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Make room for social media in silo-structured organizations.

Yesterday on my Twitter stream I see Ford’s social media guy, @ScottMonty, ask a fellow Twitterer the name of a Ford dealer with whom she was having an issue.

She responded with the dealer’s name and Scott thanked her. What likely happened next is that Scott asked someone at Ford to contact the dealer to find a way to solve this customer’s problem.

That’s what social media can do for a business.

In order for that to happen, though, a company needs to realize social media is its own thing. It is not just marketing. It is not just public relations, or advertising, or customer service.

It is a communications platform allowing organizations to interact with customers, potential customers and the general public. This is the value of social media to business.

Current customers connect via social media with a company for many reasons, including to have a pipeline in case they need help or have a complaint, to hear about new discounts and ways to save money, as well as new product or service offerings. Potential customers can discover your company through social media, and you can use social media to quickly and naturally communicate with the general public.

The individual who reached out to Scott Monty was able to do so and set the wheels of resolution in motion in less than 30 minutes. That’s good customer service.

To anyone following the conversation between Scott Monty and this customer, this experience goes down as marketing. If any media, including bloggers like myself, are paying attention, this becomes a public relations story. Like it is now, thanks to this post.

That’s the beauty of social media and that is why it naturally reaches across the silo-structure that exists in many companies.

It is also why fully implementing social media in companies takes time and causes strife, because our org charts are created based on tasks, purposes, duties and expertise.

The marketer wants social media to live in their silo because they hear people using the term “social media marketing.” The PR person wants it because they’re already responsible for all outgoing messaging. You have technical people saying social media belongs with them because it’s technical in nature, and you can even have other departments wanting their own social media presence run by their own employees.

Operating in this atmosphere may still produce some Twitter accounts, a few social media press releases and a slathering of social media stuff, but it won’t allow for what social media can really do for an organization.

In the example of Ford’s Scott Monty, he was in a position to respond to that customer’s issue because he was given time to be on Twitter, he is plugged into Ford’s massive structure, he has the blessing of Ford leadership and he could interact with the customer without fear of having his hand slapped.

Keep in mind, the conversation between Scott and the customer happened in real-time on Twitter for the whole world to see. Anyone paying attention now knows the name of a Ford dealer that has treated a customer poorly. Scott could have taken the conversation with the customer behind closed doors with a private Twitter message, email or phone call.

But Scott knew the damage was already done. The customer had already told the world that she was having a problem with a Ford dealer. Had he taken the conversation private, her complaint about the dealer would stand alone, without any knowledge that Ford had resolved the issue.

Scott needed to reach a public conclusion with the customer so that the public conversation would be resolved. Whether he damages that dealer’s reputation a little by having their name aired publicly is irrelevant because of scale.

It was more important that Scott show Ford is responsive and cares about its customers than it was to protect the dealer because fewer people listening into the conversation will ever have a chance to visit the dealership anyway. All of them, though, have the chance to buy a Ford.

How many PR people or how many leaders at your company would be OK with Scott’s actions?

It’s not easy embracing and making room for the shift social media is bringing, but it is going to happen. The organizations who fully embrace the shift now are those who will have more loyal customers, a stronger brand and growing customer base.

Those that don’t are the companies that will be playing catch up to how brands and businesses communicate with the public in the 21st Century.

Social media is not a fad and it’s not a marketing or PR tool. It truly is a communication platform allowing organizations to interact with the public, and it’s here to stay.

Did you miss part one of “Social media puts on its business suit?” Read it here.

- Nick Barron, Green Buzz Agency Social Media Consultant

Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!

Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!

(First of two-part series looking at how social media is affecting businesses and how we work in them.)

The times aren’t changing, they have changed. At least in regard to social media serving a business purpose.

Recently I met with some people to discuss using social media for business, and I was met with some resistance and doubt. This kind of thing happened all the time way back in 2007 when I started leveraging social technology for business, but I thought we all had moved past the doubting phase and into acceptance.

Anyone who knows of JetBlue’s All You Can Jet pass has done so because of either Twitter or a press release sent on PRNewswire. And most of us know that Dell has sold $3 million worth of computers through Twitter.

Despite these success stories, though, some walking among us still doubt social media’s ability to work for business and organizations because of basically two things.

1) They don’t think their organization can pull it off. Whether it’s a lack of infrastructure, budget, time, etc., some people will acknowledge the success other businesses have enjoyed via social technology, but insist their organization wouldn’t enjoy the same success.

2) They see social media as a threat. In my experience, the people most often resistant to using social media are those who have something to lose by giving it a shot. From an experienced marketer who needs focus groups and ad buys, to a public relations person used to controlling the message and delivery vehicles for that message, those who fit this description are not just resistant to trying social media, but they often find excuses to not use social media.

Those in the first group need to live a little. Give it a shot. If you don’t think you can successfully handle social media internally, go outside. I can recommend a great agency of hard-working folks called Green Buzz Agency. (Full disclosure: I’m a consultant at Green Buzz.)

Folks in the second group cling to studies claiming Twitter is just babble and try to disprove social media’s value by applying old-school models on top of this new paradigm.

