Convince top management about social media

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

More and more companies are becoming actively engaged in social media channels, but most are still quite hesitant as the internal buy in process is harder. It is easier to spend EUR 3 000 on advertising in newspapers than to participate in an online conversation at an often much lower cost. This and more was discussed in this year’s first Web Management Round Table.

The second H&H Web Management Round Table, which took place on Thursday 5 February, brought together online communications professionals to discuss what is on their minds and agendas right now.

Social media – how to get your money’s worth

Sara Hernandez at H&H gave a presentation on how to utilise social media in a cost efficient way. Most social media channels are free and therefore it is not a matter of investments but rather of choosing your strategy or making a plan that addresses your target audience wherever they are. It is also a matter of time and commitment, participating in social media involves being prepared to engage in actual conversations with customers and stakeholders. However the benefits you can reap are much larger than the invested time.

Experiences show that starting off small scale and then escalating is a preferred approach rather than investing all your time and effort in one single channel. Frankly, when was the last time you visited a company’s Second Life virtual island?

Blogs

When it comes to corporate blogs, both internal and external, the participants of the round table agreed that it is necessary to be really interested in blogging, not only in the topic but also in writing.  Don’t force your reluctant CEO to blog, but choose a person with a real passion for the business and a lot of knowledge to share.

Moving towards more activity online

The participating companies are all moving towards more online activities outside of their own websites but in different speeds. The most frequent channels discussed were Wikipedia, Youtube and Facebook. Many companies have a lot of official material, such as videos, presentations and documents that easily can be added in company specific channels such as Youtube, Slideshare and Flickr. By doing so the visibility in search engines increases which subsequently increases the traffic to your website.

Cost savings and/or competitors' triggers

A major challenge for both participating and other companies is to convince top management that online media is necessary in future communication. Experiences within the group tell that showing cost savings and/or how much better competitors are doing, are good triggers in social media. Online activities are more measurable in predicting results and success than what print advertising is. With the help of a good statistical tool you can see exactly how many clicks are made from your online ad, or how much traffic is diverted to your corporate website from the social media channels that you make use of. 

Other topics

Apart from the social media topic, corporate intranets were also discussed. Some of the participants were discussing how to use MOSS/Sharepoint and future plans for their intranet. In addition questions arose on how to inspire and motivate employees to take a more active part on the intranet by sharing knowledge, participating in forum discussions and giving feedback. The use of internal wikis and blogs are still at early stages, although there is a clear value of these functions.

Pictures through SlideShare