Social Business eBook

7/27/2019 Social Business eBook

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A publication of

www.gsmiweb.com


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www.socialmediastrategiessummit.com | www.socialrecruitingstrategies.com2

HOW TO SHIFT INTO SOCIAL BUSINESS

within a company. The lines are

blurred between social media

managers and the rest of the

organization. Each and every

employee can disperse a brands

message through major social

channels and to a wider audience than

ever before. Social concepts flourish

within a business from changes in

internal communication to social

referrals to fill jobs. This is social

business.

The definition of social business is

difficult to pin down and there is not yet a singular explanation to point to. Essentially,

social business draws on technology, full support of every individual in a company and social

channels in order to improve customer engagement, marketing strategies, employee

collaboration and other business outcomes.

The modern concept of social business is still fairly new, and theres much to learn when it

comes to measuring its value. However, what is certain are simple ways to begin shifting

toward a more social business starting with the hiring process, to a series of organizational

changes and social training for everyone.

Adopting social business is not a project to check off your list, its a continuous process thatmust ebb and flow with the ever-changing tide that is inherent in social media. Be sure to

throw aside sequential expectations because theres no step-by-step process to creating or

shifting to a social business. Each companys path will be different, but what this ebook will

tell you is what works.

Youll learn about hiring employees with social media skills, promoting organizational

changes, what and where employees can share brand content, ways to provide referral

incentives, the importance of social training and ways to activate your employees on socialmedia in order to see real revenue.

SOCIAL MEDIA IS EVERYONES RESPONSIBILITY
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Shifting to a social business is easier

when you hire employees that already

have the skills. Human resource

positions now demand social media

skills in order to recruit talent andengage with employees. A 2013

survey by CareerBuilder found nearly

39 percent, or every two in five

companies, use social networking sites

to research job candidates. By using

social recruiting methods to find

workers, youre already dipping intoa pool of talent savvy with marketing

themselves on social media.


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www.socialmediastrategiessummit.com | www.socialrecruitingstrategies.com 4

HERE ARE FIVE KEY SKILLS TO BE LOOKING FOR IN YOUR EMPLOYEE SEARCH:

OVERALL SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY AND PRESENCEIs a potential candidate updating Twitter every ten minutes? Every hour? Every day? Rarely? What

about Facebook and LinkedIn? How many friends, fans and connections does the candidate have?How do their posts look? Are they utilizing hashtags and photos? Are they on every network,

but only active on some? By asking key questions and getting to know a candidates currentsocial media presence, youll be able to get a clearer picture of how their activity might translate to

a work environment. Employees dont necessarily need to be ultra-active or be on every socialnetwork, but they should have familiarity with each channel.

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SPECIFIC PLATFORM PROFICIENCYYou want a candidate experienced with most channels, but the ones that stand out are particular-ly adept at a particular network. A 2013 survey by Indeed.com found more employers are looking

for candidates with specialty skills like Twitter and Instagram. Not all platforms are right for allbusinesses, so youll want to target candidates who are most skilled in your preferred channels.

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CONTENT & COMMUNICATIONAre candidates able to express themselves well through writing? The ability to communicatedigitally is one of the top qualities to look for in a hire as brands continue to emphasize quality of

content. Effective communicators tend to have a positive impact on social channels, particularlywhen it comes to engagement.

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MOBILE & TECH SAVVYAs consumers continue moving to mobile smartphones and tablet for social networking, to digest

content, shop and more, youll want employees who have experience with mobile. Familiarity withup-to-date technology and common apps, as well as knowledge of how consumers use mobile arehighly sought after skills to have.

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ENTHUSIASMCandidates who work well within a social business will be enthusiastic about working within a

team. As important as it is for candidates to be self-motivated and self-directed, social businesses

are inherently, well, social. When interviewing candidates make sure theyll be able to communi-cate effectively with other employees in order for your internal social network to function at anoptimal level.

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PROMOTEORGANIZATIONALCHANGESEmployees are at the center of change within a company.

All workers, from the new intern to department heads,

should be connected internally through social media in

order to externally promote the brand. Employees arevested in the success of a company, particularly when

they have real opportunities to showcase their creativity

through social media.


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EMPLOYEES CAN SHARE

ENCOURAGE SHARINGWhen employees are sending out your brands message across social channels, it has the incredibleeffect of humanizing your company, reaching a wider audience and empowering your employees as

brand ambassadors. Plus, highly shared content moves up in Google rankings, making it easier forthose beyond your vast network to find your brand content.

Most employees are already using social networks on a daily basis,

so encouraging workers to include some brand messages as they tweet andpost, wont be overstepping personal-professional boundaries. Those who are

especially active on social media are likely already including tidbits aboutthe company on their private pages.

Its critical to trust employees to post about your brand in their personalnetworks. Encourage them to post their own original content rather than

parroting brand rhetoric. Authentic posts always resonate more effectivelywith your audience.

