How To: Solve the Social Change Conundrum

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Joe Nolan

Regardless if the business unit is brand new or fully staffed with all the agency bells and whistles, the reality is social media is a change agent – whether you like it or not. By default, social media is cross-functional, fast and volatile. Recognize and accept that it is disruptive within your company in addition to the consumer landscape. MBA’ers have spent decades combating organizational silos trying to solve for the speed of innovation and inventing every thinkable control mechanism. And after all that time and effort (albeit effort well spent), the social phenomenon emerges as the simultaneous solution and monumental challenge for the silo’ed organization.

Best read on change management

So, how does one successfully navigate a company through such a cataclysmic shift in the way business gets done? Yes, there are business models, workﬂows, technologies and consultants (a.k.a. posers who prosper) focused on executing campaigns and preaching about “enterprise 2.0” and “amplification.” But how do you apply what’s on the whiteboard to your work environment? Remember, just because someone runs the social media team doesn’t make that person good (or effective) at organizational change…has he/she ever even read a book on it? (I recommend reading one book by the Heath brothers- SWITCH. Superb.)

Science tells us 20% of people accept change and history tells us revolutions require only 2% of the population. Reality says that when it comes to social transformations at one’s company, initially the 2% sit in the c-suite and the key to success is getting 20%+ of colleagues onboard quickly and effectively. Daunting as it may seem, there is a method to the madness – it is possible to solve the social change conundrum. Below are three keys to success whether you’re at a 10-person startup or a corporation with 10,000 – people, culture and business. They’re ranked in order of importance and remember when all else fails, just keep going. Persistence, especially when polite, will pay off.

1. People

“This is a people business.” Even though the social team is tethered to some of the most powerful technology at your company 24-7, everything, absolutely everything, starts and ends with people. Remember, social is unequivocally a team game and TEAM stands for “together everyone achieves more.” People dictate the Culture and Business not some unseen ever-present force. To be successful, one needs many advocates across the organization to spend extra time on social projects, allocate whatever budget’s available to social and stand up for the cause in the conference room. No matter what anyone says, getting everyone onboard is challenging and takes time.

Tip 1: Talk to as many people as possible in your first 30 days. Conduct ‘discovery’ meetings with colleagues above, below and across the organization. This foster relationships, humanizes the initiative and creates an inclusive environment. You’ll learn more than you can imagine about the business, culture and internal politics.

Tip 2: Keep colleagues informed to win them over. Establish a reporting cadence with leaders to update on project statuses. Next to stock price, social can be hottest topic in the office, so be proactive and lead the dialogue around milestones, key wins and future plans. Information is comforting and enables colleagues to empathize with the initiative.

2. Culture

Google Zurich office

You can’t really touch, taste or smell it (although Google and startups with primo décor and lavish cafeterias may beg to differ – they have a valid argument). You can, of course, see, hear and certainly feel it. Corporate culture is the essence of the company and often directly correlates to two critical elements of the social transformation: the velocity of change and the willingness of people to adapt. Keep in mind that willingness is not uniform across the organization and adoption varies from person to person and by department.

Tip 1: Consider the overarching type of business –engineering, sales, seasonal merchandise, sports, entertainment, etc. People’s personalities draw them to different types of work environments and knowing this will help you understand how fast and comfortable people will be with changing their routine. Are colleagues from recent acquisitions? What’s the tenure of management and managers?

Tip 2: Learn from your department’s leadership. Executives are typically tasked with sculpting the organization’s culture. In the end, social can only move as fast and effectively as leadership allows.

3. Business

Learning Xs & Os is easy. Executing is the challenge.

Business is comprised of two halves: tangibles and intangibles. Tangibles are elements like the marketing cadence, products, customer service, logistics, etc. Intangibles are the glue that keeps everything together and moving forward like personal relationships, experience and ideas. Many agree it typically takes a new hire in any department about a year to learn both sides of the biz. But the challenge for social is that it works alongside many departments and learning so much of the biz becomes overwhelming very quickly.

