A consistent mistake many online commentators are making is equating ROI to money. As a CEO, I understand the link. Marketing dollars, especially now, are precious and it is responsible and prudent to ensure that every dollar you commit to marketing shows a measurable and positive return on your bottom line. As a CEO who runs a Social Media company it is imperative we have simple case studies to help our clients understand the importance of relevant social media strategies and implementation. In addition, we also use Social Media to promote our company. Like most CEOs, I do want to find out if I commit x dollars towards my marketing what return I am going to see on my bottom line and how I am going to measure that. By the way, I want to see this information efficiently too.

This current economic climate leaves little room for experimentation. No company can afford to gamble on something that might bring huge rewards, but might just as equally fail.

In my research for this post I came across a blog post that I think sums up where many people are going wrong. Jay Deragon suggests that you cannot look at social media as having an ROI. You can’t quantify it in monetary terms, and if you are trying to do so then you are approaching it incorrectly. Jay argues that trying to establish a definitive ROI for social media is wrong, and he suggests that you spend your energy on ensuring you are participating and engaging with your customers.

While I appreciate what he is trying to get at, I disagree with his argument. Measurement and analysis are key to any social media strategy. ROI refers to Return On Investment, and this return does not necessarily have to be measured in money.

Take, for example, the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Obama, as part of his comprehensive marketing campaign invested heavily in social media for his campaign and his return on the investment was winning the election. Another example can be found in the increase in social media around sustainability. The return on investments here can be identified as the change in people’s behavior and the rise in their level of awareness.

If achieving your goal is the ROI, then start off by understanding your objectives and setting your goals. Understanding how you will define your ROI has to be the starting point.

I teamed up with Alasdair Munn to create this checklist on how to get the most out of your social media campaigns, in short, the best bang for your buck. Every situation is different and requires a different approach. The following serves to illustrate how a typical campaign might be approached.

1. Start with a full analysis of your current position.
   1. What are you trying to sell? To whom/who cares?
   2. What marketing is working for you?
   3. How are you measuring the success?
   4. What is not working?
   5. What is your , 1, 3, 6 month, 1 year or 5-year plan?
   6. Do a SWOT analysis.
   7. How strong is your brand? How are you measuring it’s strength and weakness?
   8. Is using social media the right decision for your company?
2. Look at what your competitors are doing.
   1. What is your positioning statement?
   2. What are they doing right?
   3. What are they doing wrong?
   4. What is your USP?
   5. How can you leverage that?
   6. Where are the gaps? And/or how are you going to go about identifying the gaps?
3. Understand your audience, their learning styles and how they are/are not using social media.
4. Set goals and objectives. What do you hope to achieve from your social media campaign? Do you understand social media? It’s a good question to look at.
5. Engage an agency or person to create a social media strategy. There are few entities/individuals who can truly do this well: Your strategy needs to align to your social media goals and objectives, your organization’s 5-year plan and all other marketing initiatives. Your strategy will also need to assign roles and responsibilities as well as set budgets and action steps. Elements of your strategy might include:
   1. Understand which social media tools are best for your goals and objectives. These may take the form of social networking (Facebook and LinkedIn), sites that allow people to discover and share content (Digg, Magnolia, Delicious, Stumbleupon, Newsvine, Reddit, etc.), video clips or photos on YouTube or Flickr, branded software, images, blogs, forums, user comments, and much more.
   2. Who is responsible for executing the strategy? What resources can you afford to dedicate to your strategy?
   3. Understand which measurement and analytical tools work with those chosen social media tools. For example, Google Analytics, AideRSS, Xinu, and Feedburner are useful, helping companies leverage SEO efforts.
   4. Integrate the social media campaign into your entire organization (get buy in). Terry Starbucker has written a good blog post about the effectiveness of social media in a business context. His view concentrates on SMO (Social Media Optimization) and how, among other things, it has to be relevant to the organization and how the people within the company need to truly understand social media and how to “speak in it”.
6. Integrate your social media strategy into your CMS and/or LMS. This is not appropriate to all social media strategies and companies; however, through integrating social media tools into your CMS and your LMS you can create effective communication tools, both external and internal, that have measurement, analysis and functionality built in.
7. Start by listening and understanding the rules. Different social media sites and tools have different rules of engagement. They have their own norms, rules and protocols. Jumping straight in without understanding these, or without first gaining trust can be costly.
8. Engage your audience. Catch their attention and provide compelling content that fits your message, goals and objectives.
9. Measure
10. Participate/build relationships. Allow users to fully engage with your brand identity and spend time fostering new and established relationships to expand your user base.
11. Measure again.
12. Analyze. It is no use gathering all this information and measuring it if you are not going to let it inform and guide you.
13. Adapt strategy to reflect customer attitudes and responses.
14. Measure once more. Your new strategy and direction needs to be measured against your old strategy. Is the new strategy working? Are you achieving the results you had hoped to? Do you need to refocus?
15. Re-engage, measure, analyze, and re-focus. Continuing to engage, measure, analyze and refocus are key to any lasting social media strategy. It is a dynamic process that never sits still.

