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*You* know social media is a great tool for marketing, customer feedback and developing valuable communities. *Your boss* thinks it's a waste of resources -- or even a danger to the organization. How should you make your case?In this presentation, Cynthia Closkey of Big Big Design shows what managers and top-level executives need to know about social media and online networking. She highlights resources for finding examples and statistics that carry weight and shows you a simple, seven-step plan for helping your organization move ahead.
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web communication for real people
Selling Social Media to Your Boss: A Seven-Step Plan
Cynthia CloskeyBig Big Design
IABC/Pittsburgh, 21 Jan 2010
web communication for real people
web communication for real people
web communication for real people
1. Start Listening
• Monitor what is being said online– About your company– About your competitors– About your market
• Don’t react yet; gather information– Look for trends– See who is participating– Get a feel for what’s happening
web communication for real people
How to Listen & Measure
• Your primary tool: “dashboard” of RSS feeds– Google & Google Blogsearch Alerts– Twitter Search– Technorati– YouTube
• Bookmark key articles & data points• Choose a few credible number sources
– Alexa– Quantcast
web communication for real people
2. Align with Your Organization’s Goals
• Choose one of your organization's major objectives to address– No formal objectives? Articulate some:
“Increase sales,” “Increase market share,” “Reduce costs”
• Determine how social media could help fulfill the objective – Online-only discounts -> Increased sales– Passionate customers -> Increased market
share– Online discussion -> Lower support costs
web communication for real people
3. Match Your Idea with Data
• Choose data & examples (from step 1) that apply to organizational objective (from step 2)
• Assess which social network will have the most value & impact in reaching the objective– Use Quantcast
web communication for real people
4. Follow a Model
• Choose an example of someone else doing something similar: case study
• Map to your organization– Situation– Objectives– Actions– Results
web communication for real people
5. Create a Proposal
• Develop a plan for a pilot project– Simple, low-cost, focused– Finite duration– Measurable results
• Create a one-page proposal– Goals– Costs and resources (including time)– Schedule– How you’ll measure results
web communication for real people
Ideas for Pilot Projects
• Facebook fan page• Twitter account to respond to
comments/criticisms• Internal-only “twitter” or collaboration
– Yammer & Teambox• Blog -- especially special-purpose or short-
term blog• Twitter contest (need really good prize plus
follow-through plan)• Internal-use wiki
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Setting Expectations & Building Momentum
• Facebook & forums– If members don’t know each other,
need 400 members + real interaction from humans in your organization for active conversation
– If members do know each other, smaller group can have discussion, but anticipate that many people will only read/not comment (“lurkers”)
web communication for real people
Setting Expectations & Building Momentum
• Twitter– Need to respond same day or next day &
sound like a human•Offer offline ways to connect
(phone, direct email)– No more than 50% links and automated
tweets– Must have a follow-up plan for
continuing relationships after any giveaway/contest
web communication for real people
Setting Expectations & Building Momentum
• Blogs– Developing a “voice” takes at least
100 posts •May start to get the hang of it in
1 month / 30 posts– Must participate/comment on others’
sites to become part of the community (and generate interest in your own site)
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6. Anticipate Objections
• Prepare to answer questions & address concerns– Risks to the organization– Past experiences and how this differs– Organizational culture
• Don’t include them in the proposal!– Put on a separate page for your
reference
web communication for real people
Common Objections/Questions
• It’s all people saying what they had for lunch.
• Our customers aren’t online.• What if someone writes something bad?• Who has time for this stuff?• What if it doesn’t work?• This needs to go through
Marketing/Customer Support/Legal/etc.
web communication for real people
7. Make Your Case
• Present in a short, face-to-face meeting
• Let her/him ask questions• Be ready with answers• Admit what you don't know• Uncover the hurdles
– “If I can address that concern, would you say yes?”
web communication for real people
web communication for real people
More Resources
• “How to sell social media to cynics, skeptics, & Luddites,” Robin Broitmanhttp://www.interactiveinsightsgroup.com/blog1/how-to-sell-social-media-to-cynics-skeptics-luddites-tips-resources-advice/
• “Social Media Case Studies
Superlist,” Robin Broitman http://www.interactiveinsightsgroup.com/blog1/social-media-examples-superlist-17-lists-and-tons-of-examples/
web communication for real people
Fallback Plan
• Send boss to our workshop: Social Media: What Every Executive Needs to Know
(& your employees already know!)• http://socialmediaexec101.eventbrite.com
web communication for real people
Contact me
• Cynthia Closkey– Big Big Design (
www.bigbigdesign.com)– [email protected]– @cynthiacloskey on Twitter
