Social Media Leaders Build on Momentum

I continue to be startled by the widening gap between companies breaking new ground in social media and others who continue to dither or resist any involvement. Recent campaigns by innovative companies like Best Buy and Coke brings this separation into even more  stark contrast.

Best Buy has long been an innovator in the area of communications, so their new holiday campaign should not be a surprise. The most interesting element is perhaps the launch of their Twelpforce Twitter account – which is staffed by 2,500 sales and support folks who are available to respond to consumer questions or comments. The Twitter team/link is being promoted on a new television campaign – replacing the website address of past years. Best But is also leveraging its Facebook page to make it easier for users to ask friends for product advice, or even send email tips to relatives of your interest in certain products. In a cool twist, the company is introducing 25 tiny URLs to encourage users to send select product tips via email and social networks. Check out this New York Times article on the Best Buy holiday campaign here.

Coke is another company trying something new. Never one to do things on a small scale, the company is launching a campaign called Expedition 206, which involves recruiting amateur “Happiness Ambassadors” to travel the world through 2010 and document their quest through videos, Tweets, blog posts and so on. The final selection is being left to consumers. Check out a summary of the campaign here. Coca-Cola is no stranger to social media and already has one of the most popular Facebook pages (which apparently was created by two users) with almost 3.9 million fans. (As a side note on Coke’s bumpy path to social media enlightenment, check out this AdWeek post. )

Gap is another company with a promising holiday campaign. They are partnering with Yahoo to encourage consumers to record and send video greetings via a mobile recording studio in NYC. The clips – complete with options for customized holiday music – can then be posted and forwarded using the full range of digital channels and social networks. Consumers will also be encouraged to rank video greetings, and the most popular will win prizes. I also noticed Sears is launching a holiday-themed networking site and using widgets and text messages to flag holiday promotions. Even a traditional retailer like Kohl’s is jumping into the fray. So this isn’t the usual high-tech cast of characters.

My point here isn’t really to argue whether these campaigns are compelling or even very creative, and we’ll have to see if they deliver on their marketing objectives. But at least these companies are trying to respond to the shift in consumer habits and fitting social media into their marketing mix. True, some of these efforts may be clumsy and even ill-advised, but better to try and fail – and learn along the way – than to stubbornly stick with outdated and dubious tactics. Nobody said progress was pretty.

 

Money Not Enough to Motivate Employees

The folks at McKinsey issued a timely article that brings fresh data to the quixotic search for the right formula to attract and motivate talent. [FYI - You may need to register to view the article.] Based on their own research, the authors suggest non-financial incentives are more effective at motivating employees than traditional financial incentives like salary hikes and bonuses. These findings concur with other surveys that confirm that for employees with satisfactory salaries, financial incentives offer mostly fleeting motivational benefits. But although most companies are cutting back on financial incentives due to the ongoing financial crisis, it doesn’t appear many of them are shifting to other (more effective) reward and recognition programs. For many the adjustment of incentives remains an exercise in management of costs.

According to the article, the most effective non-financial motivators are:

• Praise from direct managers
• Leadership attention (one-on-one meetings)
• Opportunity to lead projects

Anyone with management experience is likely familiar with these incentives – and understands intuitively why they would work. As the authors write: “The survey’s top three nonfinancial motivators play critical roles in making employees feel that their companies value them, take their well-being seriously, and strive to create opportunities for career growth. These themes recur constantly in most studies on ways to motivate and engage employees.”

So if all this seems logical and backed by research,  why do so few companies emphasize non-financial incentives? The McKinsey authors suggest the biggest reason is old habits are hard to break – traditional wisdom is that money talks louder than anything else. Another reason – which I’ve witnessed in my own corporate experience – is that non-financial incentives often entail more time and commitment from managers, and many companies are hesitant to juggle or stretch the agenda of their managers. Another theme woven through the article is that some companies equate basic communication (such as town hall meetings) as automatic motivators, while in reality the outcome is highly dependent on the specific information, format and occasion.