Jacob Morgan’s blog post entitled, “Why Social Media is More Measurable Than Traditional Media” is a good read for people who want a simple understanding of why you should be measuring your social media campaigns and how you can go about it.

In closing I do wish to offer a few thoughts. Setting goals and objectives, measuring against those goals and objectives, analyzing results and revisiting strategies are all important. However, do not lose sight of the following:

• ROI is a trailing indicator, not a leading indicator. ROI focuses on historical data. This helps us make sense of where we have been and allows us to make informed decisions as to its historical effectiveness. Any future direction cannot be made solely on historical data, especially when you consider the pace of change within social media and its qualitative nature.
• Do not overanalyze. With social media, over analyzing each individual part will make you lose sight of the whole. There are too many variables to consider. We do need to remember that we are dealing with people and people do not always make sense. They say one thing and do another and their emotions come into play. The Pepsi Taste Challenge leading to the introduction of New Coke, followed hastily by the reintroduction of the old Coke under the name Classic Coke, is a testament to the fact that pure data and research does not take into account loyalty, perceptions and human behavior.

Bookmark This

Back in San Francisco, circa 1998 if you made house music and wanted to make a record, you and your friends would pool together $1000, press up 500 12″ vinyl records and send a few to distributors like Syntax and Amato. If they liked it you’d get a deal and your new club-banger would be in specialty DJ shops across the country and even internationally. The pressing plant would give you white labels that you’d hand out to friends and big name DJs in hopes of getting some play. You might even give a few out to cute girls you met at parties, trying to get a different sort of play. Anyway, a quality tune stood a good chance of recouping your production costs- success!

Now, ten years later, none of the above is true. Vinyl is giving up the ghost, distributors have gone bust, house music has splintered and all the cute girls got old (the dudes too). The underground, like the mainstream music industry, now relies heavily upon online marketing, distribution and promotion. I added myself to this equation two weeks ago, when Tarantic Records released my full-length album, “Pinstripe Late Nite.”

It’s a digital release, with a limited run of CDs for selling at shows and giving out to tastemakers- no real distribution. The digital distro is quite a different story. Tarantic leveraged many diverse online channels and social media resources to promote and sell the record. Countless hours of emails, uploads, posts, comments and chats. Not to mention buying banner ads, blasting email lists and bugging bloggers. Then there’s also the personal, organic aspect, i.e. emailing all your friends, relatives, ex-girlfriends, etc. Here’s a list of specific online services and resources we utilized:

IODA- Tarantic’s main digital distributor that aggregated my album to most of the major (and minor) online music retailers.

Beatportal.com- The social media arm of Beatport- the most popular online music store for DJs. A good place to walk the fine line between shameless self-promotion and real information (sort of like this blog post).

Eighth Dimension- PR company contracted by Tarantic to get my album to magazine writers, music critics, radio DJs and bloggers. They also got me reviewed in XLR8R magazine and licensed a grip of my tracks to DMX In-Store Radio (I’m big in Old Navy).

Itunes- The most popular consumer music site. They’re also notoriously slow to aggregate, so we had to turn in the album 2 months in advance of the release date.

CD Pool- UK-based record pool that sends new/unreleased tracks to top DJs and paid subscribers. In return, DJs must submit feedback. It’s exciting to read what the big boys have to say about your music.

