thank you

The big first step, of course, is to start the conversation. Social media doesn’t really work with a grand strategy and campaign launch. It is somewhat organic. Like a social mixer.

Let me explain. Maybe I know Chris. I walk into the room and see Chris talking to someone. I approach, courteously, and say hi. Chris, graciously introduces me to Bob. I enter the conversation. The process repeats. The value and quality of my company then increases or decreases my influence.

Thus, is the success or failure of social media.

There is obviously more, probably a whole book more, don’t you think? But, that is enough to start the conversation with Ford.

My first step would be to find personalities, and Ford has may facets, consequently several personalities are a must to avoid the Ford drone, droning. I am looking for edgy, interesting, engaging, community builders.

Then I introduce the market to why Ford is important to the conversation–cool designers, innovative technology (have you seen Sync–very slick), cars (who doesn’t like to talk about cars), sports (Lions), etc.

But, the bottom line is don’t launch, start.

My first step would be to ask them what their most pressing business marketing problem is. Before you even consider social media or any kind of media, you have to understand what’s broken to some degree and whether media of any kind will fix it, or whether it will just muddy the waters further. Only after you understand that would you know whether social media was the right tool for the job.

I would advise Ford to just start talking to people ala Zappos, Southwest, etc. Big corporations, like Ford, could stand to lose their monolithic, corporate face and show the world that real people, like you and me, work there. I have a whole new view of Zappos just from following them on Twitter. Ford could benefit the same way.

I would like to suggest listening.

Do nothing at all except listen to people talk about cars and trucks for 3 or 6 weeks or months, or however long it takes to build up a picture (perhaps literally) of what conversations are taking place in your tribal areas and how they are developing.

Keep doing nothing except listening until you’ve worked out the reasoning and motivation behind those conversations, what it is customers really want, what types of customers hang around in your social media markets (as opposed to real physical markets and showrooms), who the most important or vociferous ones are and what makes them passionate about cars, trucks, engines and travel.

Start dropping in some interesting comments to help people out with easier problems and, gently, start participating with the social conversation equivalent of ‘hmmm…ahh..that’s interesting…good idea…perhaps you would like to expand on that…’

Start producing content that answers customers’ questions (the deeper rooted and more hidden the motivations that produce those problems, the better) and start participating in the conversation from their point of view with ideas and products they’re going to genuinely like.

I’m with Matthew. You can’t start conversations until you’ve won the respect and the trust of the community that you’re there to serve. You have to listen to what people are saying and contribute to the conversation.

Require that everyone in Ford’s Marketing Department start blogging, twittering, and socializing online - about anything… preferably, their personal passions (anonymously is OK). This will give them the vocabulary and intimate reference to know how to tap into their customers online.

Hey Chris, since we are working with Ford (and many other clients) on their global social media strategy, I feel pretty qualified to jump in here :)

Your readers are right on the money - when we begin working with a new client, we always advise them to listen first. They need to understand what people are talking about before they can join the conversation in a way that is appropriate and adds value. As you can imagine, with a vertical like automotive, the conversations are plentiful and varied - that’s why it’s also really important to determine your clients’ business objectives - which conversations to they view to be really critical? That will help determine your focus (though, of course, you need to be open to surprises).

But as far as your larger question goes, what do you do when you’re “set up”, when everyone in your organization “gets it” (if I understand you correctly)? IMHO it’s way, way too early for almost any company to say that, except perhaps for some early adopters like IBM, who are significantly ahead of the curve. For most orgs, the wins are incremental, with the goal being to spread understanding and get more people to incorporate these tools (and this way of thinking) into their toolkits. Once people are comfortable doing that, the strategies can get more complex, because they are supported both from a funding and resource perspective as more people see the demonstrated value.

Not very sexy, but slow and steady wins the race!

And YES - Ford is actively looking for an internal social media evangelist. If you’d like to find out more, please contact me for more info!

David, I have to disagree wholeheartedly with this approach. I think a forced voice, especially from the marketing department, is worse than no voice or a “corporate” voice.

Markets want conversations for real people with real passion about their jobs and their company. People can tell when the voice is about keeping your job, not inner-passion. This is why Scobleizer was so successful at Microsoft–it was obviously not about controlled by a “marketing plan.”