Perhaps this is another example of how some companies under strain tend to resist dramatic change or new ideas, rather than embrace the opportunity for innovation…or the inability of many leaders to seriously consider the preferences of their employees. Certainly, there is no shortage of publicity and plaudits for progressive employers who leverage a wide range of benefits to engage their employees – think Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For.  But clearly, this has not been enough to alter the core incentive programs of many employers.

Second Life Still Alive and Well

Many big developments in technology seem to follow the same pattern: launch, hype, boom, more hype, backlash and, too often, bust. Or at least rumors of bust. But usually this pattern is more hyperbole than reality. Take Second Life as an example. When Second Life emerged a few years ago the hype was deafening, and a host of companies (including Dell, where I worked at the time) rushed to build virtual islands. Then the buzz gradually died down. Some companies left, disillusioned about the difficulty of generating revenue or leads through their island. Others stayed on but struggled to find value or purpose in their investments. Many just stayed away, confused by the technology. Some in the media and blogosphere suggested Second Life was heading towards the crowded bone-yard of technology.

Well, Second Life is alive and well – if you’ll pardon the pun. In terms of size and reach, Second Life shows some pretty strong numbers – though it must be said there are skeptics regarding these statistics. But beyond the crude numbers, I would argue Second Life is showing resilience and relevance through the innovation of its inhabitants. With the benefit of virtual experience, many are finding the benefits of Second Life may be more nuanced than pure marketing – for example cutting communication costs or developing new learning modules.

For a look at some of the creative uses of Second Life – ranging from e-learning to virtual meetings and collaborative design – check out these recorded sessions from the Gronstedt Group, a consulting firm that has long advocated the benefits of 3-D online environments like Second Life. [Disclosure - Anders Gronstedt is a friend and did work for me when I was at Dell.]

Perhaps the most important recent development is the announcement of Second Life’s new platform for the enterprise – which will allow companies to deploy their own, customized virtual environment behind their firewall. This beta program – set to formally launch in Q1 next year – addresses concerns about security and firewalls that have caused many organizations (including the last one I worked for) to stay away from Second Life. Check out Fast Company’s take on this development here.

As this coverage notes, the potential for companies to leverage a “closed” Second Life platform to improve and expand their internal communications is huge. The interactive, graphic and multi-media properties of SL lend themselves well to everything from virtual meetings to project collaboration and training. This particularly holds true for global companies with dispersed or telecommuting workforces. The possibilities are exciting…and endless. Yesterday I participated in a briefing in SL that featured an architecture firm that develops designs using a wiki “tree”, which allows visitors to propose and rank design additions or changes on existing projects. If companies are paying attention, I suspect some of those who avoided or left SL may take a second look. It would be well worth their time.

More Than Ever…The People are the Brand

Communication guru Shel Israel touches on a compelling idea in a recent post on the relationship between personal brand(s) and corporate brand(s). I was particularly drawn by his comment on how people are becoming a central element of the corporate brand: “Personal brand is changing corporate and product brand in an increasing number of cases. This changes who shapes brand and why and how it is done. It changes how markets perceive brands and this is an area where little thought and conversation has emerged so far.”

Israel argues that traditional marketing messages focusing on “big brand” themes positioned through a corporate and/or homogenous voice are giving way to increasing personalization…and the humanization of corporate brands. This is being fueled by the advent of social media platforms that are based on individual participation and contributions. It’s interesting  to note Israel uses Dell as an example – which I experienced first hand as a member of the Dell social media team. Dell started to turns thing around when it started listening – really listening – to the online conversation but also because individual employees jumped into the conversation. All the platforms – both internal and external – were populated with real people who answered questions, shared ideas and tried to resolve complaints. Some of them – like Direct2Dell moderator Lionel – became key representatives of the Dell brand online.

This trend toward personalization is likely to gain momentum. After all, companies are engaging individual leaders (and sometimes employees) as blog authors, Facebook friends and Twitter voices.  Videos and podcasts feature company experts and guests in informal settings. Discussion boards are hosted by groups of company experts, some with large followings. Even websites are less impersonal, often featuring profiles and individual guides or hosts. As Israel notes, marketers are eager to leverage this movement towards the humanization of brands – since it’s inherently more credible and resonant with customers – but the very notion of diverse, individual voices makes this difficult. And that’s not a bad thing. For better or for worse, company reputations and identities will become more closely identified with the collective actions and voices of their employees, rather than paid advertising or impersonal PR campaigns.