Tip 1: You are the expert on social, so in order to excel, leverage colleagues who are experts on the business. It’s impossible to know everything about everything right away – it takes time. Embrace this fact and include input from peers as much as possible. Continuously ask lots of questions.

Tip 2: Mirror competitors for success. Perhaps the competition is already doing social. This means they’ve likely gone through similar experiences in startup phase and campaigns you see are products of their efforts. Determine if their strategies work for your company then start replicating. Mirroring reduces the ideation phase considerably thus decreasing time to market and operational costs. Remember, there are competitive advantages to being second to market.

USC PR Program: Best in Class

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Joe Nolan

USC Annenberg Building

Disclaimer: I’m an MSPR alumnus from the class of ’08…figure now is an opportune time to join the conversation about Everything PR considering USC’s public relations program one of the top in the country. As a NJ native born and raised in the shadows of the NYC skyline, I want to share the reasons the more common communications and integrated marketing grad programs, such as Northwestern (Medill) and Syracuse (Newhouse), were forfeited in favor of spending two years 3,000 miles away from home (sun, fun and the best football program excluded). If you’re in the market for a graduate program, then consider the three points below. If you’re talented enough to be accepted to USC Annenberg, then your decision is simple – attend. Fight On.

Best Practice

It’s as if the University collected the world’s best communications and media practitioners who live on the West Coast and created a sort of “super faculty.” On second thought, there was one bi-coastal professor who spent half of the week in NYC and never missed a class in Los Angeles the entire semester…Simply put, the faculty in this program epitomizes “elite.” Often all of my professors were A-list consultants, owned an agency or led a top-notch PR shop.

Outside Annenberg ’06 – Fight On!

But the caliber of the faculty is only part of the best-practice equation; the caliber of the students and their performance is important too. One moment made a lasting impression in my first semester when a professor responded to a disgruntled student who felt she didn’t deserve the grade she received, “Grades are earned here. They are not given out simply because you’re enrolled in the program.” The performance bar is set pretty high, and it should be since the professor grading your paper might be the chief communications officer of Fortune 100 company. Because the majority of students possess real-world experience prior to entering the program and represent a variety of industries, an invaluable environment is created that’s unlike any other where students share experiences and continuously learn from each other outside the classroom walls.

Finally, the curriculum is key. Interestingly, many graduate pr programs have opted for strict, proscribed coursework and are now evolving to the USC model that develops strong core competencies in pr and critical thinking while simultaneously forcing students to enhance other areas of interest (students now take 22 elective units). I focused on branding and marketing policy/strategy, but students are open to pursue politics, entertainment and sports, healthcare, etc. This methodology enables students to become subject matter experts in certain verticals and leverages the capabilities of an entire university. As a result, graduates are well-rounded and acclimate to new positions in the corporate world quickly.

Critical Thinking Skills

We still joke that when it “hits the fan” and the brand is on the line (perhaps even the company), the MBA’ers call us. We are the non-linear thinkers who operate in a world of continuous change and unknowns, bold ideas and the improbable. It takes a certain type of personality with a particular skill set and experience to be successful, albeit cope on a daily basis, in this environment. Communications and business today are more complex and move faster than ever before. USC MSPR alumni excel because the program teaches one how to think differently and approach situations from a novel perspective. Whether it’s how to manage a crisis or the launch of a $500 million product line, you’re learning from the best minds in the business, the practitioners who literally “wrote the book.” The professors and case studies are the real deal – no mom-and-pop shop stuff here.

