HOW TO AVOID
BECOMING A DINOSAUR…
Or What Every Leader Should Know About Social Media
by Chris Lewis Chief Executive Officer, LEWIS PR Follow on twitter @largeburrito
Executive Summary Revolutions are misleading. Seldom are they about a single event. Instead, they are more about a series of events with each triggered by its predecessor. The social media revolution is no different. Making sense of the social media revolution is hard because the revolution seems piecemeal to many people. It only seems to make sense in hindsight because the new tools are being picked up and used by challenger brands almost experimentally. At any stage, there’s a lot of work in progress. When something works, it’s not unsurprising that people keep quiet about it, but it catches on nevertheless. In every respect, it conforms to Everett Roger’s famous Adoption Curve of Innovation, later developed into the theory of market evolution.
The Social Media Revolution Begins
Speed versus Truth
Let’s start our journey with Google - the Alpha and Omega
Although Twitter appears to be an odd-one out, the sheer
of the Internet. In the beginning, there was search. One
speed of Twitter is worth a special mention. Whereas
of the very first things people needed when the Internet
Google updates every 90 minutes, Twitter cycles in 45
started to gain popularity was a way of finding information.
seconds, which means that news travels exceptionally fast.
Eventually, Google emerged as the search leader because
Such speed has a profound impact on the amount of truth
the engine found things quickly through a simple interface
we have in our news.
that it maintains today. This type of search worked well until the growth of Internet users dictated using more
The relationship was always an inverse one with faster
sophisticated methods. It became clear that people would
speeds indicating less truth. Twitter made the inverse
congregate in groups around shared experiences such
relationship steeper. Now, we routinely see stories circulating
as videos and music. Search, though, had moved on. It was now looking for something that told you more about
Media is less concerned with fact, more with a ‘good’ story e.g. the fall of Arthur Andersen, climate change, WMD etc.
the groups people connected in. This is where Facebook groups used and allow you to advertise to them. This use of tailored ads created the phenomenon of ”Social Search.” A similar sort of service, LinkedIn, grew up at the same time for the business world to help people who wanted to use social networking in a commercial context. Layered on top of these social networks were micro-blogging services like Twitter. These networks can be linked to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Yammer, a sort of corporate Twitter.
Twitterers Bloggers Journalists
Speed
came in because it could suggest the products these
Accountants Lawyers Historians Time
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that turn out later to be completely untrue, which can create
your brand. If it’s less than half, someone else is controlling
fear, uncertainty, and immediate ‘certainties’. Think Lehman
your brand. If searchers can’t find your material, then by
Brothers or WMD or Arthur Andersen. In the latter case,
definition they find someone else’s information about
it was comprehensively shown that the firm did not shred
your brand.
documents for its client, Enron, but by the time the traditional system of justice - the law - caught up, it was too late. This
Let’s be clear – these channels will be used, so you’d better
has profound consequences for the make-up of boards. Our
be sure it’s you that’s using them. Brand journalism is not
two greatest protectors of shareholder values are the General
going away, and the demand for fast-moving and short-
Counsel and CFO. Social media can profoundly affect value
lived but high-quality digital assets is only going to grow.
and perception (truth) in the time it takes counsel to put pen
Some of these assets will belong to you. Some will belong
to paper. Yet social media responsibility remains suborned
to others. These brand journalists will become curators of
deep in the bowels of the corporation.
these assets. Obviously, this content will need to interpret the brand creatively and support it. This was recognised
Mobile Applications and the Future of Social Media Just when corporate professionals thought you understood social media, mobile arrived with software like Foursquare (a geo-tagged Twitter service) to bring a new dimension to connecting with others. Now we have the phenomenon of Mobile, Social, Search. Clearly, there’s been a land grab going on in social media. When Google was unable to agree to a deal with Facebook, it meant that it wouldn’t have access to its Social graph. Google executives responded by creating their own social service - Google+. Although this has not been widely taken up yet, companies that use it can affect their SEO disproportionately because Google designed it that way. They also decided that they would no longer take the stream of social data from Twitter, rendering the micro-blogging platform an inefficient way of improving organic SEO. All of these media can be linked and feed off each other. The net result is that brands, companies, people, institutions, and ideas sometimes are surrounded by quite a hostile audience. So, in summary, a rosette of social channels has grown up to surround brands which, taken collectively, can also affect the web’s ability to locate those brands.