Myspace- Still the #1 social network for musicians and the people that love them. We bulletin and comment for sure, but we don’t go crazy.

Music communities like Last.fm, Pandora, Virb, Imeem, Buzznet, et.al. It’s a bit ridiculous to try to stay on top of all these sites, but you do what you can.

RCDLBL, indiefeed and other high traffic music blogs- Always good to throw ‘em a few MP3s that you don’t mind people downloading for free.

Google Alerts- Tells me when various online stores make my album available, when I get press and when Russian hack sites and irresponsible blogs illegally post my tracks for free.

And then there are all the awesome people that actually copped the record. Ponied up the $9.99 and downloaded the damn thing. To them I say: thank you for listening. Now go blog about it, and please include Itunes links.

Bookmark This

If I ever wondered whether social media was “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” (which it usually is), this election changed my mind for good.

Just how much did social media influence the election? Barack Obama reached a new pool of young voters with a plethora of networking tools, most notably giants like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter. He energized bloggers and the politically minded, inspiring them to share his message.

Web strategist Jeremaih Owyang shares some stats and a good interpretation of the results in his blog. He found that Obama had 380% more supporters on both Facebook and MySpace than McCain. On YouTube, Obama had 1792 videos uploaded since Nov 2006 while McCain had 329 videos uploaded since Feb 2007. @barakobama has 112,474 followers on Twitter to McCain’s 4,603. Jeremaih suggests that McCain’s campaign jumped on the social media bandwagon far later than Obama, only recently launching its own social network. In addition, Greg Mankiw, professor of Economics at Harvard University, analyzed a graph showing the young Republican vote for the last 8 years. The graph “suggests that the real difference between the past two elections and this one was the youth vote” He writes. “In this election, the young left the Republican party in droves.”

As far along as 8pm on Election Night, commentators wondered whether or not the active users of social media would actually turn out after they changed their “get out the vote” status on Facebook, posted links advertising their intentions, and chatted with their friends about heading to the polls. But they did not disappoint. According to Rock The Vote, more young people turned out to vote than ever before- 24 million of them. On the live stream of CNN.com on Election Night, John Norris of MTV commented “technology has influenced the election in new and inventive ways,” and while Obama has been able to “reach the young with their own tools,” McCain’s camp has failed to grow the Republican party. They just couldn’t create the same kind of tidal wave of online momentum.

What happens online can undoubtedly help shape our real-world future. Obama brought his campaign to the people through the computer screen and the mobile device, making even apathetic young Americans—depressed by the political situation and virtually devoid of hope of change—care again. Like me.

Bookmark This

And immediately it struck me how my communications of late with various people across my social networks tend to have a frenetic quality about them (mine included). A lot of people reporting about their latest exploits: Hawaiian vacation, latest blog entry, newly purchased gadget, etc. Even the banal doesn’t escape commentary:

“Just woke up from a much needed nap!”

“Going to lunch!”

“Took me two hours to get home. Traffic was horrendous!”

Has the frequent use of social media altered our state of consciousness? Are we all as bubbly, excited, and productive as we project to be?  I know I’m not!

And the ubiquitous exclamation mark! I dare you to go one week without using one! I double dare you!!

In the constant back-and-forth that is a part of our daily e-communications and with the ever-expanding net of our social networks (those of you with over 1,000 Facebook friends or Twitter devotees, I don’t know how you do it!), how else can we express ourselves? Does the very medium of social media necessitate short (and sometimes trite) bursts of communication?

Yes.

As our face-to-face time dwindles, I do wonder how the nature of our communication style will continue evolve (and some argue, decline). Yet, I love being connected to friends, friends of friends, and even total strangers. What I do miss, though, is communicating ‘old-school’ style, where it’s ok to just be—without the pressure of broadcasting up-to-the-minute status updates on your life.

In a recent guest post on Chris Brogan, How to Keep Your Conversations from Turning Into Broadcasts, Jacob Morgan makes some valid points about what it means to participate in the social media space without the constant use of a bullhorn.

Maybe there’s a need for a new social media site, one called: ‘How are you…really?’