Is Cloud-Computing The Secret to Internal Communication Progress?

A recent post by the folks at Melcrum in the UK provides evidence that more companies are adopting cloud-based collaboration platforms (in this case Google Apps) for their internal communications. Last week Jaguar and Land Rover announced they were also switching to Google. And Google isn’t the only big player in this emerging field: IBM recently introduced its own cloud collaboration suite.  (I haven’t even mentioned the host of new providers that offer services that go well beyond email, calendars and file-sharing – notably internal micro-blogging and networking tools.)

Anybody who has worked inside an organization is familiar with the debates that occur on this issue. For the cons, there are typically concerns about information security and integration with firewalls, while on the pro side the main motivations tend to be lower cost and a more efficient, integrated platform that is accessible through any Web connection. In  my experience, the naysayers are often in IT while proponents are employees looking for better ways to collaborate and communicate with peers. Coincidence? For many companies – slowed by balkanized email networks, weak IT governance and outdated infrastructure – going to a cloud platform is an easy way to start fresh using external resources, often at much lower cost than an infrastructure overhaul. For smaller companies, it’s almost a no-brainer. I’ve been involved in several start-ups in recent months and all of them are using cloud-based platforms for their email, file storage and collaboration needs – at no cost.

So why so much resistance? Likely a new version of the proverb that you can’t be fired for buying IBM – many prefer to play it safe. I’m certainly not a technical expert, but I suspect that the popular chestnuts about unreliable cloud networks and data risk are overblown. I’ve experienced far more problems with internal systems than the occasional blip with cloud-based applications. And is there a network anywhere that is more robust than Google? Companies should certainly do their due diligence, but when the status quo for many employees is working on creaky, inefficient systems – if they even have access to their network – there is no excuse for at least not considering the cloud.

Two More Reasons Companies Need to Pay Attention to Social Media

If companies needed any more reasons to get off the sidelines and start thinking about social media…

Reason #1: Staying Ahead of New FTC Regulations

The recently announced FTC guidelines on testimonials in advertising provide the first specific guidance from government on endorsements and disclosure in social media. Bob Pearson from the WeissComm Group suggests companies will be held more accountable for the behavior of their employees, so they should familiarize themselves with the regulations and ensure they take steps to limit their liability. In effect, companies will no longer be able to skirt (or flaunt) informal Web etiquette and will be held responsible for their online communication activities. Bob suggests all companies – big or small – follow this short checklist:

1. Require truthfulness and disclosure in all social media outreach

2. Monitor the conversation and correct misstatements

3. Create social media policies (with clear transparency and disclosure rules) and training programs

[Full disclosure: Bob is a friend and my former boss at Dell.]

Reason #2: Getting Ready for Real-Time Search

In recent weeks, there’s been plenty of online discussion about the emergence (and importance) of real-time search, which captures live updates on networks like Twitter and Facebook. A recent New York Times article posits that announcements by Google and Microsoft that their search platforms will include Twitter is just the latest evidence of this trend. (FYI: Facebook public updates will soon be available on Microsoft’s Bing.) Though the NYT article focuses on the potential revenue implications of real-time search, companies would do well to also study the PR impact of this trend on their own search results.  BusinessWeek recently posted a good summary on this topic.

What I thought was the most insightful take on this issue came from Charlene Li at Altimeter, who in her post on the topic writes: This trend towards micro media requires companies to pay attention to the real-time and social web for marketing, support, and competitive strategies. Here’s why. First, Google and Bing will filter search results based partly on timing and authority (as well as location.) Li argues this means consumers will more easily be able to influence search results through Twitter content, links and re-tweets. Conversely, companies will no longer be able to rely on their traditional page ranking, fueled by their SEO strategies. So even for companies not active on Twitter, their customers (or critics) can more easily influence search results related to the company in question. Li suggests a recipe to address this shift in search strategy:

• Develop a nimble, comprehensive listening strategy that includes social networks and incorporates internal processes, roles as well as robust analytical tools
• Change the marketing mindset that says generating more positive (self-serving) content will tilt the search balance, since the search filters will leave out irrelevant messages with no authority or following
• Marketers must focus on building relationships with people who have influence and authority on networks like Twitter – which means fostering relevant discussions with consumers and followers/friends

Even for companies with a defensive mindset who hesitate to jump into social media, these and other developments suggest their time as spectators is coming to an end.

