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Posts Tagged ‘Social Networks’

10 reasons you should use social networks for business

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

A while back The Harvard Business Review posted an article titled The Uber-Connected Organization: A Mandate for 2010. In the article they shared details about companies that are still blocking access to social media sites and those that have started to embrace the value these sites can offer.

We’ve already shared some stats around companies that choose to block access to these sites. For example, Robert Half Technology found that 54% of CIOs said their firms do not allow employees to visit social networking sites for any reason while at work.

The naysayers will point out that giving employees access will hurt productivity, expose sensitive information, hurt the brand’s reputation or cause compliance issues. The reality is that these are all just excuses. There are always risks with any decision and in this case businesses have to make their own assessment and then take steps to mitigate that risk.

My request is that you keep an open mind before jumping to a conclusion. To help you along let’s review reasons you WOULD want to open access to social networking sites:

They offer a great channel to recruit new talent
It is a unique way to build your brand in the eyes of customers and prospects
Go where customers are – let them communicate with you on their terms
Drive new sales and upgrades
Find new prospects
Drive traffic to your site
Reduce your customer service costs
Improve productivity (yes you read this right – look for proof below)
Collaborate with partners, customers and employees
Increase your reach by tapping the collective networks of your employees. In other words grow your enterprise social graph

But don’t take my word for it. Let’s look at some other research that points to the benefits of opening access.

According to Dr Brent Coker from the Department of Management and Marketing at University of Melbourne in Australia, workers who engage in “Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing” are 9% more productive than those who don’t.
An Accenture survey of Millennial preferences found that they prefer to communicate via instant messaging, text messaging, Facebook and RSS feeds. One Millennial MBA, points out that, “I need to access my Facebook in order to do my job.”
The Cerner Corporation has found tremendous benefits from opening access to social networks. Here is how one Cerner associate puts it “Cerner supports the notion that “work time” and “personal time” have blurred in the uber-connected world. We used Twitter to gather real-time feedback during our corporate town hall in October. It was amazing to see a meeting of 5,000 associates be steered by the crowd, channeled via social media.”

Is there a social media silver bullet? No. But are you missing out on a great opportunity if you don’t engage and don’t enable your employees? Absolutely.

Tags: Collaboration, Compliance, Employees, Enterprise Collaboration, Enterprise Social Networking, Facebook, Marketing, Recruiting, Sales, Social Enterprise, Social Media, Social Media ROI, Social Networking Enablement, Social Networks, Social ROI, Twitter
Posted in Best Practices, Marketing, News, Social Applications, Social Networking News | No Comments »

Fans are great, connections are better

Monday, March 8th, 2010

79% of the largest fortune 500 firms “use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or corporate blogs to communicate with customers and other stakeholders”, according to a study done by PR firm Burson-Marsteller. That number is only increasing.

As many companies start to embrace social networking a common first step is to create a Facebook “Fan page” (54% percent of the companies studied have at least one Facebook Fan page according to the Burson-Marsteller study) or a LinkedIn company profile, or even a Twitter handle where the company will post news about the company, special promotions, and so forth. This is a fantastic start! But it is only a start.

Leading computer manufacturer, Dell is a perfect example of fully embracing this initial phase of social network marketing. Dell has several Facebook and Twitter pages, each with a specific goal. For example, the @DellOutlet Twitter account sends Followers updates around the latest “deals” for Dell Outlet products. Dell has similar Facebook Fan Pages.

In June 2009, Dell reported it had driven $2 Million in sales directly from the aforementioned Twitter account, @DellOutlet. A great achievement for sure, but now think about the reach and impact of activating all of Dell’s employees. They have more connections, reach a wider set of the population and all have unique interests but at least one shared interest – they want Dell to succeed.

Companies that activate their employees will experience a big competitive advantage in the market. Keep in mind activating is not just about turning on access. It is also about defining a strategy, a policy, educating your employees and then giving them the tools they need to be successful.

Here are a few examples of companies taking steps to activate their employees to drive their business:

Online retailer Zappos has an employee leaderboard that shows who’s on Twitter and how many followers they have.
PETCO, the pet retailing chain, used its already passionate and engaged employees use of social networking to build an in-house strategy.
Telstra, the Australian telecom giant has mandatory Social Media training for all of its employees (Telstra has 40,000 employees!). In the training they stress “responsibility, respect and representation”.
Best Buy’s Twelpforce is a collective force of Best Buy blue shirts offering technology advice whenever and wherever you need it.

Yes, companies are driving revenue through their Fan Pages and Twitter accounts but it is a mere sliver compared to the total impact activated employees are driving on social networks.

Companies in highly regulated industries (such as those regulated by FINRA, SEC, FDA, and so forth) that have blocked access to social networking due to compliance concerns are missing out on a tremendous opportunity.

