A free technology e-newsletter for corporate communicators
| Latest News |
| If you have been forwarded this email and want to subscribe sign up here |
| Special Offer |
Order your copy of Delivering Successful Change Communication today and save 15%. |
| Featured Event |
| Intranet 2.0 Forum - London, UK 25-26 June 2008 |
| Job of the Week |
| Communications Manager Leeds - North of England |
| About Melcrum |
| Melcrum is a research and training business, expert in all aspects of
internal communication. Through our global networks, we connect
more than 21,000 professional communicators in sharing what
works. We produce benchmarking research, periodicals, reports,
membership websites and CD-ROMs and run training courses,
conferences and workshops. www.melcrum.com |
By Alex Manchester, Editor
alex.manchester@melcrum.com
June 9th, 2008
5 simple but important social media tips
Welcome to Melcrum's Social Media Newsletter.
I was in New Zealand recently, presenting some of Melcrum's social media research to attendees at the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand's (PRiNZ) annual conference.
It's amazing how many parallels there are between internal communication and external communication. Aspects such as the control of messages, shifting priorities of those you're trying to reach, rapidly changing channels and Gen Y in the workplace were all concerns of those at the conference.
In light of this, today's social media newsletter contains 5 simple tips that may help flip many of those worries on their head.
1. Don't position web 2.0 as something completely new
In 2006, Tim Berners-Lee, the credited architect of the world wide web, said "Blogs, wikis, social networks... this isn't web 2.0, this is web 1.0. Connecting people to people – that's what the web was designed to do in the first place."
The first blogs are now well over 10 years old. Facebook hit the big time a whole 7 years after Friends Reunited, and we've had internet forums and chat rooms since the web began. Much of this stuff isn't "new" per se, it has just reached a level of sophistication whereby it's much easier to get involved.
2. Don’t be scared
It's easy to focus on the potential risks of social media: data leakage, timewasting, inappropriate behavior and more, but the reality is very different.
These issues have been around for years with previous communication methods and companies who have seen and understood the potential of social media have benefited already, while their competitors watch and worry, waiting for employees to regress into lesser states of communication. Social media is here to stay, so get used to it and look for the opportunities for your organization.
3. Assess your readiness…
If your company or executive team is really, seriously, not keen on the idea of blogs and social networks behind and beyond the firewall – despite lots of good examples where it has been a success – then you have two options:
- Find another way to get your plans off the ground; or
- Leave it, and focus on what you can do.
Ultimately, an organization's culture will play a big part in social media success or failure. Forcing people to use or accept tools they have no interest in is a recipe for a lackluster initiative.
4. …then prepare for 360° communication
It's not really about "top down", "bottom up" or similarly structured conversations, it's about opening up your organization and accepting and hearing views, comments and opinions from all angles – many of which you're probably not even aware of at the moment. Even "two-way" communication doesn't really describe this properly, it's far more like 360° communication. Be prepared for compliments and criticisms alike – because no company is perfect.
5. Understand it and make sure you get it right
This final point is from Ross Chestney at BT, quoted in How to use Social Media to Engage Employees. Chestney says you have to fully understand what it is you're dealing with if you truly want success. Learn your XML from your html, widgets from wikis, push from pull technologies. As communication professionals it's your job to present and sell new ideas for comms initiatives. If you don't understand it, then how can your CEO be expected to?
Best regards,
Three phases to a winning intranet at AEP
The Source for Communicators, June 4, 2008
William Amurgis summarizes the three-phase process which led to American Electric Power being awarded for its intranet by the Nielsen Norman Group.
The Employee Engagement Conference 2008, Sydney
Alex Manchester, Melcrum Blog, June 6, 2008
Alex Manchester gives a summary of the key themes and learnings that emerged from Melcrum's first Employee Engagement Conference in Sydney.
Pecha Kucha - Don't you know how to do it yet?
Annie Waite, Melcrum's Communicators' Network, June 5, 2008
Pronounced "puh-check-ka-chuh" in a staccato burst, Pecha Kucha is a Japanese phrase that describes the sound of conversation.
How KM underpins innovation: Lessons from the field
Jessica Twentyman, Knowledge Management Newsletter, June 7, 2008
In an extract from the forthcoming issue of KM Review, discover the 6 factors that work synergistically to create "knowledge-enabled innovation".
How do the items in your grocery basket relate to engagement?
The Internal Comms Hub, June 7,
2008
Find out how tolerance, work-life balance and moderation come into play.
The Source
for Communicators is a free resource for corporate communicators
from Melcrum Publishing.
Melcrum Publishing Ltd, The Glassmills, 322b King Street, London,
W6 0AX, UK
Melcrum Publishing, 449 N. Clark, Suite 305, Chicago, IL 60654,
USA
Melcrum Publishing, Level 12, 95 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Copyright Melcrum Publishing Limited 2008.