Reputation Management and Social Media
early by the phrase ‘Content is King’. If this is true, then its Queen will be imperative. More than half of the social content that circulates is comment on news events. So the Creative and Imperative will need to work closely together. If we accept that one of the defining characteristics of leaders is their ability to understand what will be, then leaders have responsibilities here. It’s best to try and understand a point of view, which is essential for getting the right tone, style and channel for community engagement. “Getting it right” can save massive costs. Generation C is one of the easiest and cheapest to communicate with ever. To get your message out, whether it is to attract future customers, find employees, or lure stakeholders, you have to use their channels of communication. The right social media can increase the surface area of contact that people have with their leader. Importantly, this is not invested in one person but an entire group of leaders. For this reason, then, social media needs policy, procedures, and planning. Get this right and you give your team the confidence to use the channels. Get it wrong and it becomes a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
CEO Responsibility with Social Media As a CEO, you may now be saying, “well, I can leave all this to marketing.” You can, of course, but there’s something else. The ability to triage these imperative creative assets gives you the ability to assess a conversation and hence,
Now let’s pause for an experiment. Take your name, your
the mood. Tools likes Radian 6 and Sysomos allow you
organisation, or your favourite charity and Google it. Of the
to gauge what people are talking about online. Think of
first fifty returns, how many have originated from you? Is it
it like being at a dinner party where you’d like to join in
more than half? If so, you’re in good shape. You still control
the conversation but need to listen before you start. This
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understanding allows CEOs to do two things: 1) to use an audit trail as to the precise timing of an action and 2) to be able to assess what a competitor is doing. rned conce is less more with a ia d e ll M ct, h falook . the fathe witto e.gover , other side of the hill provides the The ability ersen ’ story ‘good Arthur Andhange, c of tc. mate MD esituational opportunity for fluency or the ‘Command cligreater W rers Twitte
of Now.’ In military terms, first it was hills, then balloons,
rs logge
B
Sp ee
d
then aircraft, then satellites that allowed the commander to
alists see
Journ
further. Now social media can provide new intelligence
nts ntaabout
Accou
what people are thinking.
Companies also have the option to float ideas with their s an
Leveraging social media can send powerful messages, however. A CEO that decides to present casually dressed is saying it’s OK to dress like me. The use of social media can send the message that it’s OK to be informal. Judging what tone the organisation has and importantly should have in the future is the CEO’s job. Telling employees that you want the company to be dynamic and innovative in a round robin email won’t work. It’s a show, not a tell. If you want people
rs
Lawye Histori
Social Media in the Workplace
Time
communities and to involve them actively in research. In the jargon of social media, this type of social media focus group is called ‘crowd sourcing.’ This type of diurnal engagement can be useful when trying to address customers’ real concerns.
to listen to your updates, record them and then distribute on corporate social media systems like Yammer. You can also use groups on LinkedIn, hang outs on Google+, and YouTube for messages you want to go external. This new generation is one where text and reading are less important than knowledge of how to convey a message. They are growing up multilingual in an environment where
mmand e co of Th ‘n
the languages are video, graphics, and short bursts of truncated text. In one respect, though, they are similar to
’ ow
every other generation. They do not always make the right decisions about what is appropriate behaviour. In fairness, when some employers monitor social media, before and after interview, the boundaries can become blurred. This blurring is where well thought out planning and procedures can make a big difference. ALL of your employees are potential brand advocates. As a young colleague told me, “control is so very Twentieth century.”
Learning to Leverage Social Media Think of the early days of the arrival of the personal computer. The use of guidelines, security, and policy was what turned an initially chaotic technology into the corporate essential it became. Social media will do to communications
The problem is, of course, that most of us in business at the current time are a bit Twentieth Century. The procedures are never more important than when a social media firestorm breaks out. You cannot allow policy and judgment to be dictated solely by those who understand the
what the personal computer did to data processing. The use of social media for communication can lead to
L A I C O S Handling Crisis
some odd effects. When a company begins to use social media, the leadership team can be seen and heard much more clearly and in real-time, which is in some ways akin to tearing away the shower curtain. It can precipitate the rapid covering of sensitive areas. Equally, it can also encourage an over-exaggerated sense of pride, where leaders start to hog the limelight and primp and pose. Either is undesirable because the challenge is to use social media in a way that feels natural for your company.
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Revolution Begins Speed vs Truth
CEO
Responsibility
Reputation Management
medium. That’s why YOU have to understand. Think of
people are sitting on a keg of gunpowder. Social media
the three R’s – systems have to be Ready 24/7. They have
showers 1,000 sparks a year on it. They need to spot
to be Rehearsed with regular fire drills. They also have to
which spark can set off the gunpowder. You cannot have
be Reliant on a team of people organised into a chain of
the presence of positivity in communications, without first
command.
ensuring the absence of negativity.
