wasted resources will gain greater attention, commitment, buy in and resources. It is important to realise that organisational use of social media is not just about customer social interactions. Sure that is part of it, however to support that and realise organisational efficiencies we need to look at the entire organisation from the inside out.

A workflow analysis may incorporate some of the following:

Analyzing existing workflows,
Looking at overall organizational objectives,
Understanding departmental objectives,
Mapping interdepartmental interactions,
Analyzing corporate culture,
Taking into account stakeholder learning styles and preferences,
Quantifying available resources and so on.

The benefit of this approach is the findings and recommendations will center on needs, taking into account all tools, be their online, offline, traditional, new and provide context while avoiding labels.

I am not advocating a silo approach. Understanding departmental individual needs and work styles/flow is valuable information and the first step to understanding how departments can meet their needs while working towards and integrated organizational effort. A set of common objectives does not equate to an identical application of tool sets.

This thinking is also applicable beyond the internal organization. It makes sense to incorporate all aspects of the organization be it sales channels, channel partners, supply chain management, sales, customer engagement and so on.

Social media does offer a wonderful range of tools and processes to allow us to work smarter, but it is not about social media, it is about satisfying our objectives using a combination of tools and processes, including new, old, online, offline and so on.

Photo by: Paul Likes ‘pics”

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Clare Munn, Collaboration, how to get social media buy in, Integrated, internal, organizational social media, Social Media, strategy, tcgagency

Social Media: Social Science not Computer Science

January 12, 2010 By ajmunn 3 Comments

Author: Alasdair Munn

I am very pleased to see that Social Science, as a discipline, is receiving some attention, particularly with regard to social media. Of course, as a social scientist, I would be expected to be pleased, but this is an important point in the evolution of the way we conduct business.

When I was studying Industrial psychology and Industrial Sociology 20 odd years ago, it was assumed we were all heading for careers in Human Resources. The world was in manufacture mode. The concept of universal scale meant an organization-centered approach. Human Resources was about keeping the employees happy and motivated.

Starting off in journalism, media distribution and then publishing helped me formulate my belief that people and social science are central to any organization; be it internal, external, partnerships, supply chain, stakeholders etc. Finding an evolving medium like social media, which held these beliefs as central to its core was a natural progression.

Now, in 2010 we are seeing the positive global effects that embracing a people centered approach has had. As social media becomes better understood, and its underlying principles espoused, organizations have been challenged to look at how they operate. They are starting to discover what role their people can play within the organization, and how listening to their audiences and stakeholders, learning from and involving them, makes business sense.

Social media has brought a people focus to the forefront. It has provided tools that have changed the way we communicate, search for information and make decisions and it has allowed us a voice. Organizations have taken note of this and can see there is value in social media. Just what that value is, is not always clear to them. At times it is hard to see how social media can truly assist the entire organization. It has been criticized for being lightweight and for dismissing ‘the real world”. Similarly the corporate world has been accused of missing the point of social media and failing to see the depth of application it can have within an organization. The two still have instances where they rub up against each other.

For social media to be valuable to organizations, it has to make itself applicable to the entire organization, sometimes visible, sometimes not. Internal and external, by department and integrating departments. Social media as business tools. Equally organizations need to change the way they approach and view people and organize themselves accordingly. This does not mean abandoning their objectives and responsibilities to their shareholders. It does mean changing their approach to achieving their goals. Part of that change is incorporating a people centric approach. Good news for us Social Scientist, good news for social media and ultimately, good news for organizations.

Photo by Welshwitch36

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Clare Munn, Human resources, Industrial sociology, organizational social media, Social Media, Social science, strategy, tcgagency

Social Media: The Teenage Years

December 30, 2009 By ajmunn 4 Comments

Social media years are a little like dog years. The signs are out that Social Media has settled into its teenage years. As with teenagers in general there are several teenage stereotypes.

The overconfident rebel leader
The party seeker and connector
The Geek
The student
The non-conformist

The Overconfident Rebel Leader
Full of self-belief, cocky self-assurance and a certainty that he has discovered the true path, he is confused, disappointed and sulky that the grown ups will not listen to him, or that they insist on applying their outdated rules or asking irrelevant questions. His followers love him, they can see his genius and they speak or assume his language. “If only those pesky grownups would listen, the world would be a better place”.

The Approval Seeker and Connector
She lives to be popular seeking as many props and symbols as she can to show her popularity. The more the merrier. Life is about being seen and talked about. She feels validated by the chaos and sheer weight of numbers. She’s invited to all the parties, and if not she makes sure she gets in. She knows somebody who knows somebody. She knows she is living a dangerous life and has to be on the ball: one indiscretion and she could be dropped from the “in crowd”. Being herself will not do. Keeping the charade up is hard work.

The Geek
Gone are the days when the Geek never got the girl. The ability to analyze, create and mold technology is now recognized as a valuable skill. The Geek loves to problem-solve and find solutions using technology. Shiny new toys are heaven. It is not unheard of for a Geek to be held in high regard and celebrated. “With my new toys I can perform spectacular tasks and tricks”. Keywords such as “techniques”, “processes” and “tactics” often feature.

