360DigitalInfluence

More from WOMMA-U (#WOMMA)

As I was listening to Matt Allen of NBC.com and Sarah Hofstetter of 360i I noticed an emerging conference theme … proving the value of WOMM to the leaders in your organization (or your client’s organization if you are at an agency).

Conventional wisdom goes that innovation comes from the bottom of organizations, culture from the top. If you want your organization/clients to embrace WOMM, maybe the first step is executive training. Trust me – if they buy it, everyone else is more likely to fall into line.

In my opinion, the key to engaging the C-suite is showing, not telling.  A few quick thoughts on what I’ve seen resonate with senior executives:

• Give the social media/WOMM overview in the context of your/your client’s business.  Don’t give the text-book version of social media – give the real-time case study.  Lots of screen shots of conversations taking place about your brand … Twitter conversations, Flickr photos, YouTube videos, Yelp reviews and blog posts. This is the most powerful argument you can make for getting into the WOMM game … People are already talking about you – you can either bury your head in the sand or get your skin in the game.
• Address measurement and ROI.  Tell them what exists, and don’t be afraid to discuss current measurement gaps (and how organizations like WOMMA are aiming to fill those gaps).
• Show what the competition is doing in the space.  It’s not a scare tactic, but rather a wake-up call.
• Give them some what-ifs … pique their imagination.
• Leave them with a toolkit that gets them involved and excited.  Keep it simple. The Daily Influence is a good start.

Securing WOMM and social media buy-in from the top brass will help unlock resources, make your WOMM efforts more effective/efficient and aid greatly in the case of a crisis (see John Bell’s post about digital crisis management).