360DigitalInfluence

Had a great opportunity to meet Frank Eliason from @comcastcares and Wendy Harman from @redcross at a local Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AiMA) event last night. Frank, Wendy and Mimi Chan from AT&T all had very different and very interesting stories to tell about how their Big Brands are Using Social Media.

But one thing was common with all - as it is with all great case studies - the universal first step is listening and the second: relating. How can “we”, as the brand, relate to the interest of our audience? Is it through provide information they are looking for? Empowering them to do something they are passion about? Or simply giving them something new and interesting to try?

When Wendy was originally hired to “get rid of the bad bloggers” for Red Cross, she saw a similar phenomenon to what we see regularly - difficulty “selling in” the importance of social media to an inexperienced, or unfamiliar, team and then a sudden surge of “we want a Facebook page!” requests once it is seen how instrumental a role social media can play.

To “sell in” social media initially, measurement proved to be Wendy’s best friend - through weekly, even daily reports to internal team members, she was able to show tangible evidence of the impact social media conversations were having on Red Cross communications. Instead of seeing an overwhelming negative conversation, as her directors expected, she was able to point out the overwhelming support that community provided in helping to spread mission critical messages and health/crisis information. To tap into the already existing ambassadors, the @RedCross handle was developed to kick-start those messages - getting them in front of those who would help spread the word as soon as possible.

To keep messages on par, and steer clear of the “we want a Facebook page!” requests, all social media interactions for Red Cross must follow this criteria:

#1 incite discussion around issues you care about

#2 provide mission critical information and

#3 immediate action items to your readers

Frank brought up a great point and one that I think we should always keep in the back of our heads as we develop strategies and implement communication plans - the basis of social media communication is about passion. Influencers within social media have a strong presence because of their passion for something - whether it be food, technology, politics or parenting. And, as Frank said, you will find these passionate people within your company, too. Take it from Tony Hsieh @zappos, and arm those who are passionate about what they do with the power of social media (just make sure there is a bit of education in there as well to keep communications on the right track).

Frank was full of great insights - all spot on with where social media is and where it is going. Here are a few more of his thoughts:

- The Marketing, PR and Service departments are coming together and should work closely in developing an overarching social media communication plan. As such, the ROI should encompass all aspects: service, pr and marketing - incorporating awareness, preference and sales in measurements of success.

- Remember, the customer controls the social media conversation - it’s about what they want and have to say, not the brand message.

- The next big thing for businesses , especially B2C, will be focused on aggregating the customer helping customer messages for brands to share with their other customers - tapping into the wealth of information and assistance that customers can provide to enhance the customer service that the brand can offer.

- And more to grow on…Organizations don’t change based solely on sales/numbers, organizations change based on customers’ perception and support.

I’ll end with the video that started our event last night, one that has been around for a bit but still speaks strongly to the incredible power of social media.

For more coverage on this AiMA event check out Engauge and follow the #AiMA hashtag for future events.