I think I would add to my earlier comments. I would look for those already talking (you maybe surprised) it feeds on Matthew’s excellent suggestion–listen–use the track feature on Twitter or Google Alerts. You may already have evangelist(s) talking.

I would also look for medley (not marketing only) of line workers, millwrights, UAW officers, engineers, designers, management, etc.

Maggie, sounds like you may have a fun project ahead. Can’t wait to see the results!

1. Schedule Social Media Training mts (30mins duration) in the departments that will need to touch the Social Media Strategy (Marketing, Engineering, etc.) to a) help dispel Myths of Social Media, b) to teach on the tools (RSS, blogging, twitter and c) See how is already blogging and interacting in the space.

2. Ask around / Snoop around and see who the good writers, interesting personalities and SM engaged individuals are and start enlisting them to be a part of the strategy, especially as internal evangelists. This is also good to see who has the comfort level at being a “face” or “connection” through social media to the outside world / and as a part of the strategy.

3. I am assuming “setup” means all metrics (what we want to measure) and tools (the “measuring tapes) have been decided upon. I would start a weekly and monthly schedule of reports in executive summary format to start showing those we need buy in from the most what we are “hearing” and how this is starting to shape our overall methods.[This also obviously includes what competitors are doing, and how that is succeeding…]

4. I would connect with the IT team and talk to them in depth at what their view of Social Media is, what their concerns are and what tools they would use for different scenarios (blogging, custom social networks, access for employees to sites like facebook and twitter.)

5. I would create some internal facing tools for my evangelists to start helping them with the familiarity of form and function of the sm tools. (internal blogging, private twitter groups, etc.)

… and on and on …. ;)

Along with all of the other details, I would remember that Ford is a global enterprise, and that the discussions are happening around the world in multiple languages. “Listening” is a complex problem for a company like Ford, with multiple brands addressing multiple market segments in virtually every geographic market.

As for early adopters, even they are unlikely to claim that everyone in the organization “gets it.” IBM is also looking for a social media evangelist to help their marketing groups get up to speed.

Not much to add except to make explicit that Maggie’s “start” involves finding and participating in EXISTING (and therefore external) conversations. So the traction/trust factor for corporate actors begins where traction/trust already exists. cf: http://cluetrain.com

Tony: Re #4/IT’s attitude, see @olivermarks comment on @dahowlett’s blog.

“The froth around office 2.0 will inevitably go out of fashion and there are a lot of IT management types hovering ready to kill this relatively unfocused wave of experimentation off.”

This reflect Howlett’s own feelings:

“Especially as the development technologies referred to relate directly to the current wave of ‘web 2.0/enterprise 2.0′ style applications that marketers and social media pundits are throwing at anyone who will listen.

Do any of these well intentioned people stop to think for one second about what they might be unleashing on the enterprise? Has it occurred to anyone that by introducing potentially insecure systems in a bottom up revolution that IT might be handed a rat’s nest of problems for the future?”

hey chris
i think social tools are the next wave for business but im really interested to see how they are going to integrate into social networking. many are talking about recommendation being the next big thing but im not so sure. we are getting pretty good at rejecting anything that looks remotely like advertising (beacon was a big bust). these days its really easy to turn people off with things that are not authentic. its about real conversations. companies are going to have a hard time integrating into that.im also interested in seeing what the next generation of social network looks like. i think its time for something with new metrics. non-profits anyone?

I’d recommend to start using the tracking tools of said networks that they’ve joined to find out when someone has mentioned them, so that they can actively participate and assist their consumers.

If they have the option of sending out updates, such as on Twitter, then this would be highly recommended. They should ask questions and phrase them in a way that suits the consumer and not use those boring corporate questionnaires.

All in all, they just need to participate, but not more than they listen.

David Usher -
I was working for non-profit and researching Social Media in regards to logical updates for that Medical Society’s website (I’ve since left the organization) and I know there are others out there who are doing the same. The problem is that the powers that be at these orgs REALLY don’t “get it” and so it becomes a hard sell. What needs to happen is one big event in the industry that would explain Social Media/Web 2.0 to the masses. Sure they kind of understand what Myspace is (and are wary of it), they get that people post photos and videos on Flickr & YouTube (”why would you want to put yourself out there?”) and might even have some notion of the importance of LinkedIN but there isn’t really a good example of all these things in one place for the little niche non-profits without a lot of funding.
The best hope for the mainstream now might be Facebook (AOL 2008) but people need to use it for legitimate business contact and research (and not just throwing sheep). Until that happens, even researching Social Media can be construed as “time wasting” since you invariably have to join social networks, join discussion groups, read RSS feeds, attend webinars, set up trial runs of ASPs (like ning.com) and respond to bloggers posts which doesn’t look like work to some people. I’ve moved on from my last job for that very reason but I’m still doing the research because whatever I end up doing next, it will undoubtedly involve Social Media - because it has to.

