There was a tweet that went viral sometime back. I don’t recall it verbatim, but it was something about organizations not answering a phone ringing…and how it is the same as not answering queries online, on social media. It may be oversimplification, but it is, in some way, true too.
What it misses is the nuance…of a phone system being a one-to-one communication mode and social media being a predominantly one-to-many/many-to-many communication mode.
To simplify it further, let me use a simpler analogy.
Having a social media channel(s) in your organization is like installing a new window in your company. Now, consider the many angles and possibilities of having a window.
1. New wall or old wall?
If you’re a new company…or a start-up, you have the advantage of adding a window when the company’s wall is being built. If you’re an existing company, you need to choose a wall and break down a portion of it to install a new window! Think of it like changing internal attitudes towards social media and choosing the best department (wall) to kick-start social media engagement.
2. Which wall?
It could be the wall between you and your customers. Or, it could be the wall between you and your employees. Its your choice actually, though most companies start with the wall between them and their customers, since that seems to give them an illusion of RoI.
3. What about my website? Is that not a window?
No. A window, by nature allows people on both sides to peep in and see what’s on the other side. A website may simply be like a massive, colorful poster you put up on the same wall – it means you’re still not open enough to break down the wall, but would like people to see some controlled information about your organization.
4. What does this window do?
It is simply a window – it doesn’t do anything. It allows people outside (mostly, your customers) to catch a glimpse of what happens inside your organization. You could perhaps place the best of your stuff and people just next to the window so people outside see the best of you…but remember, people could peep in and listen too. So, window dressing may help only to a certain extent. If everything is hunky-dory and predictable, people may lose interest soon.
5. Do you need a window at all?
If you do not have this window, your organization is bound to feel stuffy and dark inside, no matter how well ventilated it is from other sources – customers bring you air and light…life.
6. What they see may not be what they get.
While people are seeing happy, nice things from your window, they may hear (and see) some nasty things about your organization right next to them, from other customers outside the window. That may contradict what they see inside the window. Are you prepared to answer questions about that?
7. Remember…you can see outside too!
Are you forgetting that part? A window works both ways – you can see and hear what’s going on outside too, among your customers. Are you doing anything about the opinions you hear about your company, outside that window? Or, are you waiting for opinions to land in your mail box from the main door (market research)?
8. As your window gains fame, people may take a permanent seat outside!
Consider these your loyal fans/followers. They take the effort to be clued in to all your updates and whatever you may utter/shout from the window. How would you treat them that seems different from a normal passerby?
9. Be prepared for garbage thrown in too!
People may also throw garbage at you and you’d have no way of finding who threw it or why. Sometimes, you may have the answer to ‘why?’ and then it depends entirely on how you react to it.
10. Who is responsible for the conversations on your window?
You perhaps need to choose the most articulate person/team to do the talking on your behalf. He/she/this team need not have all the answers (this is the important part), but should be able to engage in a conversation appropriately, with the right tone and attitude, and get answers from within your organization, from the right people, at the right time.
11. Can the window be closed?
Of course, it can be! Just that you don’t need to make a show out of it; let people find out your natural window closing times naturally. And, as long as you have a way to let people leave notes for you outside the window and as long as you’re able to catch up with their notes the time when you open it again, nobody should be complaining.
12. Your window vs. your competitors’ windows
If you do not have this window, your customers are bound to move off to other walls (your rivals) that have windows, where they can spend time with those companies.
13. How does your window look, over a period of time?
If all your windows look the same (your own and your competitors’), think of how it may bore customers. So, it helps to work on how to make your window and what people see inside look best and most interesting. This is nothing but having a well-crafted content strategy.
14. Do you change the way your window looks?
If your window looks the same (a social property that has not been updated) for days together, people will lose interest. Not just that, others can see unattended notes on your window too and that could change their perception about your company.
15. How many windows?
Before you decide to open more windows (Facebook, Twitter, Blog etc.), think of two critical things – points mentioned under #10 and #14. Do you have people to maintain the way each window looks and those that are good enough to continue speaking to people via those windows no matter how many join the conversation? Some windows may be more suited for some kind of organizations. For instance, a brand may not need to beam information in 140 characters, many times a day; if you force open that
If you go by the 15 point explanation above, doesn’t it seem that a social media program in your organization is as basic as having a window on your organization’s wall? It just is…or it isn’t. There’s not much choice, these days – if you choose not to listen to your customers and not to engage in conversations with them, you just make your organization dark and stuffy. Or, you can open up and see the light. If you want to start selling your stuff through the window, you can do that too – but, only if you have people listening to you on your window and more so, the right kind of people. And selling stuff (one of the main ingredients to determine RoI in the traditional sense) is just one small part of this window’s tasks – so, why should the RoI question be a stumbling block to install a window that has far bigger consequences than just sales?
Now, you tell me – what is the Return on Investment (RoI) of installing a window in your organization?
PS: That said, here’s a good piece on using common sense to measure success in using social media. See all the posts in the series!
Photo courtesy: SXC