YOU CANT TWEET IF YOU DONT FOLLOWIt may seem basic, but make sure employees are connected to your company by following and liking

across channels (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Vine, Instagram, and anywhere else yourcompany page can be found) and forming contacts with colleagues and employers on LinkedIn.

Ensure they are subscribed to the company newsletter and RSS feeds of the company blog.

Content company blog postings, videos, ebooks, whitepapers,

infographics, you name it, your employees can share it within theirnetworks.

opportunitiesjob or internship openings, events, contestsand other opportunities will be open to a wealth of outsider groups

and individuals who otherwise may not know what your brandis offering.

stories videos, photos and quick tales from behind-the-scenesof a company provide followers with an inside look into company

culture and personality.

personal Knowledge employees can participate in socialnetworking communities within professional organizations and

for consumers. Within these groups, employees can share their

own knowledge with those in the industry and provideauthoritative answers to consumers.


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EACH PLATFORM CAN BE USED TO SHAREWITH DIFFERENT GROUPS

INCENTIVIZE

puBliC Followers

PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS

PERSONAL FRIENDS & FAMILY

all oF the aBove aCCording to CirCle

No matter what, you never want to force employees to share, but makesure there are benefits to reap.

Shares: Incentivize your employees to share social marketing content by creatingcontests or friendly competitions in-house between individuals or departments with freeor low-cost rewards like lunches, Starbucks gift cards, and of course, bragging rights.

There are a number of solutions out there such as Addvocate, Everyone Social and

Branderati that can help with employee evangelism. Each of these tools creates anenvironment in which employees can more easily and enjoyably engage in brand-led

social media.

Referrals: In social recruiting efforts, referrals can also be incentivized. If your employees

are willing, the pool of talent among your employees social media connections can expand your potential

to reach high-quality candidates. Develop an incentive program specifically for social media outreach.


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HOW HOOTSUITE ENCOURAGES REFERRALS & BREAKS

DOWN TRADITIONAL EXECUTIVE BARRIERSNo matter what, employees wont be excited to share a brands message through social media, until internalcommunication is functioning at an optimal level. HootSuite is dedicated to a social business strategy that

begins and ends with ensuring social is integrated into every aspect of the company.

CEO Ryan Holmes revealed this stat in a May 2013 blog post, adding the high amount is due to thedialogue we have with our own employees on social. Holmes says anyone in the company from the bottom

up, can tweet him or other department heads at any time using Twitter, making it easier to engage withmore employees than ever before.

A certain amount of openness across employee-employer barriers is how not only a sense of trust and

value can be reaffirmed, but it also lays a foundation for great ideas to emerge. This type of collaborativecommunity building within a company creates is what a social business is all about.

AT HOOTSUITE oF new hires are internal reFerrals75%


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IMPORTANCE OFSOCIAL TRAINING

One of the most crucial ways to create a social business

is through social training. Through training workshops

employees can learn the ins and outs of different channels,

explore their role in the brands overall social strategy, and

learn company policies and procedures from a person, not

a digital manual. Best of all, because engaging

in social media is an ongoing collaborative process,lessons dont end when the workshop is over.


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HERE ARE FIVE REASONS WHY SOCIAL TRAINING IS SO IMPORTANT FOR ENACTING A SOCIAL BUSINESS:

Creating a More uniFied voiCe

Social media is all about word of mouth, so its important to have a unified voice delivering your

brands message. However, unified doesnt mean uniform. Your employees are bound to be

diverse in taste, background, contacts and thats a good thing. It not only means your contentand your brands message will reach a wide audience, but it means that message will authentically

come from an actual person, not an advertising robot. Make sure to emphasize to employees thatwhile they are maintaining the brands core message, they need to be themselves.

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poliCy and digital guides Can only do so MuCh

Social media compliance policies and guides are necessary, but not always digested thoroughly,if at all. Thats where training comes in. Training involves nurturing skills that will shape the brand,

not relying too heavily on policy-guides. The content of these sessions should be goal orientedand fitting for each audience. Guides should still be comprehensive so training can be used to

augment guidelines already put into place.

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soCial Businesses dont worK iF eMployees arent soCial

Training workshops also have the benefit of both one-on-one dialogue and group discussions inreal time. Social media is a team sport that only works if everyone is activated. Through training

sessions, employees have the opportunity to actively participate, have their voices heard, as wellas gain clarity on policies and procedures. Employees can also learn how social engagement to

spread the brands message further. Social training workshops should create a foundation for acommunicative group of employees.

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LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXECUTIVES

Training provides the opportunity higher-level executives to make a face-to-face impact on

employees, strengthening leadership and creating a relationship of trust between employee and

employer. In case you needed another reminder, social business is for everyone. When executivesget in on the game, everyone takes notice. Executives who inspire empowered employees will seebetter results and more self-reliant workers.

