Three imperatives for social media marketers

Progressive organizations are grappling with what could be the most effective strategy on social media. While consultants and practitioners draw up framework and present compelling case studies to persuade organizations into increasing their spend on this fast evolving and critical customer touch point, the perceived lack of appropriate metrics and limited understanding of potential outcomes appears to be constraints for in-house marketers and communicators. After a session on social media with John Bell, the following factors came to my mind as essentials for any organization’s success in social media. 

 

Be convivial: It is common to see organizations making themselves present in a plethora of social platforms without actively engaging themselves in any initiatives. Most often, the decision to be present is a result of the marketer’s reticent attitude; after all she should tick against that present in her to-do list. In a customer-centric platform, one cannot play a docile role, especially after marking your entry. Such a restrained approach also implies lack of appropriate investments in resources to ‘man’ the platform. In effect, the organization forcefully adopts a ‘mute’ strategy. No better case than what consulting giant McKinsey went through in 2011 when it struggled to appease media and others who questioned one of its reports.  When you plan to adopt social – be social. 

Transparent processes – Marketing and communication experts often ensure that the social media and brand guidelines are so exhaustive and stringent that proactive and enthusiastic bloggers within the company doze off after two pages or else are petrified of contributing. Organizations can instead create broad points which will ensure that social media ambassadors adopt a self-regulating approach when they venture into social media. The processes of marketing and communication in today’s ‘social’ era cannot be restraining. An increasing number of organizations are working towards personalization (knowing customers as individuals), creating a system of engagement; maximizing value creation at each touch point and finally, ensuring a standard culture (including brand promises). Well, it is safe to assume that such a move would start internally; understanding their own employees who are also potential customers.

An organization with such advanced systems in place can certainly create a transparent process wherein every employee can actively engage in social media and contribute substantially. 

Feedforward – Change in behaviour could potentially transform one’s life, let alone social media initiatives. A friend of mine, while trying to improve his firms social media initiatives, informed his content creator,’ let us build more such compelling Q&A’s as you did in the last month – they seemed to be engaging. By the way, we need to focus a bit more on improving the quality. Let me know what we can do.’ He had told me that the content creator was focused on increasing the number of articles and hence overlooked ‘attention to detail.’

Feedback focuses on the past and can be limited and static while Feedforward can make any initiative more fun and enjoyable.

God’s the Social Media

While young, it was common to hear elders saying, ‘remember, whatever you do, God’s constantly observing you.’ It was a tactic primarily adopted when they pre-empt something inappropriate from a youngster. God has become the social media today.

Today, we as individuals are tested in every step we take - an interaction in person or online. With eyes constantly trained on the mobile and keeping pace with the rapid flow of social media updates from friends, relatives and others, many often click intrusively into others personal matters or leave their pages open with little left for others to imagine. We are unquestionable treading into a world where there is no return. Many are known to have lost jobs because of their social media updates. Weird but true.    

Taking a leaf out of the new marketing normal wherein customers are increasingly being seen as individuals and not as segments, we should know that the same transparency that allows us to understand others as an individual; conversely allows others to understand everything about us. Further, this would mean that the dissonance between who we are and what we portray would be known to not just those who are in our network but by others whom we might not even know. Thus, in today’s connected world, the measure of one’s success would be a result of how authentically one balances the dissonance. Marketers attempt to close the gap between the brand promise by building a system to ensure that in every interaction brand and culture are one. The same should apply to individuals.

If you want to be good, be good.

Hubris Born of Success

When you are good at something, you tend to show off. Most often, when people ask you to share the success recipe, you extend an analytical response – simply attempted at making the recipe complex. If you’ve noticed, the next moment onwards, that analytical response starts playing in your mind and most often you fail to repeat your success. The shift from an intuition based success to one based on false analysis is pretty common. People who do this tend to add a swagger to their walk.  

   

I have noticed that with a cricketer who has been in the limelight recently for the wrong reasons. 

Success attracts skeptics. Indian Premier League has been no different. However, the last few weeks that has seen some of cricketing world's prominent personalities scurrying for legal cover seem to prove the skeptics right. Why do these people with the potential of furthering their success get themselves into such positions? Is there a lesson for others when such people can go from an iconic status to irrelevant? Jim Collins' book, 'how the mighty fall,' could perhaps provide some insights. As he writes, if companies such as Motorola, Circuit City, and Fannie Mae — icons that once served as paragons of excellence — can succumb to the forces of gravity, then no one is immune. After all, it is individuals who run these companies. 