Bookmark This

The Technorati report is a must-read for anyone in the business of blogging for a living—or not for that matter, since an estimated 79% of blogs are personal ones. And those of us who are “professional” bloggers also maintain a personal blog (69%). The statistics below indicate there’s a whole lot of blogging going on.

So, why do people blog? It seems the majority of bloggers view it as an outlet of self-expression, sharing of ideas, and making connections.  And here I was thinking it was all about the ad revenue. In fact 54% reported that they blog for fun, not money. However, 42% wouldn’t mind making some money in the interim. Although there is money to be made, only an estimated 1% earn $200K and higher. The median annual income of bloggers is about $22,000, which supports the theory that a majority blog for personal satisfaction.

The profile of the average blogger did not come as a surprise. Bloggers are educated (72% are college graduates), mostly male (57%), and earn good incomes (50% have household incomes over $75,000). Technorati asserts, “Bloggers are not a homogenous group;” however, the above statistics do not scream diversity to me. It was great, though, to discover that female bloggers are far more sophisticated about bringing in ad revenue, driving traffic to their site, and converting business leads from their blogs—far more than their male counterparts.

There’s a whole lot of other statistics that I could rattle off here; however, even as I write they would lose their relevance, as there are new blogs popping up every day. Gone are the days when mere mention of your blog received a raised eyebrow of interest. Having a blog has become so mainstream. The question being asked now is when will the blogging go out of style?

In a recent post on Wired Paul Boutin sounds the death knell for blogs, citing how professional, well-heeled blogs like The Huffington Post are edging out your average blogger who doesn’t have the capital or the staff to churn out up-to-the-minute blog posts. Boutin’s suggestion: Just give up now, as you will never be able to compete.

I wouldn’t go as far as to discourage the birth of another blog. Now, that would be sad. Yes, the chances that you will be rich and famous (or infamous if that’s how you get your kicks) are slim by starting a blog in this market. However, the average blogger is not seeking worldwide acclaim (as the Technorati report reflects), but is mostly after an outlet of self-expression and connection (and also some moolah).

I’m sure those of you out there in the blogosphere have your own opinions. What do you think? Has blogging become passé?

Bookmark This

I was ready to give up and call it a day when I came across Robert Scoble’s post on blogging in a crisis. Scoble advocates balance, encouraging bloggers to listen, to seek out differing opinions, and to tell their readers what sources of information are informing their judgment. The blogosphere often seems like one big ego trip to me, so this was a refreshing read. I agree with Scoble in theory, though in reality there is no way I would ever be able to go through all of his articles and links.  Neither do I imagine that a blogger with less time on their hands than he would be able to research and compile a similar amount of data. Yet who can truly argue with a call to invite differing opinions and to expand your knowledge base, however idealistic?  In urging his readers to make well-informed judgments, Scoble certainly does his best to practice what he preaches.  He aggregates an impressive amount of content from a rainbow of opinions and sources on his Friend Feed and his Google Reader Shared Document. I trust bloggers like Scoble who talk about their inspirations and references, who link to content that doesn’t necessarily support their argument for the sake of continuing the conversation.  If we’re moving towards Web 3.0, a new frontier, then it can only help the growth of this web-universe we’re creating to be as well-informed about every opinion and influence out there.

This space is full of high-octane opinions, and sometimes I just crave a little online silence.  When it becomes too much to deal with, I make a pretty pictures with This Is Sand, the web-o-holic’s path to zen meditation and relaxation.   And in the spirit of Scoble’s post I advocate that you play the adreneline-pumping Kung Fu Election before chilling out with This is Sand. Just for the sake of balance.

Bookmark This

My presentation on Social Media and Sustainability opened with the following words from the conference’s two famous keynote speakers:

On September 27th, the charismatic former California Governor Jerry Brown said, “We have choices.” Al Gore’s excellent speech included,  “We have to go far… quickly!”

How do we do that? In order to create social impact, I believe, we have to go beyond talking to like-minded people. We have to reach what I call “the mildly curious.”  Not the converted.

