Enterprise social-media-the-new-b2 b-marcom-trend-j-damico-2

Enterprise Social Media…
The Next Trend in B2B Social Media
Marketing is often one of the first functions within an enterprise to adopt social
media. Customer service/technical support and HR usually follow in the B2B
enterprise. With so many functional areas tapping into social media, how will the
organization ensure that all functions follow social media good practice, support
the integrity of the corporate brand, and gain the productivity advantages of
enterprise social media? Some enterprises are establishing a social media center
of excellence that leverages the social media experience and expertise of
colleagues to enable the enterprise to benefit from social media in terms of
accelerated innovation, effective knowledge sharing, and greater productivity.

What B2B Marcom can offer the social media center of excellence
Enterprise social media can increase a company's agility and help provide a
competitive advantage. Driving more effective collaboration, greater
transparency/fewer silos and innovation are just a few goals of a social
enterprise. Often, enterprises focus on social media tools and technology,
which are necessary, but require an overarching strategy to be used
effectively and sustainably. This is where marketing communications can
help. After all, one of the goals of marketing communications is to boost
leads by creating compelling content that drives visitors to websites and
engages them in social channels and throughout the buying cycle. Large
businesses have similar needs relative to their colleagues, particularly in
globally distributed enterprises. For example, how does a center function
"sell" their services to field or satellite facilities, especially if the facilities
aren't aware of the services? How can colleagues locate subject matter
experts?

© 2013 J. Damico Marketing Communications (845) 778-5095 1

Many people in large organizations counterpart Yammer and Salesforce.com's
report that they spend an inordinate Chatter). Many enterprises are addicted to
amount of time finding the right email for its ease of use and broadcast
people and information they need to capability. Unfortunately, email is not a
do their jobs effectively—an estimated collaborative or social tool, and the
19 percent of the average workweek, information communicated lies captive in
according to a McKinsey Global email silos, unsearchable by the general
Institute Report. Colleagues know population who could benefit from the
that their organizations are rich with information.
resources, however finding them when
and where they need them is often Marcom colleagues can help the functional
challenging. Social media can enable areas within an organization develop a
the organization to quickly and easily taxonomy around keywords, categories and
locate expertise and information, but tags on which their potential "customers"
only when it is properly communicated may be searching. The following figure
to the organization. Communication illustrates a sample engineering taxonomy.
goes beyond a line of
business SharePoint site KEYWORDS
and an org chart. It all
CATEGORIES TAGS
goes back to search
engine optimization
(SEO).

Educating the
workforce: Learnings
from B2B marcom
Organic search plays a
key role in most B2B
integrated marcom
programs. Social media
provides greater SEO
capability when the
same on-page
optimization techniques
used to boost search
ranking are also applied Fig. 1 Sample of a keyword taxonomy.
to social posts. In the
enterprise, these same techniques can help Establishing a framework for
would-be "customers" find the information communications using keywords, categories
and subject matter experts within the and tags appropriately will increase
enterprise. The first step is educating relevance of communications and enable
colleagues on the most effective ways to colleagues to find what they're looking for
apply social media tools such as activity faster and easier. This framework already
streams (Twitter or its enterprise exists within various enterprise applications


such as Microsoft SharePoint. However, specializes in a specific engineering
colleagues fail to use these features, often discipline such as HVAC, then note it
because they don't understand how the on the profile. A colleague may also
outcome will benefit the productivity of the have additional expertise in HVAC
organization--particularly when it comes to techniques that reduce energy
conducting a search for information consumption and ensure FDA
colleagues need to do their jobs more compliance relative to cGMP. It's
productively. important that keywords "HVAC,"
"reduce energy consumption" and
There should be a philosophical "FDA compliance and cGMP" appear in
discussion on the fundamental the profile so that colleagues
communications shift from push to pull searching for these areas of expertise
brought by social media. Email will find the right subject matter
remains an important push expert. The profile helps create the
communications tool. However, a pull mentioned earlier.
recent study conducted by LCWA
Research Group in conjunction with Content management in the
The Grossman Group , suggests that enterprise using an integrated
email is more effective for specific B2B marcom model
types of communications such as
If there's one thing enterprises are good at,
organizational updates, and
it's pushing out information en masse—
announcements and strategy updates.
announcements, memos, instructions, etc.
Remember social media has less to do
With an integrated content management
with the communiqué itself and more
strategy, most enterprises can alleviate
to do with the dialogue around the
inbox fatigue, allow the recipient more
communiqué. That's where value is
control over what they receive and how
added.
they receive it, and communicate more
effectively.
Getting to know you: Partner with
marcom colleagues to build For many colleagues—particularly
effective profiles millenials—email is relied on less as a
Most HR management systems within source of information. This up-and-coming
an organization allow colleagues to workforce often relies on social dashboards
complete a profile, much like a or other near real time social applications
LinkedIn or Google+ profile. such as a Twitter-like activity stream. This
Partnering with marcom colleagues is where marcom colleagues can help
can help build a profile that makes it communicators identify content types; and
easier for colleagues to find subject based on type, select the most effective
matter experts. For example, complete method to communicate.
profiles using keywords that pertain to
a colleague's area of expertise and As most B2B marcom professionals know,
words that potential customers would engaging prospects throughout lengthy
use to find a given colleague. For buying cycles usually involves an integrated
example, the system may include approach that includes various types of
default selections for functions such as content delivered across multiple
engineering. However, if a colleague communication channels. Managing content


