The Importance of Internal Communications in Social Media

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll have read my adventures in tortuously bad customer service this past holiday weekend. I won't belabor the specifics here, but the company I dealt with is large, well-known and once had a great reputation.

As I posted my difficulties on Twitter and Facebook, I received a lot of comments that were the digital  equivalent of eye rolls. "Big companies are all out to screw us" was the general consensus.As it happens, I don't agree. I've worked for big companies (global big) and in general "screwing the public" isn't ever on an agenda. If you talk to most individuals at a large multi-national company, you'll find hard working, decent folks.

So, one has to ask one's self, where's the gap between intent and execution? If everyone is working hard and is decent, how is it that customer experiences are so incredibly awful?

The gap - fueled by delusion, of course - is that internal communications have eroded to the point of surreality.

The delusion these companies buy into is "We save money by paying less for (a service we need.)"  That delusion might mean outsourcing, it might mean internal consultants or contractors on the job. That delusion -and the decisions that come from it - take that service, that piece of the production line, that part of customer relations out of the direct line of responsibility of the company. There's one gap.

The next delusion is "Our contractors are responsible for their piece of the job." Well, without establishing accountability for their actions, then basically - no, they aren't. There's your second gap.

And finally, with customer service outsourced and delivery outsourced and no one in place who can match the two, all those cost-cutting efforts end up with customers in a whirl of miserable, incompetent and powerless customer "service."

A horrific example of this is the #Amazonfail of last summer, in which Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Feminist books were suddenly de-listed en masse by Amazon. What many chose to see as a conspiracy, I saw as a complete breakdown in internal communications (read down to the final update.)

It's easy to roll your eyes at the "obvious" mistakes being made by another company, but take a look at your own business. Even if you own a small one-person business, you're liable to outsource work. For instance, your Search Engine Optimization, or your fulfillment. After all, you can't do *everything* by yourself.

Does your right hand know what your left hand is doing - does it even know that you have a left hand? Is the "quality" you claim in your corporate communications supported by your internal and external communications?

When you say you are engaging with consumers, is that reflected by actual interaction with them - or is your "Social" media really just more of the same one-way communications? Perhaps your attempts to be cutting edge are being hamstrung by your legal department.

Good External Communications Comes From Good Internal Communications

Before you launch that Twitter feed or new blog make sure that you can devote the right resources to your message. If Communications is in charge of the blog, and Sales is in charge of the e-Commerce site, make sure they - and the store clerk at the register - know about the holiday sale. This may seem amazingly obvious, but in my above bad retail experience, not only did the store associate have no clue at all about what I was asking, but the website was broken in three unique ways. And then it got hairy, with delivery and customer service who could not and did not help in any way, because they were clueless, disengaged, and not accountable for solving the problem...among other issues.

Good internal communications is not the same thing as having your stakeholders' buy-in. Communications can be borked at any level of your organization. From people at the top who wave their hands and say "make it so," without any real comprehension of what "it" is, down to the guy on the call center phone with a script and a quota, every level of engagement with your customer has a million opportunities to be the best - or the worst - experience that consumer has ever had.

Align your internal communications, and you'll find that your external communications will take off. When management, legal, communication, marketing and sales are all talking a common language then you have a solid base from with to launch your Social Media program. Otherwise, you're just creating more opportunities for confusion.

Don't Automate - Communicate

"Where can I find a one-click automated solution to all my social sites?"

I see this question constantly and, frankly, it sends up all sorts of warning sirens and flashing red lights in my opinion. The need to automate is a sign that a company is more interested in their time than mine.

Let's take a step back and look at the gap here.

Why do people use Social Media? They use Social Media to talk with friends, clients, professional and personal connections. In other words - they have conversations.

How do people use Social Media? They share pictures and videos, comment on each other's statuses, play games...in other words, they communicate with other people.

People do not join a Social Network to be advertised to. Yes, we're all aware that that pays the bills, and we're willing to tolerate it in return for a free experience, but - the moment you think the point of a Social Network is the advertising, you have fallen into delusion. This is why just having a "presence" in a Social Network has no real meaning and why people aren't jumping aboard your Fan page, or following you on Twitter.

The Keys to Great Social Media are Relevance and Authencity

How authentic are your communications? If you are automating one message across multiple platforms, the answer is - not at all. You're using a broadcast model, and not only are you not accomplishing what you hope to do, you're alienating the very people you hoped to engage. Essentially, you have turned your business communications into Spam.