There are 400 million people on Facebook alone, and that number is rising. Social networking is a channel that must be embraced to maintain a competitive advantage. Whether you are concerned about brand protection or regulatory concerns, implementing a solution to “unlock” social networking for your employees will pay off immensely.

If you were looking for more we’d encourage you to take our Social Networking Risk and Opportunity Assessment. After answering the questions we will provide a detailed analysis for you, generate a specific set of actions and help you prioritize your next steps in engaging with social networks.

Image courtesy of Jason Griffey

Tags: Employees, Enterprise Social Networking, Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Sales, Social Media, Social Media Enablement, Social Media Policy, Social Media ROI, Social Networking Enablement, Social Networks, Twitter
Posted in Best Practices, Marketing, News | No Comments »

Content marketing spend increasing, social media #1 product

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Junta42 recently released their 2010 Content Marketing Spending Survey. The report looks at how marketing professionals are using content marketing to fuel their efforts. If you’ve never heard the term “content marketing” it is defined as:

“The creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases. In contrast to traditional marketing methods that aim to increase sales or awareness through interruption techniques, content marketing subscribes to the notion that delivering high-quality, relevant and valuable information to prospects and customers drives profitable consumer action.” – Wikipedia

The report highlights a number of compelling takeaways:
- 6 in 10 marketing professionals plan to increase content marketing spending in 2010
- Small companies are spending more than 2x the amount on content marketing as compared with larger companies
- Content marketing is now 33% of the total marketing budget

While large and small companies alike have seen the benefits of content marketing, it is clear that small companies stand to gain the most. Part of the reason stems from the fact that content marketing is not only more engaging but it is also more cost effective to produce. So when you see that small companies (<100 employees) are spending 40% of their total marketing budget on content marketing, keep in mind that what they get out of this investment may in fact be larger than where they are spending the other 60% of their budget.

There are over 15 major categories of content products ranging from social media to newsletters to podcasts. Not surprisingly Social Media was the number one ranked product to use as part of your total marketing strategy. While the report didn’t focus on overlap it is also important to realize that successful marketers are combining many of these content types to get the most bang for the buck.

You can see the full report here: 2010 Content Marketing Spending Survey

Tags: Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Social Media ROI, Social Networks
Posted in Best Practices, Marketing, News | No Comments »

Gartner’s social software predictions for 2010 and beyond

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Gartner recently released a set of predictions on the use of social software in the enterprise. If you are like most executives you can feel the pressure from your organization to become more social. If you are already a consumer of social applications you will probably be nodding your head in agreement.

I won’t analyze every prediction but rather focus on the ones that really caught my eye and will probably surprise most of our readers.

Prediction #1
“By 2014, social networking services will replace e-mail as the primary vehicle for interpersonal communications for 20 percent of business users.”

Today MySpace is the 4^th largest email provider beating out both Yahoo and Gmail. And Facebook recently announced a full-fledged email service, which will instantly make it the largest email provider in the world once launched.

“The rigid distinction between e-mail and social networks will erode. E-mail will take on many social attributes, such as contact brokering while social networks will develop richer e-mail capabilities,” said Matt Cain, research vice president at Gartner

My complaint with all the great social tools at my disposal is that they all live on different sites. Will there ever be one site to rule them all? I doubt it. But some are going to get very close. Facebook is going to have all of my friends, my live feeds, my photos, my chat client and soon email.

What will all this mean for your business? If you haven’t embraced social networking you need to start immediately. Otherwise you risk missing out on future sales, productivity improvements and valuable connections that can help drive your business forward.

Prediction #2
“By 2012, over 50 percent of enterprises will use activity streams that include microblogging, but stand-alone enterprise microblogging will have less than 5 percent penetration.”

The growth of Twitter has caused many vendors and enterprises to take notice. As more and more people consume information in 140 character bytes there is a natural desire to bring this capability in house. However, the idea that “Twitter-like” functionality will see the same success is a little mis-guided. A key part of Twitter’s success is the size of their network. With a small, enterprise focused network and the fact that the service will be purely business focused it will be challenging to get employees to adopt the replica vs. just using what they know and love, Twitter.

Prediction #3
“Through 2012, over 70 percent of IT-dominated social media initiatives will fail.”

Just as social software is causing the enterprise to reinvent how they work it is also disrupting the way IT departments operate. Business users are testing, using and adopting solutions with or without the help of IT. The most successful IT groups will be those that partner with the business to better understand their needs and find ways to deliver solutions on their timelines. With so much of today’s software just a few mouse clicks away, all hosted in the cloud and managed off site there is almost no barrier to the business making their own decisions on what is best for them and their business process.

What do you think? Are you surprised by these predictions?