Our Presidential Debates last week demonstrated social media in action in using a 10-foot interface (television), whereby the audience in the live debates had handheld devices and by clicking on buttons voted positive or negative or no reactions. When Barack Obama was talking, the Democratic approval rating rapidly rose. When McCain spoke, it radically fell. The same occurred when McCain spoke - the Republican approval rating rose and fell when he stopped. To me this social media example is more of a gimmick than a reflection of true action or true influence. Why? Because the already converted were voting for their chosen party. I believe to “go far…quickly, “ we need to talk to the “mildly curious.” The mildly curious will review something if it lands in their lap in a meaningful way (i.e. in their language, style of media [audio, video, text, etc.]) and on their style of device (i.e. mobile, laptop, Xbox, etc.) and within their chosen community (i.e. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).

I feel the mildly curious are absolutely crucial to spreading consumer choices we have around sustainability. They are our connectors to the subconscious of the unconscious (the uncurious) people out there: The ones in denial or who literally have zero interest in learning more about a particular subject they feel is ‘opposite’ to their beliefs or interests. The mildly curious will come across less radical than the curious and certainly less annoying than the evangelically converted. The unconscious will listen and often times follow. Celebrity advertising has shown us this for years. The non-radical, stunning looking Hollywood star starts driving a sexy looking fuel-efficient car, and hybrid sales climb within the mildly curious sector. However, when Ed Begley (a converted evangelist) pushed his fuel-efficient cars back in the early 90s only the other evangelists followed, and they followed FAR from quickly.

All this is to say, we have to start talking to people outside our circles, and we have to reach these people in a way that is meaningful to them using social media tools and applications. Social media is about facilitating dialogue, encouraging participation and welcoming debate. It is about taking your content to where your audience is virtually, and geographically in the case of device. It does not stop there, however. Once people are participating the value comes from how we collect, store, aggregate and use the data/information gathered and how we use the results to guide our next moves.

We will post the video and presentation next week for the curious.

If anyone has any examples of how they have successfully used social media to create social impact(s), please let us know.

-c

Bookmark This

I am not going to venture into a definition of Web 2.0. It is not my term to tamper with. Besides, it would be difficult to reduce the definition to a few words and phrases, not to mention the possibility of misinterpretation if it is read by someone who doesn’t truly appreciate the phenomenon that it is.

This is how O’Rilley defines Web 2.0:
“Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform. Chief among those rules is this: Build applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them.(This is what I’ve elsewhere called “harnessing collective intelligence.”)

In one of Tim O’Reilly’s latest blogs Why Dell.com (was) More Enterprise 2.0 Than Dell IdeaStorm, his vision of Web 2.0 is clearly laid out.

It is important that people get this because it really puts the term social media into perspective. The word ’social’ often throws us off. We immediately think of outward facing dialogue, collaboration and social connections as being at the forefront of social media. However, it is often the product of the dialogue, collaboration and connections that provide the real added value of social media. Just like Tim O’Reilly’s Google example in his blog where google’s intelligence is only made possible through the way in which it organizes and uses content that is produced by the collective.

A bit of poetic license here as I attempt my own example. Imagine a computer reseller who allows customers to build their own specs online. To facilitate this they have some social media elements on the site that allow users to discuss the merits of various components. They can debate, discuss, and ask advice from each other. The data (conversations) are then monitored with key words and phrases, actively searched so as to provide the individual users with immediate information about the components they are talking about. This can include descriptions, user reviews, costs and options to select, add to your basket, add to your build, etc. Conversations about which graphics card works best with which processor for example can result in bundled deals, further reviews, alternative suggestions, etc.

Beyond this, users movements can be tracked and their search behavior monitored so to allow the computer reseller to understand real customer preferences versus their assumptions about customer preferences. Tracking could help with their supply chain management, trend watching and configurations for the standardized commodity boxes they sell to computer stores, allowing for real time adjustments to product offerings and market understanding in an industry where constant changes do not have the luxury of quarterly marketing reviews.

It is with this understanding and vision that we have built SocMe^TM Through integrating social media elements with CMS, LMS, analytics and measurement tools, websites are turned into intelligent business tools that are applied in relation to a company’s unique business rules, goals and needs.

Conversations, collaboration and gathering data are all vital, but so too are how we handle and use that data. The trend is to be fixated on the well-known external facing social media properties out there, rather than thinking how social media tools and applications can bring us a competitive advantage.