How relevant are your communications? Do you post the same message over and over on Twitter? Do you "target" people by keyword, then reply to them out of context with a pitch for your site, product or service? Getting involved with a conversation about your area of expertise shows you can listen as well as talk. Communication is more than one-way.

Talking with people takes more time than talking at them. But it also provides your potential customer with the knowledge that you are more than just a faceless drone, spitting out press releases. And it assures them that you value their time as much as you do your own.

Be real - don't automate, communicate.

Why Companies Are Afraid To Talk To You

It was my sincere pleasure to be asked to write a guest blog post this week for Web Marketing Therapy. The topic is one I think about *every* day, as I try to find companies that treat me not as a "valued resource" but as a genuinely important part of their business. It's maddening to see companies treat clients, customers and consumers like animals in a cage, teasing us with bad sales tactics and beating us with terrible customer support.

Of course, after any bad experience we can't help but think, "Why?" And so, please join me on Web Marketing Therapy for Why Companies Are Afraid to Talk To You.

I'd love to hear your feedback - and your good and bad experiences with large companies and small!

Social Media Game for the Holidays

It's the eve of the amorphously named "Holiday Season" in the U.S., which means tons of parties (many obligatory,) excessive eating and rampant consumerism.

What the holidays also mean is that you will be, through any number of circumstances, in close contact with many people - family, friends, and complete strangers. Because I find these affairs excruciating, I've developed a game to amuse myself, and the people around me. I call it, simply, "The Social Media Game."

In Social Media, the first step is to find a point of commonality with a person. If they are a priori interested in your product, that's great, but if they've never heard of your, then you can't just jump into a conversation with "Hey, buy my book!" Relevance is the way to open up a conversation with someone who cares.

In Social Media, you want to engage people. The easiest way to do this is to get them talking about themselves. Asking open-ended questions is hit or miss. "How are you doing?" often gets unhelpful replies like, "Fine."

In Social Media, your consumers want you to listen to them, they don't want to hear the same old blather about you.

And, in Social Media, customers want to feel like they've been rewarded for engaging with you.

In the Social Media Game, you'll do all these things on a small scale, just for fun.

Here's the rules:

1) When you find yourself in proximity with a person, stranger, relative, friend, open up the conversation with an observation about them. Try to avoid hair or weight comments. Pick something with a brand, or a specific characteristic that you can relate to. "Oh, you like chestnuts in your stuffing too?" or "Where'd you get that Bill Blass coat? I've been looking for one" or a random semi-literate comment about a sports team they favor. Anything you can add a "me too" to. Now you've created a point of commonality.

2) Ask them questions first relating to the common point, then branch out. See how much you can get them to talk about themselves. when you don't need the questions anymore, you've got engagement.

3) Listen well. Repeat things they've said to you, showing that you agree and care.

4) Keep the conversation on a positive track, and leave them with a smile. (Reward!)

I was playing this on line at the food store (Find) and not only did I garner an invitation to dinner (Engage,) but the woman I was talking to thanked me for making her time on line fun (Reward.)

Is this social media? You bet. Is it also being a decent person? Absolutely. Which is exactly what good social media needs. This is a silly game that allows you to practice your basic social media skills in the most basic social environment, talking with another person.

Extra points for getting dates, dinner invites, clients or any other plus. :-)

When the holidays are over, sit back down at your desk and look at your social media strategy - are you really doing these things for your business? Playing the Social Media Game with individuals will not only make you more fun to be around at parties, it will help you look at your Social Media Strategy without delusion.

To all my American readers - have a very happy and healthy holiday!

Social Media in the Land of Oz

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her friends make a difficult and perilous trek to see the great and all-powerful Wizard. At the end of their journey, they find that the power they sought resided within themselves and that the Wizard wasn't really all that or a bag of chips.

How often have you contacted a company and thought, "Who on earth is handling their customer support?" or worse, "Is there anyone in charge of this at all?"

The truth is, for many companies, there is no one at all behind the contact curtain. Or the great and almighty Wizard is probably an intern.

As a customer, we'd like to think that a company's Social Media is being handled by their best and most powerful Wizards. After all, every company spends money and time telling you that *you* are their most important resource. What would the Wizard be, if Dorothy and the others hadn't bothered trying to see him? The truth was that the Wizard was a rather inadequate man, with less resources than the average Munchkin.

Then there is Dorothy. Although her goal is to get the hell out of Oz, along the way she makes a number of friends and allies. She does this by talking with them, telling them her story and her goal. She's totally real and human. Logically, you'd think the denizens of Oz would be a little offended at someone who so clearly wanted to be somewhere else but, like most of us, they start pulling for the little guy and support Dorothy.

