Let your people talk: a holistic approach to social media

In repsonse to Who should do your social media? my friend Liz Hover commented “I don’t think social media should be ‘assigned’ to a department. I think everyone in an organisation should be a part of social media”. Let’s address this idea as complimentary to establishing an official branded social media channel.

Do you know where advertising is ranked on the list of credibility these days? 17%. That means 83% of people think it’s a waste of time. Couple that with the fact that more information was created in 2009 than in the entire history of the world, and you’ve got a lot of people who don’t have time for your message, and wouldn’t believe it if they were forced to endure it.

Who do people listen to when it comes to a company’s product, service, or reputation?

• 64% take it on faith from “an expert”
• 41% would believe a conversation with an employee
• 44% would be convinced by a friend or peer

And where might people encounter a friend, who might happen to be an employee, who’s surely employed because of their expertise? Why, on a social network, during the almost 20% of time they spend online at all. Your brand voices are out there every day, interacting with existing and potential customers.

Brands and business need a destination social presence, a Facebook page or a Twitter stream or whatever works, to deliver official content. This might be information (stats, scoops, or behind the scenes “backstory” brand development) or problem solving (customer service, product development, or crowdsourcing). We’ll call this the Brand Voice. But the “social media should be everywhere” school of thought encourages you to use the available social channels of your employees, too. We’ll call this the People Voice.

The Brand Voice is important because it’s authoritative—if you’re handing out a promo code or a tip, it’s verifiable and coming from the source. It also represents a measure of credibility. If I can’t find a brand or service on Facebook or Twitter, I’m dismayed and (unfairly, I’m sure) question the company’s very capabilities. And sometimes I need to have a conversation with someone. The Brand Voice’s hub of officiality needs to exist so customers feel they have a genuine outlet for feedback.

The People Voice matters because our networks now vette the news for us, provide service recommendations, and darn it, we just trust them more than ads we see on tv. Get the folks that make up your organization talking about you, and you’ve got a groundswell of word of mouth advertising who’s trust factor is almost total.

So let your people know they’re welcome to talk about you online. If you don’t invite them to, they might not even think of it. Suggest the type of things that might be worth discussing with wide caveats that this list is in no way complete, if talking about work online is entirely new. Outline a social media policy to guide them. This shouldn’t be an onerous task for you to create or the culture to internalize; poll key people and determine “what you’d obviously never say online” (unconfirmed funding agreements, disciplinary actions, what’s in the secret sauce) and make those explicit. Then let your people loose to talk about you.