As organizations go through the process of introducing social media strategies and tactics into their overall communications mix, it appears they go through three distinct phases.

During the first phase, ‘getting into social media’ is often defined as establishing a presence on one or more platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.  This is of course a very limited and narrowly tactical approach, and it is not surprising that it often doesn’t generate any meaningful results.   No wonder almost all social media pundits advise against following this route.  Most point to a more strategic approach – phase two.

During the second phase, organizations recognize that in order for social media initiatives to be impactful, they need to first and foremost establish a listening ability, find out what’s being said about them, their industry and/or their competitors in the online space, define their audience(s), find out where those audiences congregate in the social media arena, and how they typically engage there.  On that basis, a more strategic perspective can be created, with specifically defined objectives, aligned to existing communications programs and goals.   It is during the second phase that key performance indicator (KPI) definitions and return of investment (ROI) questions in relation to social media come into play.

However, it is only during the third phase of social media adaption that companies begin to fully reap the benefits of social media.  During this phase organizations begin to recognize that they need to transform their organizational DNA in order to capitalize on the true potential of the ‘conversation age’.  It’s the open leadership concept as outlined in Charlene Li’s most recent book that addresses this phase in organizations’ migration towards a much more transparent, relationship-oriented culture, where information is more freely shared.

Isn’t it actually striking that with this organizational transition we appear to be moving towards a simpler, flatter, more direct communications structure where information is relayed in a way that is very similar to the communications dynamics as they take place in a village or a tribe?  But along with these similarities there are also major differences of course, as today’s communication is global, instantaneous, and web-based.   

As social media and social media platforms increasingly become promising targets for marketing professionals, the question of return on investment (ROI) of social media campaigns is gaining in prominence, specifically in comparison with the returns generated by alternative marketing initiatives and tactics that can be employed.

The case for ROI

Social media is obviously a relatively new phenomenon, and therefore social media measurement models are still undeveloped, but a number of individuals in the social media arena have made attempts to address existing confusion and lay down some basic ground rules. While many in the field have compiled lists of key performance indicators (KPIs) by which the success of social media initiatives can potentially be measured, Olivier Blanchard and Jacob Morgan, among others, quite correctly emphasize that ROI is by definition a financial equation that specifies the correlation between an investment and its financial return. more »

What a difference a President’s personal involvement can make.

When we left off a few weeks ago, birthers, tea-partiers, grandma-killers and others from the wing-nut fringe had been verbally assaulting their elected representatives with charges that health care reform was the medical equivalent of the Wehrmacht blitzkrieg in Poland. Town hall meetings, a hallowed American ritual of representative democracy harking back to the nation’s founding, had previously stood for the right of the people to engage in reasoned debate with their elected officials back home from Washington. In the steroidal 2009 version, these otherwise frequently boring gatherings had been jacked by extremists armed with vitriol, cameras, made-for-tv signage, pre-printed press releases – and in several cases – exposed handguns. more »

The advent of Twitter roused little curiosity in corporate communication circles until savvy consumers started taking aim at brands for bad service and poor products. As social media platforms transform into business tools and applications, business leaders are taking note and integrating strategies and platforms into company strategy plans.

The reason is quite simple: Customer connectivity. As digital platforms become the preferred consumer communication platform, businesses are forced to follow their customers online. And by connecting with clients and customers online businesses must deal with the good, the bad and the ugly. more »