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reporting value oF soCial Media

This is key for every stakeholder in the company. All those who participate in social media onbehalf of the company, in their public or private lives, should understand the importance of

reporting back what was gained from social. This includes high content shares, exemplary orproblematic customer service experiences, possible job recruits and more. These contributions

can help the company analyze social business efforts in addition to measuring overall social value.

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Cory Edwards, Head of Adobes Social Business Center of Excellencesays, People want to talk to you or me or just the everyday employee.

They place far more value in talking to those individuals.At Adobe past social training has focused simply been on social media managers, but now the company

has expanded its training program to all employees. The program aims to empower those employees whowant to talk about Adobe on a regular basis, to do so.

Its ultimately this social media boot camp that employees will go through to be trained on the basics of,

how do you use social, what are the policies and governance components you need to be aware of, butbeyond that helping them understand how do you represent the brand in a voice that would be both your

own, but also in a way that helps to represent the company appropriately.

Heres a clip from a 2013 session at the Social Media Strategies Summit in Boston, where Edwards showshow employee advocates generate real revenue and some easy ways to activate employees.
http://www.socialmediastrategiessummit.com/http://www.socialrecruitingstrategies.com/http://bit.ly/17R8KNLhttp://www.socialrecruitingstrategies.com/http://www.socialmediastrategiessummit.com/


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LEARN FROM THE BESTATTEND ONE OF GSMIS EVENTS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SOCIAL RECRUITINGSTRATEGIES, SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGIES.

SOCIAL RECRUITING STRATEGIES CONFERENCEJANUARY 28 30, 2014

Learn to transform your HR department intobrand ambassadors with mobile and social

recruiting & content strategies.

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND:

Diversify Your Candidate Pool Implement Successful Recruiting Strategies

on a Budget

Identify Best Practices for Achieving RecruitingResults

Optimize Mobile Recruiting Strategies andMaximize ROI

Build A Consistent Employer Brand Internally& Externally

Identify and Implement Strategies for RecruitingC-Level Execs

Access Key Corporate Case Studies for Effective

Social Recruiting Learn how to Make the Most of LinkedIn, Twitter

and Facebook

Track and Measure Results of Your SocialRecruiting Plan

Network with HR Pros and Industry thoughtleaders

Learn More:

www.socialrecruitingstrategies.com

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES FORFINANCIAL SERVICES

MARCH 25-26, 2014 NEW YORK, NY

Financial rulings and regulations continue to focus

in on Social Media usage guidelines. FinancialService Institutions have been slow to approach

the opportunities that exist within social media,but the time has come to press forward into the

new digital frontier. New platforms continue toemerge, and the benefits of social engagement

highly out way the risks.

This training course will guide you through thesocial media adoption process by providing

marketing strategies, legal advice and industrycase studies on how to navigate social media

effectively.

Learn More:

gsmiweb.com/training/social-media-training/so-cial-media-strategies-for-financial-services.html
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GSMI is a leader in the industry of executive education, global conferences, summits and training ses-

sions that combine rich learning environments with the opportunity to network with todays most relevantthought leaders, speakers and practitioners. GSMIs annual events have reached 85% of the Fortune 500

companies, in over 30 countries, and cover topics that todays leaders find most challenging and inspiring.

Follow Twittertwitter.com/GSMIonline

Like Facebook:www.facebook.com/GSMIweb

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management-institute

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES SUMMIT

GSMIs Social Media Strategies Summit, the leading educational social media event, provides

attendees with the opportunity to learn from and connect with leaders in the social media

marketing industry. Through cast studies and interactive presentations, attendees will learnhow to effectively leverage their companys social media presence, provide meaningfulcontent for marketing and maximize lead potential. SMSS showcases emerging strategies, the

latest social tools and insights from successful social media marketing campaigns executed byleading brands.

Upcoming SMSS Events: SMSS hosts events each year in premiere locations including the major

marketing and media hubs such as New York City, San Francisco and Chicago.

FEBRUARY 4-6, 2014 - LAS VEGAS, NV APRIL 29 - MAY 1, 2014 - CHICAGO, IL

JUNE 11-12, 2014 - NEW YORK CITY, NY

JUNE 18-19, 2014 - AMSTERDAM, EUROPE AUGUST, DATES TBA - DALLAS, TX SEPTEMBER, DATES TBA, BOSTON MA

NOVEMBER 6-7, 2014 EUROPE, LOCATION TBA NOVEMBER 12-13, 2014 SAN FRANCISCO, CA

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES TRAINING

Our in-house Social Media Strategies training package is a convenient, resourceful, solution that

encourages team building for your department. In-House Courses Offered Include:

Social Media Strategy: Development and Execution Mobile Marketing Strategies Overview

Pay Per Click and Display Marketing

SEO and SEM Marketing

Analytics, Metrics and Measurements for ROI

Social Media Policy Development and Management

Content Management and Content Marketing Strategies
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Documents

Social Business eBook