Who Owns Social Media? Everyone in the Company

Business and Social Media• Big brands are embracing the good, the bad and the

ugly of social media– It’s not about campaigns, but a permanent positioning

• Fortune 500’s use of blogs, video, and podcasts has increased, but Twitter was the ‘09 social media channel of choice - Society for New Communications Research ‘09

– 22% of the ‘09 Fortune 500 have a public corporate blog– 86% of these blogs link directly to a corporate Twitter account, a

300% increase over the ‘08 study

• Social media must be embraced company-wide

But Who’s on First?Q: Who should own social media?Of those engaged in social media efforts:

– 72.7% - Sales and Marketing– 54.5% - PR– Options not selected = HR, Owner, Other

Of those not engaged:– 50% - PR– 33.3% - Sales and Marketing– 16.7% – HR– 16.7% - Owner– 0% - IT

In c21’s survey of 200 business owners and communicators giving them multiple choice options

Who’s Producing Content? • 2/3 said designated team members produce content• 1/3 said all employees produce content• Unfortunately, most are doing so

without formal guidelines

Q: Do you have a SM policy? • 63.6% - NO• 36.4% - YES

“It’s not a department that owns social media, it’s the consumer.” Heather Oldani, Director, US Communications, McDonalds @Heather04

“The consumer owns the brand, and thus so do employees.”Carol Kruse, Vice President, Global Interactive Marketing, The Coca Cola Company

“It comes down to content and authenticity.”Gary Vaynerchuck, owner, Wine Library and social media thought-leader @garyvee

What Thought Leaders are Saying

Are all Industries on the Bandwagon?• Employers should add a policy to their

employee handbooks or manuals – that prohibits personal employee

blogging during working hours. – a policy that specifically addresses private

blogs and chat rooms during off hours. • From Internet Business Law Services, article on

Employee Blogs Pose Potential Problems for Businesses

Case Studies

There’s a Booger in My Pizza• April 2009 – Employees post gross video on YouTube• Alerted by a consumer/blogger• No response for 24 hours• Then, video goes super-viral• Domino’s responds in 48 hours:– Creates a Twitter account to respond

to consumers– Posts CEO video on YouTube

My Flowers Haven’t Arrived

Management ApproachesLone Wolf Approach• Silo focus– SM is the focus of one person/dept.

• Identify appropriate “steward of the message”

• Albeit one or a few - content MUST be inclusive and organizationally authentic

Management ApproachesKumbaya Approach• Create core team

– Cross-functional, high-level members• Define measurement /reporting accountabilities• Provide simple, clear guidelines –

regardless of “official” social media role– Brand and messaging– Public discourse– Training

• Encourage all employees to consider social media and what they do for the company

Trust the Leaders• Learn from the best in SM policy guidelines

– Even when you are talking as an individual, people may perceive you to be talking on behalf of Kodak, be upfront…

– Click here for other sample social media policies

Management Approaches in Action

United Linen• What: Regional Uniform/ Linen Co.– Family-owned – Founded in 1936– One-man marketing team

• Who: Scott Townsend, Marketing Director

• Why: Brand awareness, lead generation

Web site

United Linen

United Linen Results• Major business media buzz

– National coverage for a regional small business is invaluable

• Enhanced customer service– Twitter used to update

customers during bad weather

• Building new business relationships– Reaching new audiences

The Coca-Cola Company• What: Producer of more than 500

beverage brands worldwide– Founded in 1886– 92,400 employees

• Why: Brand engagement, hyper-local connections– “The Coca-Cola Company strives

to refresh the world, inspire moments of optimism and happiness, create value and make a difference.”

The Coca-Cola Company> 18K Twitter

followers

> 5 million fans

70% user-generated content

The Coca-Cola CompanyEngaging music

fans on MySpaceOver 200,000

YouTube Channel views

The Coca-Cola Company• 3-page Social Media Policy:– Certification for official

spokespersons

• Guidelines for all employees• Cross-functional Social Media

Council:– Heads of Legal, PR, Global

Marcom, HR meet monthly to plan/adapt

Oppenheim Law• What: Law firm in Florida

• Real estate foreclosure specialty • Founded 2000

• Who: Husband/Wife team• Why: Thought-leadership, client

education• Results:

• “Made lemonade”• Several thousand online

subscribers in less than a year• National media coverage like WSJ

and more

What Went Wrong?

Within 48 hours, this campaign triggered a

backlash from its target audience

The Motrin Moms MeltdownOctober 2008 - Motrin posts video onlineNov. 15 - Critics surface on Twitter (@JessicaGottlieb)Nov. 15 - #motrinmoms becomes a high trending topic Nov. 16 - “Motrin Makes Moms Mad” response video launches onYouTubeNov. 16 - Motrin pulls the video, shuts down siteNov. 17 - Site returns, Motrin issues statement

Tracking Motrin’s ResponseDid they monitor?

Were they present on social media

channels?

Conclusions• Identify the best messengers– Good writers, creative thinkers, good

spokespeople, engaged• Develop proactive strategies for listening,

connecting and influencing– Editorial calendars, posting ideas, etc.

• Put policies in place• Monitor and measure

communications 21c21pr.com

www.facebook.com/c21prTwitter: @c21pr

Sharon Goldmacher, president & CEO sgoldmacher@c21pr.comMarlena Reed, VP of Interactive Services, mreed@c21pr.com