Big companies look like the Wizard to us. They have giant towers and loud voices that bellow over broadcast media, telling us how great and beneficent they are.

But it's Dorothy who uses Social Media - not the Wizard - and, as a result, she's the one who leads the way.

Think this is a ridiculous parable? Just for fun, replace Dorothy in this post with "Apple" and see what happens in your head.

Social Media Without Delusion Live in NYC!

Join me on December 9 at 6:30pm at the SLC Conference Center, located at 352 7th Ave (at 30th St), 16th Floor. Pre-register online at Meetup, but it's not required - feel free to show up at the door and pay the $10 admission there.

Thanks to Elaine Lee and the Traditional2Digital Media Group for sponsoring the talk.

Feel free to suggest questions you'd like me to address in the comments - I'll look forward to seeing you there!

Three Dimensions of Social Media Engagement

A little while ago, we discussed how to Reward the folks who make up your market/fan base. Today I want to take a look at the lynchpin of every Social Media strategy - creating Engagement.

Engagement is more than enabling comments on a blog or on your Facebook page. Engagement is more than just posting a random question from time to time. Engagement is more than two-way communication.

Social Media Engagement is Three Dimensional

One dimension is a single point. You are that point. You're standing on a blank page talking about your business. Your website, your blog, your advertising campaigns are all that single point. One dimension is you, your words, your point of view, talking to the outside world. Someone may see it. Someone may care about what you have to say. But you won't know, because your communication is in one dimension.

Two dimensions are represented by a line. You add a Contact Us link or form to your site. You enable comments on your blog or Facebook page. You can now receive communication back from people who are motivated to contact you. You have, quite literally, opened a line of communication. When you receive that comment or email, you might be motivated to respond. That response goes back up the string to the customer's tin can.

Three dimensions add volume. No longer just a single line, there is now depth and breadth to your world. You communicate not just with the individual that commented, but with anyone who might potentially have the same thought. There's your breadth. And...if you do it in the right place in the right way, with the right people - they want to share what you said with other people. Bam! There's your third dimension.

Engagement is both harder and easier than most companies realize.

Contests and giveaways does not actually engage people. It's a quid pro quo transaction. People enter contests for prizes, for ego, for bragging rights. People do not become engaged in your brand because you give them stuff.

People become engaged because they *believe* in your brand. They have a hole in their heart that your brand fills. Your brand - and only your brand - makes them feel as if they are where they want to be.

The secret to engaging people is to forget about that first dimension. *You* are not the point. (As Karen Rosenzweig says, "It's Social MEdia, not Social YOUdia." Great Social Media is about the customer - it's all about what they like and want and need...not about what you have to give. Incidentally, this is also the basis of good Sales technique - which is why, when people ask what division of a company - Communications or Marketing - should handle Social Media, I often say, "Sales." Sales already has the skill set needed for Engagement, where Communications is often locked in that first dimension and Marketing in the second.

To create good engagement, start by commenting on something some else says. Don't wait for a comment on something you said - go out and find someone to talk to.

@Bob You had great service at our store in Townsville? Great- thanks for letting us know!

Ask a follow-up question, which will solicit a reply.

Was there anything you were looking for that you didn't find?

Invite a third party into the conversation.

@Townsvillestoremanager, @Bob say he had a great store experience. How did that sale go?

Then invite the first party to invite someone into the conversation.

Hi, @Sue, @Bob tells me that you're a regular customer too.

Converse with all sides. You're the expert - you guide the conversation.

@Townsvillestoremanager, how about we give @Bob and @Sue a "Team discount" for the next sale?

This conversation is a bit pat, of course but, the point is, it was never about the business - it was always about the customer. And if you've been following me here, you'll recognize that the conversation included a Reward for being your market, not just your audience. A Reward that encourages Bob and Sue to extend the network.

Engagement comes from a feeling of being part of something. Bob and Sue aren't just customers and they aren't "valued customers." They are part of the Team.

Your Team is everyone and anyone who can extend your network. Blogging isn't enough. Comments aren't enough. Comments that lead to conversations on and off your blog; comments that bring other blogs into the conversation - and your comments in those spaces - that's the third dimension you need for Engagement.

I'm going to wind up today's post with a quick shout out to some of the many folks on my Team: Dean C, Bruce McF, Katherine H. Ana M, JD - I can't thank you enough for all you do! Step up and take a bow in the comments, and let the good folks who read this blog meet you. :-)

And, if you are a regular reader....please feel free to shout out to your own Team! I'd love to learn who you think makes your network hum. :-)