Be it N.Srinivasan who was at the helm of affairs in cricket in India or Sreesanth or Vindoo Dara Singh - the common thread running through them is that they seem to have become insulated by success. Jim Collin's calls it 'hubris born of success.' People become arrogant, regard success virtually as an entitlement, and they lose sight of the true underlying factors that created success in the first place. Further, such an attitude leads to undisciplined pursuit of more—more growth, more acclaim, more of whatever those in power see as "success." People often stray from the disciplined creativity that led them to greatness in the first place, making undisciplined leaps into areas where they cannot be great or grow faster than they can achieve with excellence—or both.

So, what could be the solution?

It is important to learn to discount success and work incessantly to position one as stronger and better-positioned, as each day passes.

Desire for growth is the problem

Was reading 'in search of the obvious' by marketing guru Jack Trout. Found some very interesting views that aren't just applicable to marketing and businesses but in life as well. 

The well-known economist Milton Friedman put it perfectly when he said, "We don't have a desperate need to grow. We have a desperate desire to grow." That desire for growth is at the heart of what can go wrong for many companies. Well, it is what triggers disappointments for individuals as well. Growth is the by-product of doing things right. But in itself, it is not a worthy goal. In fact, Ggrowth is the culprit behind impossible goals.

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Costa Rican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellow-fin tuna.

The American complimented the Costa Rican Tico on the quality of his fish, and asked how long it took to catch them.

"Only a little while," the Tico replied. The American then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish. The Tico said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Tico fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife Maria, stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Wall Street executive and could help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat and a Web presence. A scalable, go-forward plan would provide capital for several new boats. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to San Jose, Costa Rica, then to Los Angeles and, eventually, New York City, where you would outsource tasks to third-party clients to help run your expanding enterprise in a vertical market."

The Tico fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will all this take?"To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then, senor?"

The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right, you will announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You will make millions."

"Millions, senor? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you will retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you can sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings, where you will sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

If you want to be a good leader

"Rahul, you don't have to ask, please tell me and it will be done." That was the response from a close friend when I requested for some help. His response kept playing in my mind. How can someone order for help? Soon, my mind was racing back in time. While I was a manager, a senior colleague once told me I cannot be a good leader if I continue to be polite with people. “You have to be very aggressive to be a good leader,” he had said. For the next couple of days, I was trying to transform myself - practicing dialogues and techniques that would change perception of others towards me. It lasted only a few days though. “What’s wrong with you, why are you acting strange?” My wife confronted me and that was the end of my attempt at transformation. Do all good leaders pass orders to get work done? I hit the web for answers. There were many theories and frameworks that helped me put to rest worries, if I can call it so. What was truly motivating was the story of Robert Greenleaf.

He was an obscure sixty-six-year-old former mid-level AT&T executive until he wrote an essay that launched a movement. His work titled “Servant as Leader" turned the reigning philosophies of business and political leadership upside down. Greenleaf argued that the most effective leaders weren’t heroic, take-charge commanders but instead were quieter, humbler types whose animating purpose was to serve those nominally beneath them. Greenleaf called this notion “servant leadership” and explained that the order of those two words held the key to its meaning. “The servant-leader is servant first,” he wrote. “Becoming a servant-leader begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”

His work might not go well with the managers of today for it is not service to others that is a priority but dominating others in their continuous pursuit for prominence. Well, I am glad there are people and organizations who understand leadership has many facets. I know my way. Do you?

3 Steps to be Optimistic - Focus on your Aspirations

Life is at time times mysterious and scary, isn’t it? It extends huge rewards at times and in the very next moment, it could put one through events with disastrous implications. So, should one focus on avoiding the unknown dangers lurking along the way or tread along fearlessly eyeing the bouquets that life could present? This is a debate at home (not only mine), which never reaches a logical conclusion. I am no expert on this topic but having gone through some life changing events, forced myself to reflect upon what happened, why it happened and the reasons others attributed to the same. Believe me; No one had a role except two individuals who didn’t drive properly. And ha! I don’t believe in destiny and the plan almighty created for me. Henceforth, I’ll ‘live’ every second and here’s how I’ll do that.

Focus on your aspirations, refresh everyday – Cricket lovers cheered Yuvraj Singh’s return to the field. I have often heard people commenting, ‘well, he is a cricketer, where else will he go. He needs the endorsements and money.’ Be kind fellows. What about the other cricketers who complained of injuries and never came back?