Role Assignment in Social Media One of the questions often asked about this type of marketing engagement is who is doing this role in the traditional establishment. Within marketing outreach, the function that normally engages with outside audiences every day of the week and twice on Sunday is the PR department. Especially so when dealing with a crisis. Many times an overly sensitive company has put out a statement on a problem only to find they didn’t have one – until they put out the statement. Perhaps if BP had used that type of listening technique it would have seen the brand adhesion
Using Social Media to Brand a Company It’s not all about the shield. Social media can be an effective sword as well. Leadership has never been under as much scrutiny as it is now. Some elements of the generation coming through see their leaders as having damaged the economy, their retirement, the planet, their trust, and their prospects for the future. Groups like the Occupy Movement are themselves a social media phenomenon. They also provide an insight into understanding a mindset that wants
that the Transocean rig fire was having.
less consumption, more sustainability, and more quality.
Social media can be a vital tool in allowing the CEO to use
gap in the Sixties, this one is a chasm. The youngest
Make no mistake. If you thought there was a generation
their best judgment with information from the company’s customers. The ‘J-word’ is, after all, the only thing senior leaders have. It’s critical to investors, shareholders, staff, customers and peers. Most of the time senior leaders
generation of adults has long turned its back on email as a communication medium; instead this generation is the child of social media. They are quite possibly the most connected young group ever in the history of mankind.
have been exposed for poor judgment, it relates to a misjudgment or misreading of mood, which applies as much to Tony Hayward at BP as it does to Dick Fuld at Lehmans. The recession adds poignancy to the messages that leadership emanates. Frequent, unfortunate juxtapositions, such as hefty senior bonuses alongside group redundancies, bring this issue to the fore. The need for joined up communications has never been greater.
MED IA
This is as true personally as it is corporately.
Mobile Apps and the future
In recession, the wealthy and powerful need to tread sensitively. At present, it’s like the senior
The very nature of social media means that leaders will be caught in a crisis at some point because social media produces a natural tendency toward providing a ‘crisis du jour,’ which can result from events or from dialogue that develops. A constant consideration is with whom to engage and when. The systems need to be able to differentiate between those with influence and those with less. Because of this propensity toward creating firestorms from simple statements, the first stage of every company’s social media monitoring should be to determine what to do in the event of a problem escalating. Most problems, if spotted early enough, will be dealt with at low levels. Part of this
Learning
Curve
Branding a company
Handling Social Media Crisis
work is science and requires looking back at comparable historic traffic. The first part of the planning process is to work out which words and issues you want to track. Then you’re able to work out what a routine level of mentions is. The first sign of crisis is when a brand goes out of limits,
First steps
which also is where science gives way to art. Only you will
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know what issues you want your brand associated with and
Others will say the technology is all about kids. Well, yes,
those you do not. In any case, this should be known to the
do you remember those kids who invented PCs? They
people running your SEO policy.
went from bedroom to boardroom in twenty years. These kids will do that in ten. In any case, the average Twitter and
Social media will never replace the above-the-line brand
LinkedIn user is in their mid-30s.
building that sustained advertising brings. But then rapidly deployed airborne troops never do the job of an armoured
Of course, in a business context – and especially a
brigade. They have different purposes. The latter is powerful
recession – there tends to be a focus on the short-term
but takes time and planning to assemble. The gestation
and ROI. People may say, “I just don’t get Facebook
period involved sometimes means that the market the
and Twitter.” These people may not understand how to
advertising was to address has changed or moved. Social
monetise the networks, but would you try to monetise
media’s job is to hold and defend a position. Getting there
handlebars and a wheel? No, you need to see how they
with 10% of your force immediately is better than arriving
fit together and get a bigger picture. Yet all around are
too late with 100%.
significant beneficiaries of changing habits (e.g. Amazon).
The concept of being able to exploit fleeting markets is an
What is clear is that social media is going Corporate.
important one. The cycle time now between innovation and
A recent survey showed as high as 94 percent of
obsolescence is shorter than it’s ever been. To wait for the
corporations using social media with 85 percent saying that
advertising resources to craft a campaign, deploy, and
it’s given their business more exposure.
measure the results can sometimes result in missing first
Visit an information graphic on the topic here
mover advantage. If you multiply this into all markets
http://bit.ly/OQHgfN and below:
globally, it’s now dangerous to address opportunities sequentially. They need to be done in parallel. For this reason, social media is synonymous with international operations. Don’t kid yourself that this is only about English-speaking markets either. Graphics and video travel further faster than text in non-English speaking areas. Remember Generation C is either unwilling or unable to read tracts of text.