The Network

USC Network on Gameday

Prestigious and loyal – need I say more? The Trojan family is similar to the Ivy alumni networks but unique in its own way (for starters, we refer to it as a “family”). On the West Coast, the general USC network is a powerhouse no matter the industry. From education to investment banking or civil engineering, USC is the dominant player. But when it comes to public relations, anyone who’s anybody nationwide knows USC Annenberg. And they haven’t simply heard of it, rather they recognize the program for the caliber of its graduates, renowned faculty and curriculum design plus experiences students have solving real-world cases. As a pioneer in public relations in academia and one of the first graduate PR programs, Trojan alumni occupy senior positions in every industry within both corporations and agencies.

Want to visit USC but can’t catch a flight right now? Click here to transport yourself to the sun and fun in Los Angeles and see what it’s like to stroll along the grounds of the “urban oasis.”

RECAP: Social Success in the Retail Trenches

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Joe Nolan

In January I had the pleasure of participating on a panel hosted by the San Francisco Chapter of the American Marketing Association (SFAMA). The focus of the event’s discussion was social media success in retail during the 2012 holiday season. I was joined by two stellar digital marketing pros, Quinn Donnelly (Benefit Cosmetics) and Albee Dalbotten (Chronicle Books). The event was very beneficial (no pun) for both panel members and attendees and this was especially in part to fantastic moderating by Lorraine Sanders.

Panelists at Sir Francis Drake Hotel

We all know the holiday season is make or break time for retailers. Every business unit at cpg companies kicks into overdrive around September and steamrolls ahead to the New Year. Social media teams are no exception. In my opinion this was the first holiday season where many retailers had legitimate social business units in place with online communities large and engaged enough to see an impact from social commerce. Simultaneously, most would agree this was the first season social networks offered effective ecommerce products led by Facebook’s FBX and custom audiences and Twitter’s promoted trends (for those who could afford it). With so many options for social marketers, far more than ever before, how did they approach 2012 holiday and what was successful? Should retailers implement more holiday-type campaigns during the rest of the year? Panelists were in agreement on three key points below. Now I know there’s nine months until the 2013 hoopla starts, but bookmark this post or take notes and maybe your Black Friday or White Christmas will be just a little greener…

Networking hour with SF AMA President Teresa LoBue – Go Trojans

1. Early bird gets the worm & your customers’ wallets

The old adage is true especially when it comes to holiday shopping. After studying holiday retail trends in social the last three years, one thing is certain and comes as no surprise to many – “holiday shopping” starts the first week of November. What is a surprise is how few retailers take advantage of this knowledge. Admittedly, being a maverick during the most important 60 days in the year of a in a multi-billion dollar business is no simple feat and takes a fair amount of courage. But, I challenge companies to look at their own data and analyze industry trends.

In 2012 the major “big box” retailers (Sears, Wal-Mart, Amazon, etc.) launched free shipping within the first 10 days or so of November – why? Answer: they understand that customers have finite income to spend and would prefer to have them spend it with them instead of competitors – first mover advantage. Many marketers think, “Well, we don’t compete with those guys“(because it’s local business or 50 other nonsensical reasons). This is the wrong approach to framing your holiday shopping season scenario. Shift perspective and frame it more accurately: every retailer is competing first with the finite discretionary income of consumers then with all of the other retailers whether in one’s industry or not. Yes, people will buy your product, but with the increasing consumption of consumer dollars early in November the likelihood of fewer shoppers purchasing from you, or the same number spending less, also increases. Either way you lose and wind up the late and hungry bird.

2. To win in social – Go Big or Go Home (or Go Direct)

This opinion received overwhelming consensus from the panelists. The battle for consumer attention in social is absurdly fierce. There are too many factors to list in this post that comprise everything someone could be doing in social media other than engaging with your brand. At the same time, social interaction is extremely valuable and worth chasing. So with heightened activity in both social media and consumers’ lives in the real world (does anyone use “IRL” anymore?), how does a brand break through during the holiday noise? Panelists agreed that if you’re looking for a marketing or PR tactic to work, you need to go big or don’t bother. Everybody builds an online wish list and odds are that Macy’s or Target’s or Amazon’s will be a lot better than yours. Also, people only want the hassle of filling out myriad details and receiving dozens of automated emails from one list which means you need to reach and convince them before the big guys do and that is a very expensive proposition.