Watch this video for some inspiration - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuKl4QoHoJY. The key is to focus on success. For some, success is down the road while for the others it might require travelling on long winding roads.

Steps to realize your aspirations – Success breeds success. Unless one learns to build a mindset that sees opportunity and ways to achieve success in everything one does, one will automatically fall into the trap of creating limiting beliefs. Remember, we are slaves to our beliefs and how we perceive the world is what dictates our beliefs. Share your goals with people and analyze the suggestions. While in hospital, my wife mentioned to the head nurse – there is no God, I have lost faith. The nurse calmly approached her and whispered, ‘consider this as an instance created by God to move closer to him.’ In this context, God for me was simply remaining positive.

Do it – Everyone knows there is no secret formula to achieving goals. If a company has to rely on segmentation and positioning to address a particular market, so does individuals. A researcher I know continuously shares perspectives on innovation. She has also created a social platform wherein people can highlight social issues that can in turn be promoted on social networks. It is not about thinking, planning and sharing your aspiration with others but doing small little things that will take you closer to your aspiration.

Can you Help?

Dear Dr.Raut,

Not sure if you'd recall my name - Rahul Anand. The association with you is accidental. On a warm Sunday evening last year, you veered into my life and changed it forever. I was travelling for my daughters birthday that day. She was to turn 4 and had like any other kids demanded lot of things. Today, I live in those sweet memories.

Well, I am not sure if emotions work on leaders and this mail isn't intended to share my grief. Be it an accident or not, you might now remember what had really happened on the Express Way. If I were to line up the people who came to help us on that day - they'd all say unequivocally that it was a result caused by you over speeding. Oh, let's not get into the past.

It has been a year and it's Arundhati's birthday today. And, I was thinking of the wonderful gifts that I could have given her. Then, the emptiness - well, you wouldn't undeerstand that. It then occurred to me that the best gift I can give her is to perhaps avoid any occurrence of such accidents on the Express way. And, it might not be possible for a common man like me to ensure that. It takes someone in power to take action. More importantly, it takes someone who has experienced the pain (of an accident) to take action - I m sure you'll agree.

The express way has no dividers in most places. Except for plants and flowers that run the length, in between both the lanes, there is no barrier that can curb vehicles from jumping over to the other side. As a leader, can you please ensure that the officials work towards building such barriers?

Yet another request is to ensure the availability of fully equipped ambulances. Availability of one such in time could potentially save lives - save Arundhatis.

I am certain this isn't much of a task for a leader like you. This will in fact only build your credibility as a leader. As the pundits say, 'true leaders are those who help the others, those who don't repeat mistakes.'

Best Wishes

Rahul

Associative Barriers

I am reading 'Medici effect,' by Frans Johansson. One of the topics in the book particularly interested me. Associative barriers - how we assume certain things with a given set of information without opening our mind to the broader possibilities. Take the test from the book. Susan is twenty-eight years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in biology and minored in public policy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of sustainable development, global warming, and overfishing, and is politically active. Which statement is most likely to be true?

A.–Susan is an office manager.

B.–Susan is an office manager and is active in the environmental

movement.

If you answered B, you are in good company; most people would give that answer. But the correct answer is A. In most instances it would make sense to infer that Susan is active in the environmental movement. 

Therefore we are more likely to make assumptions about who Susan is as a person, rather than maintain a mind open to possibilities. 

Well, why am I posting something like this? It is because I keep hearing people passing judgement about others or events without delving into details. For instance, if India is playing cricket, the comment I hear is, "why watch a stupid game like this. Anyway, we will lose." Being quite tolerant, I just dismiss such statements. What's intriguing, however, is the obsession for winning. Winning by definition is 'beating' a set of people slotted as competitors. 

It is very common to see young kids being pushed to be winners. They go for tuition's, music lessons, cricket coaching to name a few activities - all aimed at winning. I could hear one of my neighbours questioning her son, "oh! 89? How much did Rohan score?" It was certainly not something a third standard boy was expecting. The silence said it all. As Tony Schwartz, President and CEO of The Energy Project said, "What winners recognize, above all, is that the ultimate goal is never to vanquish an opponent or to prove something to others, but rather to more fully realize their own potential, whatever that may be."  Feel, teachers and parents should open up their mind and allow kids to unleash their true potential. The only way to do that is by redefining the word winning. Go back in time to check what Charles Darwin observed.  When the environment is changing rapidly, it is neither the strongest nor the most intelligent who survive — it is the ones who are most adaptable. Well, the first step towards winning is to accept the world's changing. 

