Brands that make the "mindset shift" from social media marketing, where everything is focused on marketing results, to a social business mindset, where strategic outcomes are the focus, achieve greater results.
Business executives have realized that being a digitally minded business is good for business. It's good for employee recruitment and retention. It's transformative.
Making this transition is a journey. In this deck, which I have used many times to deliver this presentation from the stage and in webinars, I explain "what" is a social business, "why" become a social business and I share 10 examples of social business in action.
I cap off this presentation with an action plan and a link to an e-book that outlines this action plan.
Where is your business on the transition from social media to social business?
Bernie Borges
CEO, Find and Convert
Host, Social Business Engine Podcast
2. What is a Social Business?
A social business embraces the
culture and technology of the
social revolution for strategic
business outcomes. It
understands that employees
across the organization should
contribute to brand excellence,
through external and internal
engagement.
@bernieborges
3. Why Become a Social Business?
Customers’ expectations have
changed….
@bernieborges
5. IBM 2012 Global CEO Study
http://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/en/gbe03486usen/GBE03486USEN.PDF
@bernieborges
6. 2013 Social Business Study
http://www.slideshare.net/Altimeter/slides-the-state/1
http://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/files/2013/07/Social-business-infographic.pdf
@bernieborges
7. 2013 Social Business Study
http://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/files/2013/07/Social-business-infographic.pdf
@bernieborges
8. IBM 2014 Social Study
http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/centerforappliedinsights/article/social_insights.html
@bernieborges
9. 2014 Social @ Scale Journal
@bernieborges http://www.sprinklr.com/social-scale-journal/
11. 5 Pillars of a Social Business
C Suite Gets It
Marketing is Not a Department
Employee Branding is Embraced
Investment in Social Technology
Data Driven Marketing Mindset
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12. Social Media to Social Business
Fans
Followers
Likes
Retweets
Shares
Shoutouts
Buzz
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Engagement
Market Feedback
New Ideas
Employee Collaboration
Customer Support
Customer Acquisition
Launch New Initiatives
13. C Suite Gets It
• Plan the work, work the plan
• Culture of Transparency
• Servant’s mindset
• Social employee mindset
• Content mindset!
@bernieborges
14. The Evolving Role of the CMO
http://www.findandconvert.com/2013/05/3-skills-needed-by-the-modern-cmo/
• Diplomacy
• Analytical
• Marketing
@bernieborges
15. Marketing is Not a Department
• Customer Service
• @HiltonSuggests
• JetBlue
• Zappos
• SMEs Contribute
• Nurses (hospital)
• Lawyers (law firm)
• Engineers (B2B)
@bernieborges
21. Content Marketing Like Film Producers
Producer
Director
Actor
Screen Writer
Visual Effects Specialist
Artist
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CMO/VP Marketing
Project Manager
Subject Matter Experts
Writer/Story Teller
Technical Editor
Designer
22. Interview Subject Matter Experts
Do the heavy lifting for SMEs
Conduct on-camera interviews
Create multi-use content
Optimize and share
@bernieborges
23. Content Marketing Best Practices
Document a mission statement
Document a strategy
Develop brand ambassadors
Do the heavy lifting for SMEs
Re-purpose content
Go broad with distribution
@bernieborges
31. Groupon is Social @ Scale
http://www.socialbusinessengine.com/sbe-episodes/groupons-social-at-scale-journey/
@bernieborges
32. Internal social
networking is
good business
at Humana
http://www.socialbusinessengine.com/sbe-episodes/socialcast-enterprise-social-network-humana/
@bernieborges
What began as “social media” has evolved. The journey for businesses around the world is not unlike the phases we all experience from infant to mature adulthood. I believe we are approximately 7 years into this journey and I would characterize our current state in social business as early adulthood. My reason is that we’re finally talking about what it means to be a social business. This was not a conversation we were having 2 years ago.
One of the most progressive companies in the area of social business is IBM. In full disclosure, IBM has products and services that help organizations become a social business and measure results. That said, IBM is walking the walk quite nicely. Recently, IBM released their 2012 Global CEO Study in which they interviewed more than 1700 CEOs in 64 countries across 18 industries. Their big three take aways from the report are: 1) empower employees through social technology and a culture of being social, 2) leverage partnerships, 3) engage customers as individuals. In other words, don’t think of your business as B2B or B2C, but rather H2H (human to human). Businesses are made up of people and people are social. And, social technology enables everyone to connect and engage in ways that weren’t possible in years past.
Let’s look at the five characteristics of a social business. In full disclosure these are my opinion. You may or may not find these characteristics in someone else’s definition of social business. I’ve been a practitioner of social business since 2006 both as a user and as a digital marketing agency and a speaker and trainer, not to mention author of one book and a top 100 digital marketing blog, though it wasn’t called social business until more recently. So, I am confident that my perspective is grounded in sound reasoning.
Anything meaningful in business always has to have the full support of the top of the food chain in the organization. In a social business, the C suite recognizes that employees are social and that they use social technology, and that restricting their use in the business is like restricting them from talking on the phone. The C suite also understands the role of relevant content as a means to engage with customers, and technology or systems to facilitate usage and measurement of business value. A social business is both content rich and users of social technology to implement, track and measure results.
In my opinion, one of the most compelling characteristics of a social business is when the organization recognizes that marketing is not a department. The role of the marketing department is to provide leadership to the rest of the organization. The marketing executive should be a part of the leadership team. The marketing plan must be clearly aligned with the business’ strategic objective. The role of marketing certainly includes the launch of campaigns and tactics designed to build brand awareness and produce leads. And, it also includes communicating the vision to the rest of the organization and spelling out exactly how the people in each functional department or division plays a role in the company’s overall marketing efforts.