The Student
The student loves to lap up all the techniques, tips and tactics that she can. She reads widely on the subject and loves to quote her latest source. The student becomes the “expert” through association and applying newly learned techniques to the letter. Not all students are the same though; some take best practices, add value and context and get the A+.

The Non-Conformist
Not to be confused with “the Rebel” the non-conformist sees the world differently. Often discounted for not excelling within the system, he has a set determination to prove himself. His strength comes from understanding the system, acknowledging the points of differentiation and seeing the gaps. The non-conformist works to objectives, setting out to satisfy or resolve those objectives using the tools and resources available to him. Success through proving himself is the reward. This comes through keeping an eye on the objectives, using the right tools and resources for those objectives and closing the gap between the established and the new.

Yes. This is rather tongue in cheek. No, it is not to be taken seriously. I guess one central message here is that we, as social media practitioners, marketers and online entrepreneurs need to take some responsibility for how social media is perceived and how we integrate it into the mainstream. A mature approach towards satisfying the critics’ concerns and demonstrating value will go a long way towards integrating social media into mainstream or traditional marketing and business initiatives.
I am sure there are more teenage stereotypes that fit the bill. Feel free to add your thoughts.
I for one am looking forward to Social Media growing up beyond the teenage years. Perhaps 2010 will bring more control, a more mature attitude towards social media and a more harmonious dialogue between the young and the old.

Photo by Leiabox

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: 2010, Clare Munn, Social Media, strategy, tcgagency, teenage

Are Social Media Strategists Slowing Down Social Media Adoption?

July 11, 2009 By ajmunn 4 Comments

Author: Alasdair Munn

tcg: The Communication Group

People, myself included, like to talk of shifts in ideology and the complexities that go with transitions from an older, more predominant ideology towards a newer, more relevant one. I’m not sure this achieves much other than producing a smug group of self-labelled enlightened ones and a larger group of people who don’t really care and don’t see the point of changing in any case.

The problems with self-labelling are all too evident. A couple of months back there were a plethora of blogs and discussions within social media circles as to what makes someone a social media expert. A great question and one that cannot be adequately resolved as social media is a vast discipline with many nuances and parts. Who can really define what is essentially a fluid ideology, changing faster than it can be documented? Even if we can and do document it, what are we measuring it against?

So it is a bit like getting hold of a pilots uniform, swatting up a few technical terms such as landing gear, flaps, ADF and HASELL check, walking onto a plane and announcing “Good day I’ll be your pilot today”. However in this case we have not completely defined which airplane it is yet. (I agree not the best example but I’m hoping it will paint a picture)

Are we, as self labelled social media practitioners helping to create the problem? Should we be less frustrated with the pace of change and stop waiting for people to catch up? Should we be seeking labels and descriptions that make sense to the people we are selling our services to rather than ones that alienate them further? Listening to them, understanding their concerns and finding out their objectives would be a great starting point.

I just get the sense that not enough is being done by the “enlightened ones” to close the gap. After all, most of the frustration about the slow pace of change originates from the people who are paid to effect that change.

Photo by Darren Hester

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Alasdair, change, ideology, Munn, shift, Social Media, social media strategist, strategy

Start at the Beginning

May 8, 2009 By ajmunn Leave a Comment

It is great to have opinions. It is also a good idea to seek out and learn from other peoples perspectives. What is important is to apply what you have learned in a manner that ensures relevance and context. I used to be an Apple evangelist. I still love Apple and it is my weapon of choice, but I stopped a while ago trying to convert those that use PC. I can see that I was trying to prescribe a technology based upon my own criteria. My own needs, likes, values and learning styles. Really the choice should be based upon:

Who you are
Your objectives
Your needs
Your learning styles
Your resources
Your history etc.

That is not to say Apple evangelists cannot put a case forward for why they like to use Apple products, but it does mean that they need to listen to and accept other peoples decisions and reasons for using a PC. Based on this, if I am asked to recommend a laptop for someone, I need to base my recommendations on their needs verses my own.

I made this mistake in my last blog post “The politics of Followers”. The blog talked about my personal take on the collection of followers on a social network like Twitter. I feel it broke my own rules around discovery, context and relevance.

A personal or organisational social media strategy cannot be pre-determined. It really does need to be built according to the organisations or person’s unique objectives. It needs to understand its audiences and it needs to work within the boundaries of its resources. It is conceivable that an element of an organisations marketing strategy might include manipulating a large twitter following. Perhaps there are instances where they might not gain much from their actual followers, but more from the perception from those outside Twitter that they have a large buy in? Whatever the reason, it is reasonable to assume this is a considered strategy.

It is great to get people’s perceptions on various social networks and to understand how they are using them. Valuable insights and best practices can be learned. The problem arises when people take a prescriptive view of them. Following someone’s strategy to the letter can lead to copycat strategies that go horribly wrong. Context and relevance are key. Start at the beginning, be patient and go through your discovery process.

Photo by Craig Rodway

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Apple vs PC, context, discovery, relevance, Social Media, strategy, Twitter

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