Case for Connectivity

In the past, as railroads helped transform countries into urban, industrialized nations, the knowledge-driven economies of today will rely on telecommunication networks. No one can question the transformational effect telecommunications can have on societies and in economic development. India’s National Telecom Policy 2012, has been conceived with a vision to transform the country into an empowered and inclusive knowledge-based society, using telecommunications as a platform. It is largely evident that the adoption and usage of broadband or the mobile phones can significantly improve quality of life and access to citizen services.

Across the world, governments, organizations and educational institutions are leveraging the power of the web to do things that weren’t possible earlier. The government of India is a prime example. With its ambitious project to extend broadband connectivity to 250,000 villages, it could potentially create a social revolution and fuel its growth in the knowledge-based economy. The government’s initiative could give the much required fillip to the burgeoning internet users in rural India, which according to a recent report by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is expected to reach 45 million by December 2012. As the hinterland gets well connected via the broadband, availability and quality of the human resources can be expected to improve substantially, luring businesses and paving way for rapid development beyond what is being witnessed in the metros in India.

Complementing the use of broadband connectivity is the increasing penetration of mobile phones amongst the rural population. With service providers doling out customized services to this segment, mobile phone’s utility will undoubtedly rise. Take for example, leading telecom player Airtel’s new value added service (VAS) specifically targeted at the rural population. Powered by VAS provider, Handygo Technologies, the service called "Behtar Zindagi" (meaning “better life"), will help rural population reap the benefits of mobile telephony for most basic information related to agriculture, commodity prices, and weather forecast, information on inland fisheries, livestock, health, rural finance and education. The penetration of mobile phones and the ensuing investments in this area by private players is certainly an encouraging sign and will in fact help the government in its financial inclusion programme.

As the telecommunication network triggers socio-economic development in India by gathering more and more citizens into the digital landscape, it also presents enormous opportunities for the government and businesses to not only enhance relationship with citizens but also engage with them to continuously improve processes related to citizen services. However, in order to realize such a promising future, the next step for the policymakers would be to ensure end-user adoption and usage – a difference that will decide whether the investments will be a pathway to the future or a reverse salient.

Posted via email from rahulanands's posterous

Case for Connectivity

In the past, as railroads helped transform countries into urban, industrialized nations, the knowledge-driven economies of today will rely on telecommunication networks. No one can question the transformational effect telecommunications can have on societies and in economic development. India’s National Telecom Policy 2012, has been conceived with a vision to transform the country into an empowered and inclusive knowledge-based society, using telecommunications as a platform. It is largely evident that the adoption and usage of broadband or the mobile phones can significantly improve quality of life and access to citizen services.

Across the world, governments, organizations and educational institutions are leveraging the power of the web to do things that weren’t possible earlier. The government of India is a prime example. With its ambitious project to extend broadband connectivity to 250,000 villages, it could potentially create a social revolution and fuel its growth in the knowledge-based economy. The government’s initiative could give the much required fillip to the burgeoning internet users in rural India, which according to a recent report by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is expected to reach 45 million by December 2012. As the hinterland gets well connected via the broadband, availability and quality of the human resources can be expected to improve substantially, luring businesses and paving way for rapid development beyond what is being witnessed in the metros in India.

Complementing the use of broadband connectivity is the increasing penetration of mobile phones amongst the rural population. With service providers doling out customized services to this segment, mobile phone’s utility will undoubtedly rise. Take for example, leading telecom player Airtel’s new value added service (VAS) specifically targeted at the rural population. Powered by VAS provider, Handygo Technologies, the service called "Behtar Zindagi" (meaning “better life"), will help rural population reap the benefits of mobile telephony for most basic information related to agriculture, commodity prices, and weather forecast, information on inland fisheries, livestock, health, rural finance and education. The penetration of mobile phones and the ensuing investments in this area by private players is certainly an encouraging sign and will in fact help the government in its financial inclusion programme.

As the telecommunication network triggers socio-economic development in India by gathering more and more citizens into the digital landscape, it also presents enormous opportunities for the government and businesses to not only enhance relationship with citizens but also engage with them to continuously improve processes related to citizen services. However, in order to realize such a promising future, the next step for the policymakers would be to ensure end-user adoption and usage – a difference that will decide whether the investments will be a pathway to the future or a reverse salient.

Posted via email from rahulanands's posterous