Social Media is About Relevance and Recognition
Helping CEOs find a comfort level with social media is the purpose of this post.
Social media as a business strategy is compelling to some and off-putting to others. For the owners of small and mid-size businesses, it is mostly the latter. There are both valid and questionable reasons why business CEOs may be skittish about using social media, but the reality is that CEOs will adopt social media in there own comfortable way.
When talking to SMB CEOs I suggest using the expression "social media" less and "word-of-mouth conversations" more. And, I suggest framing these conversations with the words "relevance" and "recognition."
This is my takeaway from the article by Michael Zeisser in the June 2010 issue of McKinsey Quarterly entitled "Unlocking the Elusive Potential of Social Networks." Zeisser summarizes: "To realize the marketing potential of virtual activities, you have to make them truly useful for consumers."
To consumers today, useful means relevant: relevant to the brand, the company, or the individual.
Zeisser also highlights what he calls "the power of importance." He says, "An effective way for a brand to be useful in the context of social networks is to make people who originate a word-of-mouth conversation seem important within their own social environment. Recognition by peers is a powerful motivator, and brands that allow users to gain it deliver real perceived value. When users publicize that recognition, it translates into word of mouth."
Can social media be positioned as simply as relevance and recognition? If you agree that the human desire for "what's important for me and how can I be important to others" is a driving force then, yes, it can be that simple.
Mission: To help small and mid-size businesses capture the power of big-picture marketing.