Bridge Strategies for Social Media Adoption

September 11, 2007 · Comments

bridge Social media makes sense to you. You get it. You’re here, reading my blog, following Twitter, creating your own media, listening and watching podcasts. You get it, practice it, and LIVE it. But how are you building the bridge between what you understand and connecting it to the other shore of the person/company/organization you want to introduce to social media and networks? When faced with the option to adopt a social media strategy or stay the course, which action do you think common business sense will dictate? Here are some thoughts on helping an organization consider the benefits of social media. I want your feedback on these, including what you’ve done to build a bridge, and/or what hasn’t worked so well for you in the past.

Effort to Reward Curve

There are two simple pieces of a business person’s decision puzzle: how much work will this be versus what will this get me in return? If you can show how various social media and network tools require little effort (after the initial strategy and training phase), then you’re halfway towards answering the harder puzzle bits. If you can build ties between the strategy and directly measurable rewards, that’s even more of the puzzle solved.

Show the Reward, Not the Tools

Some advocates of social media focus on the tools. They show off the gear, the software, all the nuts and bolts of getting it done. Show the benefits of these tools, not the hardware itself. Start by showing how a successful podcast like the Financial Aid Podcast drives leads back to trackable web assets and converts the traffic into revenue for the company. Talk about how you can bring conversations out to where the people are through using tools like Google Blogsearch and Technorati, instead of showing someone how to set up a Ning group. Think from the mindset of benefits, not the how-to.

Lay out the Landscape

Do your research and talk about the landscape of social media and networks as it relates to the organization or person you’re working to convince to try it. Show her the other people in her space (or similar people) who are using social media, and explain how you see the effort reaching various channels. Talk from the larger story of how the organization/product/person can tap various tools to get different results. And even be willing to explain how some tools might not be right for some intentions. Remember, if you’re starting the job of convincing someone, it’s your duty to also explain how social media tools are used, and what the “lay of the land” is in all cases.

Consider Head Count

One of the first things a business leader will ask when hearing about all the nifty tools and channels that are out there is: “who’s going to be responsible for this?” People are tasked with revenue-affecting business obligations, and though social media properly implemented can drive revenue, improve customer relationships, and stimulate product adoption, the person tasked with actually maintaining and executing the social media strategy probably has other duties, and will likely be doing this as part of a larger job. Think of ways to lighten the burden for this person.

Start Simple and Lay it Out

If you’re presenting a social media strategy to someone who maybe hasn’t even asked to see one, consider the following as a template or starting point for a presentation:

  • Definition of Social Media or Networking or both.
  • Brief explanation of the benefits of social media to the organization/person.
  • If possible, show some number (dollars, sales, reduced call center time) that benefit from the social strategy.
  • Overview of the collection of tools you recommend implementing. (NOT the actual hardware or software, but whether you recommend videoblogging and Twitter, plus a Ning site, but no Facebook, and so on.)
  • Quick explanation of how someone would execute on the strategy.
  • Sample metrics or guidelines to showing potential impact of efforts.
  • Layout of the cost of hardware, software, training, plus hours-per-week to execute.

Stop here, because this is where most people stop in a presentation anyhow. Once they see the money, that’s where they start really thinking it all over.

Go Gently, but Be Confident

Where I imagine people fail in recommending these initiatives to organizations is in the actual pitch to get someone to use the tools. I’m guessing one part of it relates to our enthusiasm for knowing that this stuff works, and how incredulous we feel when, in an attempt to explain this to a boss, they don’t share our unbridled glee. Second, I imagine we spend too much time talking about the gadgets and websites, and not enough time showing which problems we’re solving and how. Do your homework. Prepare. And then feel confident in what you intend to present.

Your Recommendations

Have you successfully pitched a social media or social network strategy to your organization or a friend who benefited from your ideas? (And if you’re willing to share your misses, that’s cool too!) How did you make the pitch? What was the end product? And in what ways did you use these tools to build a useful community, or did that just grow organically? Share what you know. It will no doubt be helpful in showing others how to implement a strong social media strategy.

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  • Bob
    Chris,

    Great take on social media adaptation. I'm currently in the process of trying to explain and quantify the benefit of social media to our non-profit and I couldn't agree with you more on (1) Show the reward, not the tools (2)Consider Head Count and (3)Start Simple, Lay it out. A 65-year old Senior Director doesn't need to know how Twitter works, but he certainly needs to know how it can impact his business. Keep up the good work.

    www.onehalfamazing.com
  • Chris-

    Great post. I face this SO OFTEN with existing and potential clients as I try and migrate them to the online space. So important to focus, as you say, on the reward, not the tools. I really don't care HOW the guy fixes my transmission- just that it gets fixed.

    I mostly encounter fear, lack of understanding, the attitude that social media is for my teenage daughter, not my "real" business. But, above all, I get the "Well, this is the way we've always done it" attitude. My response, sometimes spoken, sometimes just thought, is, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."
  • I own a marketing firm, and I'm amazed at how many people are clueless as to what blogs are. I thought I was behind the times! People are resistant to change. No one wanted to move from a typewriter to a word processor to a Commodore 64, but here we are. Unfortunately, most people want to wait until everyone else has changed before they adopt new technology for their business. I tell them they'll never beat their competition that way.

    Great post, Chris. I'm going to link to it and use it as a starting point for my own blog.
  • All good. Except the components of the presentation. Not enough to tell 'em, ya gotta make 'em want it.

