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How to champion social media in large organizations and complex markets Stories from 3 professionals who became internal social media experts

How to champion social media in large organizations and complex markets

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The All-in-One Social Media Strategy Workbook

How to champion social media in large organizations and complex marketsStories from 3 professionals who became internal social media experts

In Bain & Company’s study of 1,208 global executives, 63% said that excessive complexity is raising costs and hindering growth.¹

Complexity, of course, can’t be completely eliminated. The more successful organizations become, the more segments and regions they have to serve. This can create a competitive advantage. But it also can fracture marketing efforts and dilute the core brand. Social media offers many opportunities to help contain corporate complexity. From helping to organize new business initiatives around the voice of the customer to educating employees with best practices, a comprehensive social media strategy can help lessen the impact of complexity. 1“Management Tools & Trends 2013,” Bain & Company - Used with permission from Bain & Company.

How social media can help contain corporate complexity

Meet the social media champions

Courtney Fischbach, VP Social Media,

Legg Mason

Alex Malouf, Corporate Communications Manager, Procter & Gamble,

Arabian Peninsula

Heather Bisset, Manager, Corporate Affairs,

Pfizer Canada Inc.

We asked three professionals to share how they championed social media in large organizations and complex markets.

Courtney Fischbach is VP of Social Media in a highly regulated industry at one of the top investment firms in the world, Legg Mason.

In order to receive more executive buy-in and drive the program forward, Courtney needed to secure engagement and show real business results—especially to the Compliance team. While onboarding Hootsuite Enterprise solved many of these challenges, Courtney wanted to become a subject matter expert on driving SEO, measuring analytics, and managing content and crisis communications. But above all, she lacked the formal training, knowledge, and confidence to identify social tactics and create a secure organization-wide social media strategy.

Courtney Fischbach, VP Social Media, Legg Mason

As the Corporate Communications Manager at Procter & Gamble, Arabian Peninsula (based in Dubai), Alex Malouf turns business objectives into a reality. When P&G executives decided to refocus global spending to ramp up social communications, Alex recognized his personal and professional need for a fully comprehensive view of social media and the impact it could have. “There’s a shift in consumer attitude toward digital,” said Alex. “And our executives understand the impact that social and digital have on consumers and they’re fully supportive of what we do.” With corporations slower than consumers to adopt social in the Middle East, Alex saw an opportunity to drive the new market and develop strong brand relationships.

Alex Malouf, Corporate Communications Manager, Procter & Gamble, Arabian Peninsula

Social media offers pharmaceutical companies many opportunities—including corporate and product reputation management and supporting patients throughout their health journeys. But early concerns around pharmaceutical marketing regulations, confidentiality of patient health data, and adverse event reporting meant that many organizations have been slower to adopt—and benefit from—social media. Heather Bisset, Manager, Corporate Affairs at Pfizer Canada, has found a solution to help her navigate compliance and regulations in order to build an active social media presence and develop customer relationships.

Heather Bisset, Corporate Affairs Manager, Pfizer Canada Inc.

Courtney, Alex, and Heather knew that with the right tools and education they could drive new initiatives and empower fellow colleagues to engage on social.

But to navigate corporate complexity, they needed to become internal experts, driving training and strategy and implementing secure, yet simple workflows. They found a strategic solution in the Advanced Social Media Strategy (ASMS) Certification from Hootsuite and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. This certification supported their need for professional growth and gave them the confidence to navigate the social landscape through knowledge, skills, and understanding.

The Newhouse-Hootsuite Advanced Social Media Strategy Certification

As Courtney’s strategic skills, knowledge, and confidence grew, so did the company’s acceptance and executive buy-in of social media. But Courtney’s biggest takeaway was how to develop crisis and risk management protocol.

During the certification, Courtney learned how to:

1. Integrate social across the organization

2. Develop corporate strategies

3. Secure engagement

4. Enhance content marketing

How Courtney Fischbach applied her ASMS learnings

Today, Courtney leads effective and secure social strategies across every major social platform. As Legg Mason’s social media expert, she knows where teams and departments should invest time and resources to effectively drive results. Using Hootsuite Enterprise, she creates content and advertising, analyzes competition and campaigns, builds targeted relationships, drives engagement and traffic, and listens and engages on social. Social media helps her business secure million-dollar deals through real-time marketing campaigns.

Courtney used her course learnings to inform her own social media guidelines and to put a risk management and crisis protocol in place—one that worked with Legg Mason’s existing workflow.

Crisis management and strategic planning at Legg Mason

“The ASMS Certification has helped me become a more well-rounded communications practitioner,” says Alex. “I’m no longer talking from a theoretical point of view, but with hard facts supporting my recommendations.”

How Alex Malouf applied his ASMS learnings

During the certification, Alex learned how to:

1. Leverage various channels to support   different business goals

2. Confidently contribute to   communications strategy

3. Navigate social media best practices

4. Generate and aggregate content

5. Drive SEO

As a regional subsidiary of an American-based company, it’s important to be regionally aligned on marketing efforts and understand the global landscape. “It was a real eye-opener to learn just how much social media is impacting organizations around the world, and that’s the message that I am sharing with my colleagues across all functions of our business,” says Alex. Since taking the certification, Alex has mastered social media best practices and now knows how to leverage various channels to support business objectives.

For Alex, this education enabled him to look at every aspect of the social media landscape. For example, through integrated case studies within ASMS, he learned how businesses, consumers, and organizations are using social media.

Regional team better understands the global marketing landscape

“Today, we’re building out integrated plans that include social media strategy, so that colleagues have time to review, add input, and feel confident that our social media efforts are within regulations and results-oriented,” Heather says. “The course has helped me better understand how to strategically fit social into the strategic planning process.”

During the certification, Heather learned how to:

1. Reinforce comprehensive crisis management

2. Include social media in strategic planning

3. Harness the power of online influencers

4. Drive engagement through owned content

How Heather Bisset applied her ASMS learnings

One way that Pfizer Canada is leading the market on social media is by allowing for longer planning cycles for key initiatives. That way, key members from across the organization can collaborate to develop strategies that include social media. Another way is through more intentional information sharing among internal teams to feed a Hub and Spoke business model. For Heather, on-the-job experience and integration of outside training opportunities, such as the Advanced Social Media Strategy Certification, ensures her ability to be an internal expert on social media. Combined, this experience enabled her to act within this business model and drive content and social strategies that engage online influencers and increase engagement.

As Pfizer Canada evolves as a company to lead the digital market, Heather has equipped herself with the knowledge to support this growth.

Pfizer Canada leads the market on social media and remains compliant

In large organizations and complex markets, social media initiatives can help unify brand presence and organize the business around the voices and needs of customers.

But to realize these benefits, organizations need to ensure that social media doesn’t add new complexity in terms of workflows and coordination between teams. As shown, these three professionals are successfully driving social media across their organizations—helping to make them more agile and competitive and lessening the impact of corporate complexity.

Learn how the Newhouse-Hootsuite Advanced Social Media Strategy Certification can help mitigate corporate complexity and drive employee engagement.

Using social media education to manage complexity