Want to win in social during the holidays? Take a lesson from the Art of War and be contrarian – let go of the PR stunt or million-dollar marketing idea. Shift funds to direct response products that often result in par or better ROI than other digital marketing efforts. This reduces the demand on internal and agency resources resulting in operational cost savings in addition to the social marketing/commerce efficiencies. In the end, not “going big” might actually deliver a big boost to the bottom line.

3. Content is still king, queen and everything in between

You will not be successful without great content. OK, that’s sounds too absolute – accept it. The difference between 200 likes and 1,500 likes is the quality of image. The difference between a few thousand clicks on an ad and dozens of thousands is the image. I’ve tested this and so have vendors and Facebook endorses this 100% with its new 20% text-on-image policy and revamped News Feeds focused on imagery. BTW, have you heard of Pinterest? Social is about the right content.

But “great” content? Yup, top notch content whether text, image or video is: compelling, provocative, engaging and captivating. A user is scrolling through a news feed at warp speed – what will catch the eye? Great content also doesn’t mean fully produced creative studio assets. Original, guerilla assets (I like to call CGC – “company generated content”) actually tend to outperform the studio shots.

Recently an article purported context is king, not content. Well there are lots of factors that contribute to great content and context may be one of the most important but it’s certainly not the cure-all. I agree that listening to customers is the first step, but this is obvious and should be baked into the beginning of the creative process (if not then you have far bigger issues than the right content). And speaking from experience, you can listen all day and deliver amazing insights to creative and brand, but if the content doesn’t look/sound/feel right then it won’t be successful.

Pro-tip: Prep your teams to leverage content in new ways in advance of the holiday season. Utilize social technologies to identify current content trends plus analyze what worked and failed last year. For example, take a look at tools like Pinfluencer and Curalate to learn what the top content is across Pinterest for your brand, competitors and industry topics. Distribute this information to brand and creative teams and begin to take the guesswork out of social and turn it into a science. Then go to the drawing board for your Facebook posts, promoted tweets and photo contests. Leverage content effectively and you’ll checkmate the competition next Christmas.

NYT Review Slams Brakes on Tesla’s Reputation

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Joe Nolan

Refuse to entertain or educate with a tweet-by-tweet-by-blog post ‘who said what’ analysis of the Tesla debacle that refused to go away (just don’t have that kind of time). Although a deep dive on the social conversation would be fascinating considering the influential parties involved…That being said, Tesla’s New York Times review was like a bad flu that it couldn’t shake. Problem for Tesla was that the cure wasn’t working. It’s almost as if they treated the review to a never-ending stay at an all-inclusive resort with a 5-star buffet…

Did Elon and his team manage ‘the review’ incident successfully? Was there a clear strategy apparent for Tesla at the onset of the public battle vs NYT or did it seem like the company dug its feet in and went punch for punch with the media? Now we’ll never know what conversations were like inside the company during this ordeal and speculating would leave us spinning in circles. But as an outsider, potential customer and communications practitioner, four questions for Elon come to mind that the Tesla board might be asking.

#1 Did the review cost Tesla $100 million or did how we manage it publicly and privately with the journalist/media cost us $100 million?

#2 Where did our decision making breakdown that resulted in any mismanagement of the issue? Areas for review could include: Communications team talent, executive override, real-time perspective or intelligence on the issue, resources to manage an issue of this magnitude quickly and efficiently.

#3 What are Tesla’s immediate strategies and tactics for restoring consumer confidence in the company and its products? What communications are occurring within the next two weeks with the 13,000 customers who’ve placed orders (this time has now elapsed)? Will the company take an industry leadership position to maintain (or regain) it’s “poster child of the electric car” position?

#4 Are we prepared to manage an incident like this successfully in the future? If no, what human, financial and technology assets are needed to better equip the organization? What is being done now to acquire these assets?