Internet Trends: Going (More) Mobile

Very interesting presentation by Morgan Stanley analyst Mary Meeker (yes, that Mary Meeker) at the recent Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco. Check out this article and the actual presentation here. Besides a fairly healthy prognosis for internet (and related business) growth, the salient theme is that the mobile internet is big…and booming – led in part by “explosive” growth in iPhone and iTouch devices. Indeed, a major fuel to this growth is the sheer increase in cloud-based mobile devices using platforms like GPS, 3G, wi-fi and Bluetooth. According to Meeker (who backs her arguments with mountains of statistics), mobile internet growth is far out-pacing historic desktop internet adoption.

Some of the stats in the report are pretty overwhelming, notably those on the size and growth of major Web platforms:

• YouTube – 445 million users, 35% Y/Y growth, #2 global search engine
• Facebook – 390 million users, 153% Y/Y growth, #1 site in time spent (6 billion minutes spent each day)
• Twitter – 55 million users, 1,171% Y/Y growth, 5 thousand tweets per second during peak times
• demandMedia – 55 million users, 46% Y/Y growth

According to Meeker, the “secret sauce” to mobile internet growth is the ability to localize data in real-time. The combination of this instant localization with a multi-media, mobile device (like the iPhone) and platforms like Facebook – which allow for integrated, multi-purpose content and applications — creates a highly attractive combination.

And if we needed any more confirmation of the obvious, Meeker argues that next generation platforms (social networks and mobile applications) are driving unprecedented changes in communication and commerce. She writes:

Improvements in social networking and mobile computing platforms (led by Facebook + Apple ecosystems) are fundamentally changing ways people communicate with each other and ways developers / advertisers / vendors reach consumers.

Mobile devices will evolve as remote controls for ever expanding types of real-time cloud-based services, including emerging category of location-based services, creating opportunities + dislocations, empowering consumers in unprecedented + transformative ways.

Improvements in social networking and mobile computing platforms (led by Facebook + Apple ecosystems) are fundamentally changing ways people communicate with each other and ways developers / advertisers / vendors reach consumers. Mobile devices will evolve as remote controls for ever expanding types of real-time cloud-based services, including emerging category of location-based services, creating opportunities + dislocations, empowering consumers in unprecedented + transformative ways.

Plenty of other good information in the presentation on the implications of these changes on broadband providers and device manufacturers; the message is there will be big winners and losers as a result of these seismic shifts.

Thanks to my friend – and University of Texas alum – Paul Walker for the tip on this report.

Technorati: Blogosphere Vibrant, Getting More Influential

Technorati’s annual “State of the Blogosphere” is full of interesting findings, but the headline is that the influence of the blogosphere on everything from politics to marketing continues to grow. [Note: the survey is limited to bloggers and data from the U.S.] Here are select findings:

• The blogosphere (in the U.S.) is doubling in size every 230 days
• Hobbyists (who blog for fun) make up 72% of bloggers
• Though Pros (who blog full-time for a company/organization) make up only 4% of bloggers, they are becoming more prolific and influential
• Twitter has had a big impact on the blogosphere, fueling the dramatic rise of micro-blogging…up to 74% of bloggers now use Twitter
• The blogosphere continues to take over turf historically owned by traditional media sources and journalists
• Self-expression and sharing expertise continue to be the primary motivations for bloggers, and 70% of all respondents say that personal satisfaction is how they measure the success of their blog
• For pros, the key measure of success is traffic – or unique visitors
• Blogs cover a wide and diverse range of topics – including many niche subjects
• Most bloggers describe themselves as “sincere”
• Reasons for blogging range from sharing opinions and expertise (popular with hobbyists) to attracting new clients or business opportunities (more important for the pros)
• 30% of respondents say it’s important they conceal their real identity – most for fear or harassment
• Most bloggers are positive about the impact of their blogging on their personal and/or business lives

No real surprises for me in these findings, though the relatively small number of core professional bloggers seems disproportionate to their profile and influence. Then again, this tendency mirrors the trend of the small minority of people who contribute or comment on blogs. The one finding that seemed dissonant is the plurality of bloggers who feel compelled to conceal their identity. I’m not sure how this fits with the ethos of transparency, but they clearly feel compelled to separate their blogger persona from their personal identity.