For example, people talk about using twitter as a business tool rather than thinking about creating a searchable organizational database of collaborative conversations. Yet it goes beyond this. How we organize, manage, analyze and use that database of collective conversations is key.

http://twitter.com/ajmunn

Bookmark This

As I stated in How does one give a powerful presentation , a good speech or presentation is so much more than ‘good’ content. Presentations are live and dynamic, and there has to be a level of interaction. How you engage an audience—work off them, gauge their mood, or alter course if needed—is an essential skill for all those who regularly present in front of people. It is also about positioning yourself well, as the potential contacts you make could be invaluable.

All of the above elements can be taken forth into a virtual space. With the advent of social media tools, most notably video uploads, presentations can live online beyond a conference, bringing you all the benefits of feedback, questions, comments, new contacts and connections.

Social media tools and applications are making all of this easier to execute. New social media platforms such as SocMe^TM allow for the easy integration of content from a website into other sites, incorporating tools, applications and widgets that can instantly provide feedback, analytics and content tagging, as well as create a space for further collaboration and dialogue. 

Here are a few things to consider before posting online. And forgive me if some of these seem rudimentary, however I come across so many presentations online that have not given thought to the following:

1. Ensure that the footage is of high quality and captures some of the ambiance of the room. Audio is another crucial element, so make sure it is set up well.
2. Title the presentation and, if relevant, include any copyright/trademark components.
3. Consider carefully where you are going to post your presentation. You would never think of presenting at a conference that had little or nothing to do with your subject. Similarly, you need to identify appropriate and relevant online target audiences.
4. The presentation needs to be delivered in context. Provide a link and some background information about the conference, its objectives and important observations about what it did and/or didn’t achieve.
5. Pay close attention to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) when uploading the presentation, especially since most people find online presentations through search engines. Make sure you have correctly and thoughtfully tagged the presentation.
6. Where possible, allow people to download the presentation to watch at their leisure. If this is not an option on certain websites, then provide a link to where people can download it. 
7. Just as a live presentation offers an opportunity for dialogue and interaction, so too must your online presentation. This is not a hard sell opportunity, rather an opportunity for engagement. Ask for viewers’ participation and comments through providing them with the online tools to do so. Also provide contact details and a link to your company’s site.
8. The communication tools you choose will help set the tone for dialogue. A web form or email may be considered more formal while setting the expectation of a delayed response. A chat style or IM format might be considered less formal, but will set the expectation of an immediate response. The ability to leave comments or send emails are good standards.
9. Make it easy for the viewers to use social bookmarking features such as Stumbledupon, del.icio.us and Digg. Once this is done, use online analytics tools to monitor traffic to your presentation.
10.  Promote your presentation through using social media optimization (SMO).
11. Keep everything as concise as possible.  We truly believe EVERYONE is busy.
12. Write as you speak if possible.  Unless you are pedantic as a person, writing as you speak typically keeps the tone congenial and therefore more easily heard.
13. Finally, once the presentation is outdated, clearly communicate it as such and archive. You do not want to appear out of touch.

Have you used social media in your presentations? If so, how? What worked? What didn’t work? What would you like to try next?

Leave a comment or write to us at clarity@tcgagency.com

We are always interested in hearing and learning from other people’s experiences.

Bookmark This

I would first like to thank Max Gladwell for his blog entitled, Ten Ways that Social Media and Sustainability Align, which sparked the idea for this blog post.

At face value, social media and sustainability are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Social media is inherently intangible and lives online, while sustainability is concerned with the very real and tangible environment and earth. Yet when we drill down and examine these as human concepts, we get a sense that they are both involved in the same paradigm shift.

Most definitions for social media focus on its technologies; however this is a very static and limited view. At tcg we acknowledge that social media is a growing phenomenon enabled through adaptable technology; however, it is also about connecting people and facilitating collaboration, engagement, learning and the progression of ideas.

When it comes to defining sustainability, there are a number of definitions out there, which widely vary depending on who is talking and what their objectives are.