The review incident won’t be the last bump in the road for the automaker; every major company faces issues of this nature. It will be interesting, though, to see how Tesla rebounds and restores whatever confidence in its products it lost. On the contrary, perhaps a few hundred cancellations aren’t significant after all and the loyalty of its environmentally conscious, green, progressive core customers remains steadfast. One thing is certain – don’t expect Tesla to take its foot off the innovation accelerator anytime soon.

[Update] Tesla delays Model X Suv until late 2014. How will the media perceive this delay and portray to consumers? Do you think Tesla is ready to withstand another hit to its reputation?

[Misc.] For a rebuttal to Elon’s data claims, take a look at Rebecca Greenfield’s analysis in the Atlantic Wire on Yahoo.

One can only imagine how many emails Elon exchanged with his team during the review incident. Maybe Tesla needs more conference calls or that Citrix product with HD Faces. (Click to view Mashable interview – Secrets of Effectiveness)

How-to: Craft Champion Social Copy

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Joe Nolan

A major component of leading a social business unit is the ability to effectively educate colleagues. In fact, many large organizations with dozens of employees deployed in social now employ social media instructors. These individuals are tasked with educating new hires about social media and company policies during onboarding, as well as serving as a nimble function that keeps marketing and communications teams up to speed on the latest developments in the industry – technologies, social network changes, best practices, etc.

Every industry has its fundamentals whether it’s the 5 Ps of marketing (sometimes 6 or 7) or the press release in public relations. Social media is no different, but because the industry is so new, debate continues about best practices and methodologies. I’ve been fortunate to work in several industries and have been forced figure out how to communicate social media principles to people who had little or no experience. More importantly, I first had to determine which principles would be effective no matter the industry – retail, software, auto, etc.

So, here’s what I’ve found to be the most effective way to teach others how to consistently craft compelling copy. Copywriters, creative directors, community managers and social media gurus listen up! There are hundreds of articles about how to write for social and craft the perfect Facebook post or terrific tweet (419 million last year alone). Sometimes there’s 5 ways, sometimes 10 – the lack of standardization is a bit ridiculous. Let’s keep it simple (huge K.I.S.S. method fan). Consider these three key principles for crafting champion social copy: be concise, clear and connect. Success comes as a result of the combination of the three and placing greater emphasis on any one element is challenging and reduces effectiveness.

It’s time someone told you and for you to accept it. A political science professor once said this to our class and it is phenomenally spot-on for social media: no one cares as much as you do and nobody has a lot of time. Not only don’t people care as much as the person whose job it is to promote the company, social networks’ algorithms regulate how often content is shown to users – good luck breaking through. Next, no one has the time or patience to read an opus of a Facebook post and try to decipher what it means. So get to the point quickly and with tact. And, btw, “concise” does NOT mean short. Length depends on the target audience. Remember, if you can convey the concept successfully in 10 words, don’t use 20. Pro Tip: after 5 years of writing social copy and discussions with dozens of community managers, shorter copy works well for men and slightly more verbose text is a bull’s-eye for women.

In attempting to be concise, clarity is often sacrificed. It’s easy for writers to lose sight of the great context of a post because they’re so close to the topic and perform the task so often. Remember, social content is shared with people who are not “in the funnel,” a fan of your brand page or searching for you on Google. To capture the attention of the unassuming user and ensure the primary audience “gets it,” always ask yourself, “If this is the first time I’m hearing about this topic or first time I’m encountering this brand, will I understand what is being said quickly and easily?” This technique is called transference. Naturally there are exceptions, but transference sets a fine barometer to ensure a variety of audiences will be able to comprehend your content.