These are the people worried that Facebook doesn’t let you specifically control which demographics become fans of your brand. Or they are afraid someone will post a negative message about their organization on Twitter or LinkedIn.

In yesterday’s world, these are relevant concerns.

Today, however, they’re moot. People will always bad-mouth your business, but by participating in social communities like Twitter and LinkedIn, you can show the world all the positive things others also say about your business. You may not be able to target your Facebook page to a particular demographic, but obviously the more people who want to be a fan of your business, the better.

I understand, these are nervous days we are living. As this article in The Chicago Tribune points out, we’re all being forced to rethink what we’ve always known.

For some marketers and public relations people, the accelerated growth and popularity of social media is adding to the anxiety. It challenges what they learned in college and how they’ve worked their entire lives, and of course that’s a scary thing, especially in the middle of a recession.

The thing people clinging to their traditional model need to realize, though, is that they can’t stop what’s happening and they’re only making themselves more expendable by resisting. Recessions trim fat, and if you’re a communications or marketing person thumbing your nose to social media, you’re in danger of becoming your organization’s fat.

What social media is doing for business is not just changing the way we market and communicate. It’s changing how we work.

- Nick Barron, Green Buzz Agency Social Media Consultant

Part two of “Social media puts on its business suit” is now available. Read “Make room for social media in silo-structured organizations.”

Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!

If you’re trying to figure out what social media means for you and I and the companies with which we do business, JetBlue’s move to use YouTube stars to promote their new Boston-to-LAX route is a great lesson.

The airline hired Howcast, a video production company with a twist, to make some air travel how-to videos, like “How to Fly Coast to Coast.” Building off of this, Howcast has enlisted self-made social media stars, like Justine Ezarik and Kevin Nalts, to promote JetBlue using the tools of their trade, like videos and tweets.

For example, one such social media celeb, Meghan Asha, has a lifecast of her activities, which includes flying the inaugural Boston-to-LAX flight.

Except for a few outdoor, print and radio ads purchased in the Los Angeles and New York City markets, these social media stars are the main thrust of JetBlue’s promotion about their new route, according to AdAge.

Here are a few reasons why this strategy matters and why it has some trendocity.

1) Authenticity: The social media stars are non-celebrities in the eyes of many, especially their followers. These aren’t movie stars or athletes, and they’re not paid pitch people (more on that later). They’re people like you and I who have some talent and an eye for using social media to entertain.

So when they hock something, they put a person-next-door spin on it, a more one-to-one element on their endorsement than a celebrity would have if they were pitching JetBlue. Besides, you probably wouldn’t believe a famous person would fly a discount airline like JetBlue, considering the airline doesn’t even offer first-class seating.

It’s no secret people tend to opt for products and services someone they trust has endorsed. The advent of social media, especially communities like Facebook, has provided immense opportunity to companies looking to exploit peer endorsements. No longer do marketers have to rely on physical word-of-mouth to sell something. They can tap into virtual word-of-mouth marketing via social media, allowing individuals to more greatly promote a product.

Instead of telling your neighbor at a barbecue what detergent they should try, you can tell all of your Facebook friends. This is what JetBlue is looking to leverage.

2) Popularity: One of the reasons JetBlue enlisted social media stars instead of you or I is because they needed people with a large, established following.

While most of us think, if given an opportunity, we can be entertaining and loved, JetBlue needed people who already have this going for them. For one thing, these folks have proven they know what they’re doing. Also, they have a built-in following of folks, and it’s most likely a larger following than my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and FriendFeed connections combined. (But seriously, connect with me in all those communities so JetBlue will reach out to me next time they start a new route.)

3) Transparency: JetBlue isn’t paying these social media stars to promote them. The stars do receive a free flight on the Boston-to-LAX route, but no money will change hands between JetBlue and the stars.

Plus, Howcast requires each star to disclose they’re promoting JetBlue in all the videos they make.

This helps maintain the integrity of using social media to market and prevents a Julia Allison-sized disaster, in which the blogosphere and social media world jumped all over another social media star who hocked for Sea World, yet didn’t immediately disclose the connection.

Most rational people understand that companies need to market themselves, and we realize social networks provide you great access to your target markets. We just don’t want to be tricked. That violates the essence of why social media is so popular, especially among us Millennials.

By making sure their social media stars disclose their connection to JetBlue, Howcast is ensuring the followers of their stars don’t revolt, thereby eliminating the reason for trying this strategy in the first place. This also protects the stars from tarnishing their image in the eyes of their followers.

4) Relevancy: JetBlue’s regular-Joe strategy fits with its recent ad campaign, in which it taps into the anti-elitist mentality now pervasive in American culture.

JetBlue is making it clear that they’re here for people like you and I, which is exactly the point of social media.

Before social media, high school classmates waited 10, 20 or 30 years to reconnect at a reunion, professionals expanded their horizons based on what their co-workers and bosses taught them and you and I, we probably would have never met.

Social media brings the world closer to us, and us closer to each other. It’s OK if companies want to join in the fun, as they’re as much a part of our lives as anything, or anyone, else, but they need to play by the rules. JetBlue’s strategy looks to be doing just that.

- Nick Barron, Green Buzz Agency Social Media Consultant