BTW I did start a group on FB called “How Non-Profits are using Social Media and Web 2.0″ and though there isn’t a lot of discussion right now, there are a bunch of members and people just need to start posting.

Here’s how I would do it (with the assumption of product life-cycle, product knowledge, target audience, business objectives, budget, time frame and go-to-market plans):

1. Research: Google it. Ask friends. Surf competitor sites. Find out where the online ‘passion’ for the product/service is residing.

2. Identify: Fish out community groups, sites, social media platforms that have a high traffic, strong opinions (good and bad).

3. Understand: Understand their emotions. Think in their shoes. Discover how users share their information (Are most of them on Facebook or Twitter). What are their pains and joys in their life? How would you fit in? If I were them, what would I do in that situation?

4. Profile: With the information, profile the users based on the ‘online research’. Age, Sex, Location, Do they drive? Kids? Holidays? Work? etc. Basically, study the information and profile them in tiers or segments that fits.

5. Get involved: You don’t need much of a plan for this. Just get involved as YOURSELF. Don’t pretend to be someone else. It’s through this you will fully understand the community. Make friends.

6. Build your own network: Once you got it going, start interesting topics or groups, rally support for your ideas. Be YOURSELF. No one likes a poser. Be sincere.

7. Identify opinion and thought leaders: Not you, but in the social network. They have the power to give a ’stamp of authority’.

8. Be a good friend, be one of them, your users, your customer: It’s simple, as time goes by, people will know you, find out more about you and accept you for who you are. Remember, you are YOU. Not the MD or Manager for a company trying to fish things out or sell a product.

In a nutshell, this could be a potential approach. It would take time, but if you run your own business or represent a company that you are passionate about, it’s something you should do naturally.

It’s not selling, spying or even being a ‘corporate whore’. It’s about understanding people, potential users, being a friend, finding some truth on thoughts and perception.

It’s not an online survey where you stand to win a prize after completing it. Its raw, simple and all about people.

http://www.hirechriscranley.com (Looking for a dream job and until I find, I am available for hire!)

I agree somewhat with previous posters. Ford’s social media strategy should be forked along 3 approaches:

1. Within the company: How can Ford use social media tools to connect, inspire, and drive innovation between departments and across the company?

2. Outside the company: Ford needs to drive (no pun intended) the conversation. I don’t like weenies. I like people with opinions. I like people who are thought leaders AND thought learners. If Ford wants to be a person I like, then it will bring real messages / insights on what a next generation car company is aspiring to be. Of course, I say this knowing full well I will be highly likely to never drive a Ford. Ever.

3. Car/Truck as social media platform. If you want to think ahead on what social media is and where it is going - then hear this: The next generation of the web after 3.0 is embedded networks! The car can be and should be as much as an enabler of social media techniques as a cell phone!

Regards,

Chris

Thanks Chris. I like the point on being thought learners. It’s important to have that mindset.

Well, I wrote something on my blog: http://www.popmarketingonline.com
“Getting started with Social Media for your business” and came accross this. So I thought I’d share my two cents :)

I can’t believe no one has asked this question: Chris, are you applying for the Ford job?

Ford, the company itself, setting up profiles, etc. is just not enough. It needs to leverage it’s most valuable asset - it’s employees.

Ford needs to set up a training program and actively encourage its employees to engage in social media activity. Even if it’s not for Ford itself. The value is huge when it comes to viral loops.

I worte this on my Endless Wormhole blog:

For Word of Mouth’s Sake: Companies Need to Encourage Employees to Embrace Social Media

http://tinyurl.com/6y5tfo

Reason: If my brother worked for Ford and every once-in-a-while he posted something about Ford asking for feedback on a project, or a video that gave insight to engineering the next car, or a charity function they are doing in my local area, I would participate because I’m following my brother, not Ford.