Tags: Collaboration, Consumerization of IT, Employees, Enterprise Collaboration, Enterprise Social Networking, Facebook, Gartner, MySpace, Social Enterprise, Social Networking Enablement, Social Networks, Twitter
Posted in Consumerization of IT, News, Social Applications, Social Networking News | 2 Comments »

Helping State and Local Government Agencies Get Social

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Our very own Chris Richter was recently interviewed on Federal News Radio 1500. The topic was social networking use at state and local government agencies, how to protect the agencies infrastructure and how to ensure compliance with laws, such as the Freedom of Information Act.

Some of the questions answered in the interview are:

- What is Social Middleware?
- How does it enable or help the Open Government directive?
- Is this something that empowers agencies to adopt Social Networks?
- Is this something that makes these tools more useful?

For answers to these questions and more click the play button below or listen to the interview on the Federal News Radio 1500 site.

Interview description
“As state and local governments move forward using Twitter and Facebook, questions are looming as to how to best use these new social media tools to reach private citizens. Social middleware is being used to help ward off the potential IT risks and compliance issues associated with using social media tools.”

Tags: Compliance, eDiscovery, Facebook, Government, Social Media, Social Media Archiving, Social Media Policy, Social Middleware, Social Networks, Socialware, Twitter
Posted in Compliance, News, Social Middleware, Social Networking News | No Comments »

Social Networking: Going Online Without Crossing the Line (Research Magazine Cover Story)

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

In the March edition of Research Magazine they take a detailed look at the challenges financial advisors face in dealing with social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. As they point out “Some have blocked access to networking websites from advisor workstations. At least one broker-dealer requires new hires to delete their LinkedIn profile as a condition of employment.”

The challenges are very real in these highly regulated environments. Kip Gregory sums it up well “Who could blame any firm operating in a regulated industry for taking a cautious approach in the face of all that? Especially in financial services, which is at its core an industry built around the management of risk. The question is: How do you, as a competitor in this business, choose to respond to a clearly shifting landscape?”

Of course the latest move by FINRA helps ease some of the concerns of these financial firms. With the release of Notice 10-06 they address some of the big questions firms are asking. In addition to this Notice you can also download the Companion Guide to FINRA Social Networking Compliance. And if you are still hungry for more information be sure to check out the play-by-play summary of the February 3^rd FINRA webinar on this topic.

The article then moves on to discuss the “techno-solutions” to solving the social networking compliance problem. They highlight our Risk Manager solution for it’s ability to turn on or off any part of a social network that could cause a compliance issue. In addition, there is discussion around our ability to moderate content before it hits the social sphere as well as providing full capabilities to do a post-review after the fact.

I don’t want to give the entire article away so let me just leave you with a few final thoughts:
- Social networks are here to stay and the firms that find ways of adopting them first will have a big advantage. In fact the article points out that “100 percent of the 48 firms surveyed thought social media was here to stay and 84 percent thought it would have a lasting impact on financial services.”
- You do have to create a social media policy (don’t skip this step) – here is a good place to start (first paragraph)
- Look for ways to institutionalize your policy through social networking compliance solutions.
- Plan for change – the sites change, compliance issues change and the way advisors use these tools will change.

Read the full Research Magazine article here

Tags: Compliance, eDiscovery, Facebook, Financial Services, FINRA, Kip Gregory, LinkedIn, Research Magazine, Risk Manager, SEC, Social Media, Social Media Archiving, Social Media Liability, Social Media Policy, Social Networks, Socialware, Twitter
Posted in Compliance, News, eDiscovery | No Comments »

New research report on the use of social at work

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Every day we are flooded with statistics about social media use, companies defining policies, companies blocking access and even companies forcing employees to delete their LinkedIn account. Well today is no different. Manpower, a world leader in the employment services, released a report that surveyed over 7,700 business in the Asia-Pacific region. Their findings are pretty interesting.

“75% of companies did not have policies for employee use of social media in place and are opting to “wait and see”.”
Come on folks it’s time to get in the game. Social media is here to stay and if you haven’t started thinking through the strategies of how it can impact your business you are going to be left behind. Earlier this week one of the world’s most successful, AND most conservative, companies sent representative to Socialware and over 50 different companies to better understand strategies around social networking and to bring back ideas to the CEO and the rest of senior management on how to adopt these tools for their company. If they can do it, you definitely can.

“19% of Asia-Pacific employers claimed social networking was a good method for promoting collaboration and communication”
Now we are talking. Collaboration and communication is just one way companies can benefit from the use of social networking sites. You could dedicate an entire blog to this topic. In fact, there are over 42 million results on Google around the topic.

“31% of Australian employers cite social networking as helpful in building their brand.”
Quick, you need to reach 400 million people, what do you do? Superbowl ad maybe? Only if you can afford those cute talking babies from E-Trade. If not you better start looking at social media. Facebook grew by 50 million users in the last 5 months to reach a grand total of 400 million. Throw in Twitter and LinkedIn and that’s another 100 million at least. The point is there is no better way to start a conversation with the people that will care about your brand than on these sites. Find the way that works for you and then go say hello.

