Hardly a day goes by at the moment without discovering an article that waxes eloquent about the value to organisations of using online tools, particularly social media channels, for building relationships with clients and potential clients.
What such articles include is generally some sort of compare and contrast discussion about what each of these tools (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc) can do and what each may be best used for. Interesting? Perhaps. Useful? No so much.
I say this because I believe that the key to the successful use of any tool is the skill of the person charged with operating it. The art of social media as opposed to the science of social media.
It is this operator skill component that is rarely ever mentioned in discussions about the value that social media tools can unlock for business and organisations. If skill is mentioned, words like literate, honest, helpful, canny, adept, and focused may appear. All good words but the two critical words that should be used to describe the operating environment in which a successful social media operator works are “trusted” and “empowered”.
Some organisations struggle with concepts like trust and empowerment. Sometimes for good reasons. That is because they generally operate in a world where risk management is paramount. This world is stalked by zealously pedantic and paranoid accountants, auditors and lawyers. It is characterised by nothing passing outside of that organisation without having been approved by an authorised person. The delays and gobbledegook language usage these processes often produce are not suitable for the fast-moving world of online social media. If that’s what the prevailing corporate culture of your organisation looks like, then under no circumstances should you be looking to engage through social media.
Online social media tools are also lauded as being free.
OK, there’s usually no purchase or licensing cost involved. But they’re definitely not free.
Any effective communication, listening or learning channel costs money to operate. A minimum investment is in an operator’s time to read, respond and participate in conversations. Not necessarily responding to everything that happens either. Knowing when and how to respond is a skill that some people struggle to learn, as Wellington business Ekim Burgers discovered recently. There are also costs in recording, collating and reporting on key messages and trends.
So if there are costs, how are benefits best measured? Think about the changes you want to achieve and then think about the information you need to reliably measure that change. This will usually be different for each organisation and is definitely not a one-size-fits-all space.
Collecting meaningful data for social media is challenging. The analytics provided by those channels themselves is of variable value. Facebook’s data is largely meaningless. Twitter and LinkedIn’s efforts are better but still not that insightful. Better data should come from a bigger picture analysis of an organisation’s reputation or commercial performance, where the value of each of the tools used in a communication or engagement toolbox can be assessed. Even then precise exactitude about each will be lacking.
“I know that half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. My only problem is that I don’t know which half,” says a famous quote attributed to one of several famous business people. That’s the danger of using a multi-solution toolbox to achieve a common outcome. Quality consumer research can shed valuable insights that can help, which is a lengthy discussion in itself. It is this data that should be used to help make meaningful decisions – data with useful context.
Here’s an example that may help to better explain what I mean:
Three mathematicians and three physicists are traveling to an out-of-town conference by train. They meet at the train station and go to buy tickets. The physicists are first, and buy three tickets, as expected, one for each person. The mathematicians are next, and they buy just one ticket. The physicists are confused.
“How come you only bought one ticket? There are three of you. Don’t you know that each person needs a ticket? You will be booted off the train by the conductor!”
“Don’t worry,” say the mathematicians, “We have a method!”
Everyone gets on the train. The physicists take their seats, but they are paying close attention to the mathematicians, to see what they are going to do. The mathematicians all pile together into a single-person train toilet. When the conductor comes by to check the tickets, he knocks on the toilet door, which opens a crack and a hand with a ticket is extended out. The conductor takes the ticket and everyone proceeds on their merry way.
The physicists are very impressed.
After the conference, it’s time to go back home, so they all go to the train station to buy tickets. The three physicists are excited to try out their newly-learned trick, so they buy one ticket. They are surprised again, when they see that the mathematicians don’t buy any tickets at all.
“What are you doing? Don’t you need at least one ticket?” they ask.
“Don’t worry,” say the mathematicians, “We have a method!”
On the train, the physicists all pile together into one toilet, the mathematicians into another toilet. Just as the train is about to start moving, one of the mathematicians exits their toilet, walks over to the physicists’ toilet and knocks on the door. The door opens a crack and a hand with a ticket is extended out. The mathematician takes the ticket and goes back to the mathematicians’ own toilet with it.