Facing the Learning Curve of Social Media One of the great barriers to older people getting involved in social media is that they feel out of their depth. Or sometimes they make judgments about social media before they know what it can do. All I can say is that if you’ve stopped feeling silly, then you’ve stopped learning. Conscious incompetence is a vital stage that encompasses all learning. You can’t avoid it.
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First Steps in Implementing Social Media Perhaps one of the biggest questions of all is how companies can implement social media because the landscape looks so all encompassing. The answer to this dilemma is simple. Look at systems that can be overlaid to start. Yammer is a good example. Most organisations don’t rely upon it alone to get out a message - they use it in conjunction with other tools. These tools become basic building blocks. For instance, forward-thinking hotels ask guests to tweet to a hash tag so they can monitor comments. An unhappy guest normally lets people know on Twitter within an hour of the problem. Pick up the problem in this golden hour, and you’re likely to be effective and turn it into a positive point of referral. Try to address it after several hours and, well, good luck. Social media is about culture and not cost. It is cheap and quick to implement. The cost comes in applying corporate standards and procedures around it. Its justification can be had from savings made in above-the-line brand building. In a fully integrated campaign the Paid, Earned and Owned media start to overlap with massive impacts on organic SEO. These are just the quantitative effects. When this comes together, something magical happens. Media starts to synergize and you get momentum from the audience you’re addressing. This branding is a bit like the way a good rock band puts on a show. The more it puts into its audience, the more it gets reflected and the more the performance is elevated. It’s no accident that rock stars perform for a crowd. When people are looking, it matters. Just like your children want you to see and applaud when they’re giving their best. The qualitative effects on a culture that feels that it is encouraged to refer ideas can be transformative. Let’s be clear. When senior people pick up and use social media, they risk ridicule. When senior people don’t pick up and use social media, they risk ridicule.
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Summary None of this stops people believing they’ll never get it. Like all new things, if you think you’re a dinosaur and you refuse to make the effort, then you probably are. I’ve seen the way social media has developed in the corporation over the last ten years. It isn’t the Permian Mass Extinction boundary that some people portray. Social media networks are still evolving. If social media were the car, it would be 1930. The revolution is not even halfway through. There remain huge opportunities to create smaller global propositions that can address multiple markets if Social Media is used effectively. Leaders can be more visible. A greater proportion of
Too many people worry about social media ‘getting away from them.’ They worry that a piece of embarrassing comment will be cached forever. It’s unlikely that this will keep coming back to haunt you, because if the momentum is maintained, the following material will replace it. Companies are still reorganising for social media because many are unsure whether social media is marketing, human resources, or public relations’ responsibility. In actual fact, it’s a meta-discipline. Just like the onset of IT, everyone will grow to use it. That’s why the leadership needs to embrace and
resource can be customer-facing.
radiate it.
This is where you come in. Just because something can be done, it doesn’t necessarily mean it should be done. The knowledge of what has gone before, is essential to arriving at what could be. Too often have evangelists promoted the solution without any understanding of the problem. You know what can and should be improved. That’s why you need to understand and use it yourself. There is an experimental element of this. Not everything you do will work. That should not strike fear into you because Social Media is by its natural an ephemeral media. If you’re consistent over time, the ephemera can build into an enduring brand support.
Like many changes for the business community, often the challenges get noticed rather than the opportunities. Sometimes the arguments against change are made simply to preserve the status quo. What we like about some brands is that they don’t change, but advancing the way they communicate is a different matter. The biggest danger is that brands believe themselves to be communicating when they use the channels they have always used. Without evolution, they can find themselves in an echo chamber progressively over time. These brand marketers assume everyone can hear because they can hear. Social media allows you access to greater collaboration if you want it, and even the illusion of this collaboration can be helpful. Broadening the audience through more diverse channels can only help widen the understanding and trust your audiences have in you, your organisation and your brand.
LEWIS PR is a global PR and digital communications agency. In addition to traditional media and analyst relations, LEWIS specialises in social media, digital marketing and creative services. It works with companies to implement integrated communications programmes on an international scale. LEWIS works with leading and emerging brands across multiple sectors, including automotive, consumer, government, healthcare, insurance, legal, non-profit, technology and telecom. LEWIS has more than 24 wholly-owned offices across the US, EMEA and Asia Pacific, with regional headquarters in London, San Francisco and Singapore. Chris Lewis is Chief Executive Officer of LEWIS PR. He is a former journalist and speechwriter. He is author of The Unemployables, a profile of 40 high achievers. http://amzn.to/gRJOIT. He is a Freeman of the City of London but, sadly, remains trapped in his own office.
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