A social business embraces employees as brand ambassadors. Some of your employees have valuable subject matter expertise, and some of them have the capability of building their reputation around that expertise in a way that is valuable to your brand. This phenomenon is made possible through a content mindset which is greatly enabled through our digital channels such as blogs and social networks. While not all employees are qualified to be dual branded, those that do can have a “halo effect” on your brand. When these employees produce valuable content, share it and engage with your market, their personal brand benefits and so does yours. A social business does NOT fret over the personal brand equity of these employees. Rather, a social business embraces it for the halo effect. A social business works in alignment with these employees.
The landscape of social technology providers is a fast moving one. In 2012 alone we’ve seen several moves from well known brands. Oracle and Salesforce both made social technology acquisitions, as did Microsoft in their acquisition of Yammer. And, of course as I mentioned earlier, IBM has a big stake in social business with products and services. While this is just a sampling of some of the technology providers in social business, clearly the trend is obvious. Organizations need social technology and these providers are serious about earning your business to help you be a social business.
Another characteristic of a social business is having a data driven mindset. The amount of data that can be gleaned from social technologies is so huge that a new buzzword has emerged – BIG DATA. Measuring the impact of big data on the bottom line is complex, but it’s very doable with a combination of the data driven mindset and the right tools to micro target effectively with relevant messages and to measure social engagement outcomes. Here’s an example of consumer opinion analysis in the Travel & Leisure industry. This is an analysis of consumer reactions to Las Vegas hotels. This visualization from Crimson Hexagon’s social media analytics platform shows how particular topics – such as “friendliness of hotel staff,” or “first trip to Vegas” -- trend over time.
HubSpot is a marketing automation company. Recognized by Inc., Forbes, Fortune and others for their rapid growth, they are also recognized for the two co founders walking the walk in social business. HubSpot is in the “inbound marketing” business. So, it’s no surprise, and worth noting that the CEO and CTO of a fast growing inbound marketing software company both blog and tweet in a very down to earth, human way. But, even more significant is the fact they empower their 400 employees to tweet, blog and otherwise share thoughts and links to content about relevant inbound marketing stuff. They get it. Of course, they should get it. They are a great example to follow.
Finland’s flagship airline, Finnair and the Helsinki airport set out to collaborate on a social outreach to find ways to make air travel more enjoyable. They were launching a new concept called Quality Hunters. They would choose 7 of the best ideas, and give them a 7 week journey around the world in search of air travel best practices. They used social media to invite people to make any suggestion they want. They held live online chats which sometimes lasted all day. The Quality Hunters social media team listened and engaged with the community, which was growing rapidly. People really responded well to this online community. One of the easiest ideas to implement from the suggestions was a book swap lounge. The community was invited to submit design ideas. The connection made between the community and the airline is a human to human connection. Ana Silva O’Reilly, whose blog post nicely summarizes the whole journey genuinely appreciates the opportunity to make new online friends and she even says she made business connections. The community also helped her spread the word on her new travel blog. This is an example of a social business in action through authentic engagement, listening and acting on the input of the community.
Finland’s flagship airline, Finnair and the Helsinki airport set out to collaborate on a social outreach to find ways to make air travel more enjoyable. They were launching a new concept called Quality Hunters. They would choose 7 of the best ideas, and give them a 7 week journey around the world in search of air travel best practices. They used social media to invite people to make any suggestion they want. They held live online chats which sometimes lasted all day. The Quality Hunters social media team listened and engaged with the community, which was growing rapidly. People really responded well to this online community. One of the easiest ideas to implement from the suggestions was a book swap lounge. The community was invited to submit design ideas. The connection made between the community and the airline is a human to human connection. Ana Silva O’Reilly, whose blog post nicely summarizes the whole journey genuinely appreciates the opportunity to make new online friends and she even says she made business connections. The community also helped her spread the word on her new travel blog. This is an example of a social business in action through authentic engagement, listening and acting on the input of the community.
Kinaxis is a supply chain management software company located in western Canada. Kinaxis has many social channels where they enable employees, customers and partners to participate through relevant content. One of their content channels is even a comedy video channel.
Indium Corp is a NY based manufacturer of industrial solder paste. They were an early adopter of blogging. It didn’t happen overnight, but today more than 70 engineers write blog articles on obscure, long tail technical topics that would glaze over most of our eyes. Their blog content is well received by their audience resulting in a healthy steady supply of qualified sales leads.
While the Starbucks marketing team may be responsible for their mobile strategy and managing their Instagram account, what they understand is that their most powerful asset is their loyal customers. Through their mobile app, they generate significant revenue. Through Instagram, a more recent endeavor, they allow anyone to follow them.
While the Starbucks marketing team may be responsible for their mobile strategy and managing their Instagram account, what they understand is that their most powerful asset is their loyal customers. Through their mobile app, they generate significant revenue. Through Instagram, a more recent endeavor, they allow anyone to follow them.
Each business is unique. In order to consider what’s next for you ask yourself these questions. Chances are you have competition, your employees are connected in social networks and you already use some form of social technology whether it’s free or fee based. Remember that being a social business is a journey. A social business mindset is not an option. A strategic plan is not an option. Data driven social technology is not an option. I encourage you to take the action that is appropriate for you in your situation. Lack of action can be very risky.