Yesterday we were running a Social Strategy day for our clients. This doesn't teach the CEO how to use Twitter, it provides the Management Team / Board of Directors / C-Suite with a Blue Print on how to use Social across the business.
Not in the tactical manor it is used across the business, but how to start seeing the Business Benefits, competitive advantage and incremental gains. We look at the strengths, the weakness, the opportunities and the threats.
It's a highly interactive session, which creates a collaborate and inclusive atmosphere. Social, is after all something for everybody. It isn't just for sales, marketing, customer service and Human Resources (HR) all departments that are currently using social. But using social across the business.
For example, the company we were with yesterday (as we do) run the business on Slack, which is social after all.
The company is a small AI start up, cool product and cool people as you would expect, but they suffer from the same issues that any other company deals with around social. Control vs Empowerment.
During the brainstorm I threw some comments in to get the conversation going:-
1. Can you retweet a competitors content?
2. What happens if somebody Tweets something the shouldn't - The Financial results, before publishing, slagging off the competition, etc etc.
3. What will you do when you recruit people so they fit in with your social culture?
4. The company is very keen to recruit a diverse and inclusive workforce, how do they get into a situation where people apply to them?
5. How do we keep the blogging culture and get people right across the business to blog?
These are just some of the people issues we discussed and we cover in our programs. And of course, the partnership you get from us, as you would expect as part of your social journey.
Let's not forget, you needed a trusted partner, not "just" a LinkedIn (product) trainer, but one that understands all the ins and outs of rolling out social across a complex organisation.
Typically, the discussion of using social media in the workplace is met with criticism. For many employers, it is seen as a distraction and a potential for company problems. This approach makes sense as much of the data out today indicates extensive social media use at work. According to the Pew Research Center: 34% of workers use social media to take a mental break from work. Connecting with family and friends came in second at 27%. If the narrative stopped with this information alone, then employers might be within their right to hold a tighter rein on social media usage at work. However, a lot of data points to the benefits of employee social media usage in the workplace.
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