Social Media for Social Change — Inside the Organization? How has the activity of organizational change been changed, with the advent of social media? Back when I was an internal OD/Org Change manager in the Soap Plant, we spread ideas about change the old-fashioned ways: meetings, photocopied paper mail, and face-to-face conversations. With the rise of enterprise social networks, and all of those messaging, micro-blogging, meet-up-ing, and connecting tools, the world of an internal organizational change agent must also have changed– but how? Has Social Media Movement Building moved inside organizations? At last week’s Social Media Week events, there were several sessions about using social media to foment change ‘outside’– among citizens, voters, consumers, and audiences. Social media — the latest, greatest tool set for social movement building –is being used outside organizations: No one at Social Media Week really talked about using these very media platforms and techniques inside organizations.
But what of organizational social change agents? Andy’s Answers: How BlackRock uses social media for internal collaboration. BlackRock — the largest investment-management firm in the world — faced a challenge companies of all sizes face: How to get valuable information to staff who need it, and efficiently. At BlackRock, this problem was especially affecting their sales team. Everyone was trying to feed them information. That’s when Jonathan Haley and his team turned to social tools to solve the disconnect. So far, they’ve seen a measurable decrease in support calls, increased conversion rates and an increased perception of their sales team as advisers. At our recent BlogWell event, Haley shared the details of how they pulled it off. Getting familiar with social tools takes less time than you think. Watch the case study: Slides from this presentation are available here. And if you like this presentation, be sure to check out our upcoming BlogWell events in New York and Washington, D.C.
A Big Picture Social Media Strategy. It can be difficult for organizations to see the strategic big picture when it comes to social media, especially if they are focusing all their energy on tools and tactics. Questions abound … How does social media investment relate to business value? What are the real costs? What impact does social media strategy have on organizational culture?
What kind of strategic thinking do businesses or non-profits need to embrace? What do leaders need to understand about the social media adoption curve as it relates to the evolution of the company? This high level framework is designed to illustrate the social media learning curve and to help business and non-profit leaders understand how strategy relates to investment, value and culture. Axis Relationships Investment: As your organization moves along this axis, be prepared to increase your investment.Initially, most social media costs are related to time and labour. Business Value: Business Culture: Phases of Social Business Evolution Emerging: Social: 10 Reasons You Should Run Like Hell From Social Media. I was sitting at brunch a few weeks ago trying to convince a colleague why it’s so important for today’s CEO to be involved and active in social media. I was trying to sway him on the benefits, the rewards and all the new opportunities that await the socially savvy-CEO.
I thought I was doing a pretty good job until my friend took a bite into his bagel, looked me in the eye and quipped, “…but that’s only if he’s smart enough to ‘get it’. Otherwise, he’s a liability.” He was right. Though nearly every business, regardless of niche, could find value engaging in social media, that doesn’t mean it’s meant for everyone. Here are 10 signs your company isn’t suited for social media. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Those are some of the most common reasons I’ve seen for businesses that shouldn’t just avoid social media altogether.