Moral of the story: Do no use methods that you do not fully understand.
What such articles include is generally some sort of compare and contrast discussion about what each of these tools (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc) can do and what each may be best used for. Interesting? Perhaps. Useful? No so much.
I say this because I believe that the key to the successful use of any tool is the skill of the person charged with operating it. The art of social media as opposed to the science of social media.
It is this operator skill component that is rarely ever mentioned in discussions about the value that social media tools can unlock for business and organisations. If skill is mentioned, words like literate, honest, helpful, canny, adept, and focused may appear. All good words but the two critical words that should be used to describe the operating environment in which a successful social media operator works are “trusted” and “empowered”.
Some organisations struggle with concepts like trust and empowerment. Sometimes for good reasons. That is because they generally operate in a world where risk management is paramount. This world is stalked by zealously pedantic and paranoid accountants, auditors and lawyers. It is characterised by nothing passing outside of that organisation without having been approved by an authorised person. The delays and gobbledegook language usage these processes often produce are not suitable for the fast-moving world of online social media. If that’s what the prevailing corporate culture of your organisation looks like, then under no circumstances should you be looking to engage through social media.
Online social media tools are also lauded as being free.
OK, there’s usually no purchase or licensing cost involved. But they’re definitely not free.
Any effective communication, listening or learning channel costs money to operate. A minimum investment is in an operator’s time to read, respond and participate in conversations. Not necessarily responding to everything that happens either. Knowing when and how to respond is a skill that some people struggle to learn, as Wellington business Ekim Burgers discovered recently. There are also costs in recording, collating and reporting on key messages and trends.
So if there are costs, how are benefits best measured? Think about the changes you want to achieve and then think about the information you need to reliably measure that change. This will usually be different for each organisation and is definitely not a one-size-fits-all space.
Collecting meaningful data for social media is challenging. The analytics provided by those channels themselves is of variable value. Facebook’s data is largely meaningless. Twitter and LinkedIn’s efforts are better but still not that insightful. Better data should come from a bigger picture analysis of an organisation’s reputation or commercial performance, where the value of each of the tools used in a communication or engagement toolbox can be assessed. Even then precise exactitude about each will be lacking.
“I know that half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. My only problem is that I don’t know which half,” says a famous quote attributed to one of several famous business people. That’s the danger of using a multi-solution toolbox to achieve a common outcome. Quality consumer research can shed valuable insights that can help, which is a lengthy discussion in itself. It is this data that should be used to help make meaningful decisions – data with useful context.
Here’s an example that may help to better explain what I mean:
Three mathematicians and three physicists are traveling to an out-of-town conference by train. They meet at the train station and go to buy tickets. The physicists are first, and buy three tickets, as expected, one for each person. The mathematicians are next, and they buy just one ticket. The physicists are confused.
“How come you only bought one ticket? There are three of you. Don’t you know that each person needs a ticket? You will be booted off the train by the conductor!”
“Don’t worry,” say the mathematicians, “We have a method!”
Everyone gets on the train. The physicists take their seats, but they are paying close attention to the mathematicians, to see what they are going to do. The mathematicians all pile together into a single-person train toilet. When the conductor comes by to check the tickets, he knocks on the toilet door, which opens a crack and a hand with a ticket is extended out. The conductor takes the ticket and everyone proceeds on their merry way.
The physicists are very impressed.
After the conference, it’s time to go back home, so they all go to the train station to buy tickets. The three physicists are excited to try out their newly-learned trick, so they buy one ticket. They are surprised again, when they see that the mathematicians don’t buy any tickets at all.
“What are you doing? Don’t you need at least one ticket?” they ask.
“Don’t worry,” say the mathematicians, “We have a method!”
On the train, the physicists all pile together into one toilet, the mathematicians into another toilet. Just as the train is about to start moving, one of the mathematicians exits their toilet, walks over to the physicists’ toilet and knocks on the door. The door opens a crack and a hand with a ticket is extended out. The mathematician takes the ticket and goes back to the mathematicians’ own toilet with it.
Moral of the story: Do no use methods that you do not fully understand.
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