Radio was the tell me generation. TV was the show me generation. Social is the give me right now, right this second generation. After spending so much time and money planning, building and buying your way to consumers, it is absolutely critical to make sure you connect them to whatever it is you’re talking about. Connecting can be in the form of a link, hashtag, retweet, etc. And you don’t always need an overt CTA like “click the link below…” I’ve tried overt and no-vert, both have been successful. It depends on the context and social media channel so use discretion. Overt is ideal for web copy in a large canvas digital environment. If the user can’t figure out to click on the bitly link next to the word “SALE” in your Facebook post featuring a huge hero image plastered with the word “SALE” then you have bigger issues than a lack of bitly clicks. Interestingly, no matter the industry, instructing users to “like this post if…” seems to work all the time and spike your likes. Yes, it’s tacky technique but it’s worth revisiting since likes have greater significance now with the release of Graph Search.

Start #Winning in Social Business

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Joe Nolan

Time’s up. Can’t take it anymore. After years of building brands’ presences in social media, it’s time that I start focusing on my own social footprint. So without further delay, I introduce to you the much anticipated JoeSocial.com – the no-nonsense destination for thought leadership, best practices and commentary on everything social business. I’ve been entrenched in this industry from its inception, read articles, attended conferences and consumed everyone’s content. Now it’s only right that I begin to practice what I preach and epitomize the true essence of “social” by contributing to the community, albeit sharing my experiences, expertise and perspective on all things social.

Speaking with startup players + VCs @ 800 Birds in Palo Alto

Now I know you’re rolling your eyes thinking “Super! Another site about social media – just what I needed!” Well, you’re in luck because JoeSocial was created with this exact thought in mind and is designed to rise above the nonsense and bring you valuable insights. Trust me; I couldn’t stand another vague, pie in the sky social cure-all blog either. And (as you should be too), I’m fed up with the abundance of false prophets and pontificators running amok in this Wild West industry.

So who is this site for, who’s the target audience? If you’re tired of reading about big brands with big budgets and big successes that make social media feel like fantasy land, then this site is for you. If you can’t stand being told what to do by a “consultant” or agency “evangelist” whose ideas are so far from actionable you want to scream, then follow this blog. Conversely, if you are one of those outsiders with a fancy delegitimizing hip social media title, then you should DEFINITELY read this blog because you’ll sound like Superman in your client meetings. Next, if you have a capital C in your title and have hit your threshold for hearing “there are no experts in this field, it’s all a big experiment” from the precise person you’re paying big money to manage huge social media budgets and large staffs, then bookmark this site immediately, email your c-suite colleagues and forward a link to your social media director. Finally, if you’re on the hunt for what is going to take your social practice to the next level and crush the competition, then this site is for you.

Talking social media w/ legendary entrepreneur George Zimmer in SF

Now that the audience is established, let’s address differentiation…I will share lessons learned from my experiences at industry-leading organizations including mergers and acquisitions, $100s million global product launches, international executive scandals and starting social practices from scratch at major brands. While a blog all about my experiences and perspective would be fantastic, it wouldn’t be truly social and would certainly lack a diverse lens. So to deliver on my best-in-class promise, I’m bringing my network to you and JoeSocial.com will feature contributions from the top practitioners in the industry – technologists, vendors, clients, agencies, etc. We’re coming at you from different angles too – tech, auto, retail, travel, cpg, b2b.

Audience – check. Differentiation – check. Tone (intense, provocative, aspirational) – check. Content…well we’re going to mix things up. You’ll get perspectives on social business from the specialist in trenches tweeting 24-7 all the way to the CEO reading about the largest event in industry history on wsj.com and wanting to know what the heck is going on online and what customers think – right now. Some of the exciting series in the pipeline include:

Posers who prosper – debunking the BS of pundits and pontificators
Letters to the CEO
Social media S.O.S
How-tos, tips & tricks, tech talk

Listening + learning in the social media cockpit

Alright, that’s all for now. The opus that is the initial excessive “about me” post is over. Hopefully your interest is piqued and you have a clear sense of what’s to come. Don’t forget to click the cool buttons up top to stay connected plus be sure to send me a tweet.