    Here's how I think mine would look:

    * Attention-getting example of fundamental business benefit/change/results from social media. Make it real world. Make it similar to their biz if possible

    * Now that you have their attention, dig into a realm they know and do already, say networking. Contrast how they have to do it now with how they could do it if. Use this discussion to introduce BASIC concepts & define (FEW, BASIC) terms.

    * Examples/scenarios/anecdotes (theoretical or real) of what their world (business) could look like after the application of social media. Show benefits of each, measurable if possible.

    * Overview of the collection of tools you recommend implementing. (NOT the actual hardware or software, but whether you recommend videoblogging and Twitter, plus a Ning site, but no Facebook, and so on.) [[and enough on the WHY of each, the result to be obtained. leave the how it works for your Q&A]]

    * Quick explanation of how someone would execute on the strategy.

    * Sample metrics or guidelines to showing potential impact of efforts. [[yes, if by that you mean set objectives for the project and how its success will be measured]]

    * A very workable, yes-able set of first steps/action to take to move the idea forward.

    Stop here.


    Costs? Have something thumbnail you can use for Q&A. But:

    * Layout of the cost of hardware, software, training, plus hours-per-week to execute.

    In an "introduce the idea' presento? No. You're introducing the idea and the actual proposal will be shaped with their responses taken into account Start the bidding too early at risk of crippling the project.
  • katherine
    I've been talking about some of these issues with my husband as we try to figure out how to get his company to get serious with some of the new media -- they have someone dabbling in a podcast, and I think after reading this post and some of the comments that the "dabbling" means they see there's something to it, but it also means they're not sure what, or what it could do for the business.

    Now, I think I have something new to take back to the discussion. And I realize that just because *I* get it, doesn't mean it's obvious to the world.
  • Maybe this is too simplistic, but I think social media for companies is about being part of a larger conversation about your market/product/ideas that is taking place anyway, allowing you to refine your strategies and crowd source ideas without large expensive "focus groups" that may not give you the same honest opinions you'll find online.

    Two great examples-

    Steve Garfield's Mom's video blog about "I Can't Open It"- http://icantopenit.blogspot.com/ - all about products that make it difficult for people to get at their products. And as more and more people get to Millie's age group, this is something companies need to be aware of- otherwise people will simply stop buying their products.

    Another- the Doritos X-13 secret flavor experiment. This is a cool, interactive, and even fun website, but it doesn't change the fact that cheeseburger flavored doritos are disgusting and not good. All the attractive bells and whistles won't change the fact your product stinks. Yet I fear that the message Frito Lay might get from this online experience is that "on line didn't work for us" rather than "We used this for the wrong product, and our product was not good."

    We are all walking consumer reporters, willing to share our opinions of what has worked for us and what has not, what we love and what we hate. And we'd love to have companies listen to what we have to say. And frankly if they don't engage in the conversation, they will fall behind and never know the real reason why their sales drop. It's not necessarily the lack of ads, the "effectiveness" of the ads, product placement, etc. but an evaluation of the need and are you the best fit to meet that need.
    I know I never have needed cheeseburger doritos and never will.
  • Thank you Chris - this is exactly what I am wrestling with at the moment. I love the `to do' list.

    I think it is important to recognise the real hurdles for most people with social networking are not just fear of technology. I think they are:
    1. Fear of not have anything worthwhile to contribute and thinking no one will listen to them
    2. Fear of not being `let in' to the group and feeling left out or excluded (a big one)
    3. Fear of exposing their `true' selves and not being able to hide behind their business persona
    4. Feeling that they are going into a world where they have no control over the information others can find out about them or who can contact (or discredit) them (a fear which the media in the UK keeps reinforcing)

    If any one has some good examples on how I can help address and alleviate the above fears - either facts and figures or even better, strategies, then I will be able to move onto Chris Brogan's list with real confidence.

    What I have done so far to try and ease my clients and users into the ideas that lie behind social networking are:
    Create a link from our business newsletter to a blog to allow an open `discussion' on the value of social networking;
    Created the first in a series of blogs specifically for non-techy's focusing on the REWARDS rather than the technology (http://www.bloggingforblondes.com);
    Am working on an email campaign that has a `tease' and a link to a blogpage to get `the rest of the story' where they can leave comments, and participate rather than just treat it as a usual mailshot reminder to use our services.

    Looking forward to seeing examples of what others are doing successfully and also not successfully (just as useful!)

    Thanks for raising this topic Chris.
    Suzy
  • lux
    I'm giving a presentation to a bunch of developers about "web 2.0 marketing" in about a month's time; thank you SO much for this article! It's going to help me tighten the focus of the presentation.
  • John Carman and I were just having this conversation on Saturday. It's easy to believe everyone would love new media if they'd only "get it," but the fact is, not everyone WANTS to be social -- and, being social isn't a guarantee of financial (or other desired) success.

    I agree, you need a strategy before you start. It doesn't have to be a 12-page business plan, but it should consist of one very clear objective:

    What constitutes success?

    If companies are expecting social media to double or triple their sales figures, they may not be ready to implement it properly. Social media is as important to the long tail of customer loyalty as it is to the short view, and misusing a potentially powerful tool for engagement could result in dashed hopes for all involved.

    Best to know what all parties involved want to accomplish before the first blog post is written -- and that same advice applies to individual social media creators, too. Don't confuse activity (the creation of content) with success; most of us need increasingly more difficult brass rings to make the effort seem worthwhile.
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