Lose the "Social Media" Label and Change the Conversation

(Members of the Blog Council lead corporate blogging and social media at large corporations. We are delighted to share their thoughts on blogging from the corporate perspective. This post is the guest author’s personal opinion.)

Today’s Guest Post comes from Debbie Curtis-Magley of UPS.

Social media is one of those terms that just sounds cool. Images of black turtlenecks and a hip office come to mind when someone says they work in social media. But this persona can have a chilling effect in companies that are weary of the complications they perceive social media will create.

Concerns commonly raised include:

Reduced Employee Productivity
“If employees get access to Facebook, they’ll spend more time on the site and less time working.”

Increased Customer Dissatisfaction
“If we start a blog, the only comments it will attract are customer complaints.”

Decreased Employee Morale
“If we offer an internal discussion board, employees will use it to complain about pay and management.”

Fortunately, there are a growing number of companies who’ve proven these concerns wrong and have shown that social media tools can strengthen customer satisfaction, create new streams of revenue, reduce operating costs, and improve employee productivity and morale. But many of us work with colleagues who remain uncertain.

To overcome these concerns, we need to change the conversation about social media.

1. Lose the “Social Media” Label
The term “social media” serves as a useful handle to talk about the collective technologies that enable people to create, share and connect online. But the term can play on the doubts that business people have about the value of these tools. Often times, people relate social media to their teenagers spending hours on Facebook or watching videos on YouTube. It becomes a hurdle to having a productive conversation.

We need to shift the conversation from the label “social media” and instead talk about the business solutions these applications support. Companies can improve customer support by inviting customers to share solutions with each other. Management can quickly capture cost-savings ideas from thousands of employees. And employees can improve productivity and reduce mistakes by easily connecting with internal experts.

Sean O’Driscoll with CGT Consulting summed it up at a recent Blog Council meeting when he realized his job was about improving customer experience and product quality, and not about social media.

2. Use the Language of Business
As communicators, we need to adopt the language of our audience and identify analogies that help build understanding. The value of viral communications is similar to the value of compound interest. With compound interest small investments grow over time because the interest continues to multiply. You can achieve the same result through online communications. A useful answer to a customer problem or an entertaining product demonstration will get passed along as people share the information with their friends, who in turn share it with their friends. Suddenly, a communication directed to a handful of people will be viewed by thousands … at no additional cost.

3. Demonstrate Success through Case Studies
Sometimes, nothing speaks louder than the success of others. Every company wants to be seen as smart, progressive and practical. Showing examples of other companies’ achievements can help business people visualize how those achievements can be duplicated within their own organizations. The influence of your competitors cannot be overlooked. No company wants to be perceived as falling behind their peers. When organizations like Walmart, IBM and the Department of Defense are using social media technologies to solve business issues, it helps legitimize the value of these tools.

At UPS, MySpace and YouTube were used to complement our traditional communications efforts for the launch of UPS Delivery Intercept. During the first 12 months that the service was offered, UPS received well over 1 million requests for this fee-based service — exceeding its revenue plan. In a company that is highly focused on numbers, customer usage continues to run significantly above plan. With Rate My Space, HGTV found a clever way to gain additional revenue while satisfying viewers’ interest in sharing decorating ideas. The site created a new online property for HGTV to sell advertising.

By shifting the conversation away from the “social media” label and focusing on the business solutions these technologies enable, we can build better understanding and recognition for what can be achieved.

Debbie Curtis-Magley is the Manager of Corporate Public Relations at UPS