in a social enterprise is similar to managing organization such as corporate
B2B marcom content. In the enterprise, initiatives, mission/vision, and general
content management is about making "how to" information.
content available when, where and how
colleagues need it as they work and • Team sites – similar to the above,
advance throughout the enterprise. these are information repositories
Content can take the form of an intranet specific to an organization's lines of
site, internal blogs, activity stream, business, geographic teams, functional
comments on posts, email and other forms. areas, or specific subject areas or
initiatives. Larger enterprises may use
As with marketing communications, one SharePoint to manage team sites.
communiqué is rarely enough to gain
attention or get the message across. For • Social media –discussion relative to
some colleagues, an email may work; but announcements and information. It
for others, a post in an activity stream is may take the form of a reiteration of
more effective. Still, there are others who an announcement linking back to the
prefer to get information from an intranet details, specific discussions/dialogue
site. The same message can be around areas of expertise (e.g. specific
reformatted to fit the various communities of practice), internal help
communication vehicles; however the desk, or basic "did you know…" posts.
message must be consistent across all
• Face-to-face/virtual face-to-face—
communication channels. A content
performance reviews, "difficult"
calendar that's aligned with the
conversations, town halls,
organization's mission/vision, goals and key
initiatives, along with division and/or • Print/other – good for
functional-level goals and objectives, helps communications that have longevity,
communicators plan what they will where the cost to design and produce
communicate, to whom and the methods. A a printed piece can be justified, for
simple spreadsheet can help communicators example, a mission/vision statement.
manage the content, and the following list
provides guidance on the effective use of • Video/audio – excellent
each communication method. medium, to "humanize"
communications. Seeing a face
• Email – distribute announcements and hearing the words is a more
relative to: organizational changes, engaging method for delivering
strategic decisions (e.g. leadership messages, such as
mergers/acquisitions), business year-beginning or year-end
systems that may undergo an communications.
upgrade, notifications of social media
discussion (although these usually How to integrate social tools into
take the form of automated pings). the communications mix
The McKinsey Global Insights report
• Intranet – more or less static web
estimates that 72 percent of
pages that serve as a repository of
companies use social technologies, but
information and reference to
are not receiving the full benefit.
information that colleagues need to
Often in enterprises, social tools are
know to function well within the


developed and deployed faster than ongoing training and support. A social
the organization can gain an media community can enable users of
understanding of their purpose and the application, as well as the business
how to use them effectively. There's a technology owners, to participate in
risk that without training or at least a discussion near real time and within
community, such as a social media the context of an issue they're
center of excellence, the tools will not experiencing at the time. This is
gain widespread adoption. Worse yet, particularly effective in the situation of
the organization will fail to realize the an application rollout because
business benefits of social media. colleagues can get answers faster to
Keep in mind that social tools are questions or issues that were likely to
effective at creating dialogue around a have already been resolved than by
given topic. Dialogue can help create calling the help desk. In addition,
buzz and spread the message faster users can help other users, completely
and to more colleagues. For example, bypassing the help desk and enabling
a company announcement that's help desk colleagues to focus on more
communicated via email can be pressing or complex issues. This not
echoed in an activity stream, posted to only speeds adoption of the
an intranet site and mentioned in a application, but does so with a more
newsletter. The commenting features, effective use of resources.
common
among social
applications,
enable users
to respond to
what would
have been a Social media caveats from the
static announcement. More B2B marcom experience
importantly, the organization receives Adopting social media tools does not make
near real-time feedback, and a social enterprise. Applying the expertise
colleagues can gain a sense of of the Social Media Center of Excellence can
engagement in the dialogue that help enterprises avoid the common pitfalls
ensues. of social media adoption including: (1) lack
of a clearly defined goal; (2) lack of
Taken a step further, social tools can
leadership support; (3) lack of training; and
help increase the speed at which an
(4) lack of relevant, quality content.
initiative is adopted and reduce the
Remember, the goal of enterprise social
learning curve. For example, an
media is to gain a competitive advantage by
organization rolls out a new business
increasing productivity through better
application. The typical sequence
leveraged expertise and knowledge sharing.
includes a pre-launch announcement,
Positioning social media as a long-term
which is emailed and lets colleagues
proposition that can contribute to
know the application is coming,
streamlining operations and improving
followed by a series of webinars—
productivity will have greater influence on
announced via email—to introduce
gaining leadership approval than talking
colleagues to the basics, and then