“Do not block them. If you’re blocking them, then your younger employees, especially those of Gen Y age, are going to either disengage and fold their arms or just get out their iPhones and BlackBerries and access them on there.”
We’ve all been here before. What happens when you forbid somebody to do something? They want to do it even more. Now with that said I’m not suggesting you open the floodgates. There are very good business reasons why you might not want employees viewing Facebook videos or photos at work. All of that activity can clog the network and rob core business applications from the bandwidth they need. So here is an alternative. Define your social media policy, turn on access, lock down parts of these sites that are off limits and then explain to your employees why. Now you’ve given them access to parts of the site that are the most valuable to your business and you’re protecting the company at the same time.

“Ultimately, businesses have an opportunity to use social media in a way that helps employees feel truly connected to the business.”
This is a good way to sum it up. Social media is here to stay. It is having a measurable impact on businesses. You can manage it on your terms. And it will increase, not decrease productivity (I have a blog post coming on that topic next).

Tweet me when you get started.

Tags: Collaboration, Employees, Enterprise Social Networking, Facebook, LinkedIn, Risk Manager, Social Enterprise, Social Media, Social Media Policy, Social Networking Enablement, Social Networks, Socialware, Twitter
Posted in Best Practices, Marketing, News, Social Applications | 1 Comment »

Real world advice for independent advisors, an interview with Kristen Luke

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Kristen Luke, from Wealth Management Marketing, was gracious enough to spend some time talking through her work with independent investment advisors and financial planners. We specifically discussed social networking, what’s holding her clients back and how they are dealing with SEC and FINRA compliance issues.

1. Tell me a little about your background and Wealth Management Marketing
“Prior to starting Wealth Management Marketing in October of 2008, I headed up the marketing department of a boutique wealth management firm in San Diego for 3 years. It was a natural transition from working at my previous job to starting WMM since I performed similar tasks, but now I do it for a variety of firms instead of just one. I have a BA in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing from San Diego State University. WMM develops marketing plans for independent advisors and also provides the back office support required to implement the strategies. Basically, we are an in-house marketing department outsourced.”

2. Can you profile the clients you typically work with?
“I primarily work with independent investment advisors and financial planners. The majority of my clients are RIAs which can range from solo practitioners with $10 million in AUM to firms with 20 employees with a few hundred million in AUM. I also work with individual advisors at larger brokerage firms who need help creating their own individual marketing plans or are looking for assistance in creating a social media marketing strategy.”

3. What are their top issues/challenges when it comes to social media marketing?
“I consistently hear the same two challenges from my clients:
- Meeting compliance requirements. Up until recently, it was not clear what an advisor could and could not do according to FINRA. It is still unclear about what the SEC requires. So many advisors tell me that their compliance departments won’t allow them to participate in social media. I’m not sure if this is going to change now that FINRA has released their guidelines.”
Quick Note: The Companion Guide to FINRA Social Networking helps address these questions.
- “Finding the time to participate in social media.”

4. What percentage of your clients are engaged with social networks today?
“Almost 100% of my clients are engaged with social networks in some way. Most of them are only involved with LinkedIn. Closer to 50% are involved in Facebook or Twitter for business purposes.”

5. For those that are active how are they dealing with compliance issues?
“Some advisors have not been concerned about it and are doing nothing. Others are passing everything through their compliance departments prior to posting on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Others are using sites likes Socialware to archive their social media activity.”

6. What would recommend to your clients that are getting ready to start engaging with social networking?
“I would recommend that they first understand what they can and cannot do from a compliance standpoint. Then I’d recommend they start playing around with the different sites to get an understanding of which ones they like. I find that the advisors that are most successful with social media are the ones who personally enjoy interacting on the different sites. Once an advisor has a basic understanding of social media, it’s important to create a plan of action. This includes finding their target market and centers of influence on the different sites, determining what type of information to broadcast and how often to do so. Social media is like any other type of marketing. It should be planned out to increase the likelihood of success.”

It is clear from our day-to-day conversations and interviews like this that social media will continue to play a big role for independent investment advisors and financial planners. As Kristen points out it is critical to understand the compliance issues before jumping into this new channel of communication. I’ve already mentioned the Companion Guide to FINRA Social Networking and in addition you should look at the summary of the recent FINRA webinar explaining Notice 10-06 on Social Networking Compliance.

For more information from Kristen you can follow her on Twitter or at her blog.

Tags: Compliance, eDiscovery, Facebook, Financial Services, FINRA, LinkedIn, Risk Manager, Social Media, Social Media Archiving, Social Media Liability, Social Media Policy, Social Networks, Socialware, Twitter
Posted in Compliance, Marketing, eDiscovery | No Comments »

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