The World Commission on Environment and Development suggests that sustainability is defined as forms of progress that meet “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

I rather like the definition of environmental sustainability by Griffith University:

“Environmental sustainability refers to the environmental actions or impacts of what we do. In moving towards sustainability, we are attempting to reduce our ecological footprint or to tread more lightly on the Earth. This equates to reducing the amount of resources we use (and buy), the waste we produce and the emissions we produce. With every action impacting on the planets ecosystems, from the local to the global, the world is changing and it is not just the climate.”

Here are 10 ways in which we believe that social media and sustainability within organizations are aligned:

1. Shifting in the way we do things

• We are in the process of a global paradigm shift. The way in which we think about and approach business is changing. As with any paradigm shift, the process is gradual involving conflict between the new paradigm thinkers and the holdouts of the old paradigm.
• The rapid growth and change of social media has opened it up to scepticism, with protagonists suspicious of the technologies and the idea of open collaboration and the sharing of thoughts. This is a far cry from the closed, exclusionary and suspicious practices from the last century.
• The sustainability movement  is gaining in momentum, yet it does not make sense to individuals or institutions that are heavily invested and ensconced in their industrial mindset.

2. Grew from grassroots movements into having mainstream application

• Social media tools and sustainability practices both started as grassroots movements. For example, social media tools and applications, developed for social networking sites, have grown to have wider commercial uses. Think about how Facebook radically changed how organizations aggregate news stories and information through the introduction of news feed. The sustainability movement started out as a co-op for sourcing bio diesel fuel or sustainable produce and has escalated to achieving mainstream attention and buy in.

3. Real gains/viable alternatives

• In order to achieve buy in, both social media and sustainable practices have to prove they will provide real gains and provide viable alternatives. Organizations exist to achieve a return on investment (ROI), be it profit, achievement of social causes, etc. Both have the potential to achieve these objectives; however, this potential is largely misunderstood and miscommunicated.

4. Whole system thinking

• Social media strategies and corporate sustainability programs only work if there is whole system thinking. Merely adding a blog to your website does not constitute a social media strategy. Changing products’ packaging and labelling without addressing the whole value chain equally does not equate to a sustainable program. Also, for a sustainability program to work it needs to touch every aspect of a corporation. The authors of a program will be remiss if they did not take a whole system philosophy. The same applies to social media.

5. Specific problems, specific strategies, specific executions, specific resolutions

• There is no one size fits all strategy for corporations when it comes to developing a sustainability program or a social media strategy. Each organization has its own business rules, methods and objectives. Trying to reshape an organization to fit a predetermined strategy or set of tools and processes cannot lead to efficiencies or congruence.

6. Integration

• Once a strategy is put in place, all elements need to be integrated to allow for a flow of information, efficiencies of resources and a clear action path.
• Social media is a phenomenon enabled through adaptable technology. It is about connections, facilitating collaboration, engagement, learning and the progression of ideas. It also uses tools such as CMS, LMS, tagging, intelligent search, wikis, communication tools, etc. to connect and integrate all elements of an organization.

7. Internal buy in followed by external roll out

• For any social media strategy or sustainability program to work it has to be embraced internally by the entire organization before it can be rolled out externally. This includes education, discussion, participation and belief that both projects will bring real value. Once there is internal buy in, the program can be rolled out publicly with the benefit of sincerity and purpose.

8. Integrity

• Openness, transparency and a true belief and commitment are essential to both sustainability programs and social media strategies. An increasingly sceptical public are increasingly capable of spotting opportunists.

9. The future

• Both sustainability programs and social media strategies are about changing the way we do things now so that our organizations survive and flourish in the future. Adapting the way we use our resources so as to ensure we allow for the regeneration of resources for future production makes sense, as well as the way we communicate, learn, share and disseminate information so we keep up with people’s learning styles, expectations and technology usage ensures we are heard, now and in the future.

10. Mutually enabling

• Rolling out a sustainability program within a corporation takes hard work, determination, communication and commitment. Social media tools and applications help with the integration, communication, learning, participation and momentum. Once these elements are sorted out internally, the same social media tools and applications can be used to externalize the message and objectives. Adopting a social media strategy within and organization so that it truly integrates all elements only works if it follows a sustainable model. Tagging on bits of technology, or trying to participate in social media externally to the organization cannot lead to lasting or holistic results.

http://twitter/ajmunn

Bookmark This