about the tools or trends. The Social Media Explain what acceptable use is and what it
Center of Excellence must focus on business is not, particularly if the organization
benefits of social media. If leadership does operates in a regulated industry such as
not endorse and support social media banking or pharmaceutical. Provide
beyond providing the tools, then success examples that easily demonstrate policy,
will not be likely. A workaround to gaining such as what constitutes an objectionable
support is to prove social media success post to the activity stream and how it could
with a pilot program. But be prepared to do be phrased to comply with policy.
a lot of the work yourself to get it started.
Finally, social programs are driven by
In many organizations, colleagues with content around which relationships are
social media experience are eager to lend a formed. Nothing undermines a social media
hand. Consider leveraging successful social program faster than a lack of recent,
media programs from industries or frequent and relevant content. (Revisit
enterprises similar to yours to help speed previous section "Content management in
acceptance. There are a growing number of the enterprise using an integrated B2B
success stories about enterprises that have marcom model.") The most successful
adopted social media available through short- and long-term social media programs
Newsgator, the 2004 pioneer of RSS begin with a stock pile of communications
readers, and now a and a handful of willing
Social programs are driven by content
leader in the integration participants to "grease
around which relationships are formed.
of social technology and the wheel" and sustain
Microsoft® SharePoint® Nothing undermines a social media the program as
collaboration software. program faster than a lack of recent, colleagues begin to adopt
frequent and relevant content. social communications in
Top down training is their daily work flows.
essential. Remember, It's important to
most organizations include colleagues from emphasize recent, frequent and relevant in
a range of generations, some of whom may the adoption of social participation. Using
not know how best to apply social media. LinkedIn communities as an example, how
Training should encompass how to use the many communities have become overridden
tools, but also how social media fits within with spam? Participation wanes when the
the broader perspective of the organization, content is not relevant to the topic. Using
e.g., "the why." Research on social media the same example, a community where
implementation in B2B companies shows participation is sporadic (frequency) will
that colleagues are more enthusiastic about lose members and quickly evaporate. The
participating in social media when they see immediacy of social media makes recency a
a shared vision that includes business goals key attribute of the social enterprise.
and how their participation can lead to Whether a specific community or the
achieving the goals. The research also company's activity stream, more recent,
suggests investing in frequent timely content positively influences
experimentation and empowering participation. People frequent social spaces
colleagues with an affinity for social media when they gain value from doing so. A
to further instigate change. useful tip, an answer to a question, an
introduction to a subject matter expert—
Include a policy section in your training, but
these are just a few examples of the
make it easy to understand and follow.


attributes that add value to enterprise social message is getting through. Other metrics
communities. include number of site visits, time spent on
a given site, number of comments/likes,
Metrics and the quality of discussion within
The measure of a successful enterprise communities.
social media program is engagement and
productivity, both of which take time—as While these quantitative metrics are more
much as six to 12 months—to gather indicative of participation in the program,
enough meaningful data to evaluate. after the program matures, more qualitative
Initially, colleague productivity is almost metrics will need to be developed that
always a concern among leaders. However, indicate business value in terms of
similar to rolling out a new ERP system, the increased productivity, better leveraged
initial learning curve may cause a resources, and innovation and knowledge
temporary dip in productivity until sharing. The social media Center of
colleagues become comfortable with the Excellence should follow up with social
new system, and its benefits are then teams to identify successes, learn what's
realized. working and what's not working. Then,
adapt the social program as needed.
Initially, enterprise social media may appear
unproductive. Participation typically begins Why social media… why now?
with personal topics including the local It is a strongly held belief that enterprises
weather, what's for stand to gain the most
lunch, etc. This is As more people become accustomed to value from social media.
normal and an communicating via social media in their The term
important step in personal lives, they hold the same "consumerization," often
learning the tools and expectations for communicating socially used in information
adopting social within the enterprise. technology to describe
behaviors. Usually, the infiltration of
over the first year, the conversations shift consumer-based technology products to the
from personal to business and the tools are business, is also driving social media. Bring
exploited in a way that drives productivity, Your Own Device (BYOD) is an example of
collaboration and knowledge sharing. consumerization. Colleagues who use
Remember, unlike "water cooler" smart phones for personal use prefer to also
conversation, social media conversations use them in the workplace instead of
are date and time stamped and easily carrying two mobile devices—one for
monitored. business and one for personal use.