FYI: Technorati is posting additional comments and articles, so look for updates in the days ahead. A couple of third-party comments on the report are here and here.

Fun Not Dirty Word in Social Media

An article in USA Today yesterday provides a good overview of the popularity of online games on social networks and related Web sites – or “social gaming”. According to the  article, the rapid growth and huge audience numbers of some games and applications is shaking up the gaming industry. Gaming is now the most popular category on Facebook and MySpace. The difference between the new games and perennial online favorites – like World of Warcraft or Sims – is that they are free, widely available and easy to play.

What struck me about this article is not the growth of these virtual games – I’ve been inundated with invites and suggestions on Facebook and Twitter that range from whimsical to ridiculous – but rather the increasing focus on having fun. This trend is repeated in the thousands of apps available for the iPhone and other mobile devices…where bite-sized, novel games or tools (many of them good mostly for a laugh) are a popular download for many users.

For years the communication profession has frowned on fun, inferring that information can’t be credible or understood unless it’s serious and laden with facts. I’ve long believed that fun – injected in the right measure and manner – can make communication more memorable and effective. It’s worked well in advertising for years, but PR has mostly shut the door except for soft product marketing campaigns. Now that social media has further blurred the lines between work and play – and corporate and personal information – the battle rages on. The same debate is happening in training, where some e-learning advocates push for creative, interactive modules that feature plenty of smart humor, and more traditional HR practitioners who continue to promote face-to-face sessions supported by pedantic slides and toolkits. Fun need not be trivial, of course, but rather an attempt to inject some excitement, imagination and intellect into the training exercise. Somebody I worked with in my Dell days, Anders Gronstedt, has been promoting the use of virtual worlds like Second Life and on-demand digital content as a better alternative for training and communication. [Full disclosure, Anders is a good friend of mine and once shared my tent during a two-week climb of Kilimanjaro.]

We’ve all heard the axiom that people absorb  information better through a combination of senses – pictures, sounds, touch and words – than just speakers or words on a slide. I would argue the same logic should apply to adding an element of fun to traditional communication content – whether it be on a website, a memo or even an activity. Clearly, consumers are telling us they value entertaining content and modules, even if they serve a useful purpose. It’s time to pay attention to what our audience is telling us.

IKEA Backlash Shows Two Sides of Fan Passion

The recent criticism aimed at IKEA in recent weeks – much of it on Twitter – is just the latest reminder that companies change their iconic brands or products at their own peril…particularly when they do so without consulting their most ardent fans. IKEA’s apparent misstep? Switching the font in its catalogs to the more pedestrian (some say ugly) Verdana font, from the original customized Futura. Check out  this account of the debate in Maclean’s magazine, and others in Time and a popular blog.  Keep in mind, folks, that we’re talking about changing the font – not a price or product – and only on the printed catalog, not the web platforms.

This story brought to life a few axioms we like to throw out over discussions on marketing:

• It’s great to have passionate fans, but it’s often the most committed customers that react negatively with “their” favorite brand changes
• Design and visual identity is as much a part of corporate identity as products or advertising – with fonts and logos being the focal point
• Surprising your most ardent fans with important news is rarely a good idea
• Social networks are as effective in spreading bad news as good news
• Everything matters when it comes to brand image – look, font, music, color, tone…etc.

The most important lesson here may be that companies need to consider their fan base – as much as possible – in any decision involving products or the brand. IKEA likely thought they were making a fairly innocuous change – seems very logical when you read their explanation – but they would likely have detected instant and strong opposition had they tested the idea with customers or influential third-parties. If we needed another reminder, customers  really are co-owners of the brand.