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6insights from shErYL sAnDBErgof fACEBooK

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Sheryl saves the day Midway through a week of bungled celebrity interviews and truncated tech seminars, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was a cool, calm and collected drink of water. Speaking passionately and eloquently to Advertising Age’s Abbey Klaassen, Sandberg addressed the future of Facebook, the importance of mobile, and finally the cause closest to her heart; diversity.She also had a few words to say about her famous boss. “People underestimate Mark because he’s shy,” she says, “but he’s actually one of the best listeners in the world. At his core, he’s an optimist; he believes in the power of individuals.”

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Stop underestimating mobile! “It’s almost so obvious it’s a cliché now, but mobile is big,” says Sandberg. “To this day, we systematically underestimate the transition to mobile.”Think about it this way: The average smartphone has a hundred thousand times the computing power of the computer that sent the first man to the moon in 1969. “We’re all walking around with a computer this powerful, and we never put them down! Had Facebook started even a couple of years later, it would have been mobile first.”

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Global marketing ona personal scale “Mobile is a big opportunity, because marketing can become personal again,” says Sandberg. “Years ago, my grandfather owned a paint store; he knew each of his customers, and he knew what colour their house was.” Mobile holds the key, she believes, to making consumers feel valued again.“What’s so important about this audience is that it happens through great creative. What makes something that’s actually not just produced for you, feel like it’s just for you, is achieved through great creative and great targeting.”

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Bringing the world together Sandberg says that one of her most surprising discoveries at Facebook was cultural. “Originally, we thought that we’d have to localise by market,” she says, “but actually we localise by individual. Each profile is different; each user has a unique experience.”Abbey Klaassen remarked that Facebook has reduced the anonymity of the web, and that a Facebook account now essentially functions as a universal form of identification. “Real identity is an incredibly powerful force for good,” says Sandberg. “It’s all about transparency and control.”

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Changing the world by changing how we see it Sandberg is keen for people to realise that Lean In’s recent collaboration with Getty Images isn’t just about breaking out of the tiresome photographic clichés surrounding working mothers. It’s equally important, she believes, to have imagery that portrays men cooking dinner for their families and being affectionate with their children. “Every picture tells a story, and sends a message,” she says.

And next time you hear somebody call a little girl bossy, Sandberg knows exactly what you should do. “Go up to them and say; that little girl is not bossy. That little girl has executive leadership skills.”

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