Some companies use more formal surveys The same phenomenon holds true for social
to gain insight into colleague participation in media adoption. As more people become
the use of social tools and overall sentiment accustomed to communicating via social
of social business. Surveys can encompass media in their personal lives, they hold the
the social program as a whole or be used as same expectations for communicating
a means of measuring a specific social socially within the enterprise.
element such as content pushed on a Unfortunately, enterprise social tools have
newsfeed. Quiz questions regarding a lagged behind consumer social media tools
recent post thread can indicate the level of in terms of ease of use, intuitive interfaces
engagement with the feed and if the and functionality. For the "power-users" of


social media, this lag often forces a and integrated marcom seminars for clients
company to drive social media endeavors and industry associations including the
first by focusing on evolving the tools. As a American Writers and Artists Institute
result the organization lacks a cohesive (AWAI), Business Marketing Association
social media strategy and understanding of (BMA), Public Relations Society of America
its business purpose. For the social media (PRSA) and has taught marcom and
newbies, the tool-based focus is copywriting courses at colleges and
overwhelming, leaving a negative universities including New York University.
impression of social enterprises as non- Joan has helped businesses apply social
productive. media strategies and tactics to
communicate more effectively. She is a
When social media is approached as a former manager of the LinkedIn Group, B2B
platform on which colleagues are enabled to Social Media, where she took the group
work more effectively, the possibilities from 2,000 members to more than 10,000
become more apparent. Social features are in 18 months.
already becoming embedded into the
systems we use every day. Social media is Connect with Joan on her website
becoming part of an organization's culture www.jdamico.net or in the socialsphere:
and connecting disparate workforces,
enabling them to realize their full potential.

A social media center of excellence can
speed the adoption of social media within
enterprise, and leverage existing social Continue to the following page for additional
media experience from marketing and other references on enterprise social media...
functional areas to more effectively
engender a social culture. As a result,
enterprises can realize the benefits faster,
which can lead to top line growth, bottom
line savings and a competitive advantage.

About Joan Damico…
Joan Damico is a marketing
communications (marcom)
consultant and copywriter
with more than 15 years’
experience in B2B marcom
for high tech and industrial
companies. She helps
them leverage social media
and traditional media to build brands, boost
leads and drive sales. Joan is the author of
Integrated Marcom Minute blog and
newsletter and a contributing author to B2B
Bloggers. She has presented copywriting


Additional references on establishing a social media center of excellence:
"4 Considerations For The Social Business Center Of Excellence" by Michael Brito, Britopian
Focuses on organizational behavior change and its importance in social business transformation

"A Cisco Story: The Social Media Marketing Center of Excellence" by Petra Neiger, Cisco
Although the post focuses on social media for marketing, the process of establishing the Center of
Excellence applies.

"Breakdown Corporate Social Media Team" by Jeremiah Owyang, Altimeter Group
Excellent resource for corporate social media teams and programs

"Employee Participation – The Influence of Enterprise Learning During Evolutionary Change: A mixed
method study into social media implementation" by Yekemi Bolare Otaru

"Making the Business Case for Enterprise Social Networks" by Charlene Li, Altimeter Group
Another excellent resource from Altimeter that focuses on relationships and how they drive value.

"The New Market for Social Media Consultants" by Neicole Crepeau (guest post on Business Grow
Blog)
Good primer on the challenges and opportunities of social media within the enterprise

"The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies" by Michael Chui,
James Manyika, Jacques Bughin, Richard Dobbs, Charles Roxburgh, Hugo Sarrazin, Geoffrey Sands
and Magdalena Westergren, McKinsey Global Insights
Interesting data on enterprise social media adoption and benefits

"The Social Organization: How to use social media to tap the collective genius of your customers and
employees" by Anthony J. Bradley and Mark P. McDonald.
The book focuses on the strategy behind implementing social technologies and the role of leadership
in facilitating social enterprises that deliver business value for the company and its customers.


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