Sep 29, 2009
Mnemonic
Keep meaning to carve out some time and download some of the stuff going on in my head at the moment. There’s a lot swirling around, about various topics.
So more as a note to self than anything else, I want to write about:
- My talk from Interesting 2009 about social rituals of drinking
- Heckling
- Homebuying
- My interruptable face
- Photographic games and play
…but not necessarily in that order.
So please feel free to tell me which (if any) you’d like to hear about first – or some other topic, if there’s something you’d like me to wibble about. The weight of public expectation might actually gird me into doing it, you never know.
In exchange, there’s something you can do for me: I’m due to talk to a group of Communication Directors in a few weeks about how (/not) to communicate with bloggers and communities of social media users. I’m doing it without slides and in a relatively informal way, but I’m keen to incorporate as many blog readers/writers voices as possible in order to keep it provocative and (maybe) fresh.
What would you tell a communication director about interacting with the blogosphere? What are some of the home truths about their activities which we can reveal?
I’ll summarise after the event, of course. (Feel free to mail me if you don’t want to leave a comment)
Heckling, drinking, and photography! (Or as I call it, Friday night. Inevitable punchline. I’m sorry.)
1 and 3, please. Then 4, then 2 and 5. I’m not fussy or anything :)
I’d like to see photographic evidence of your interruptable face and your uninterruptable face :)
Roland, apparently they’re exactly the same. That’s the problem.
Drinking, obviously.
As for the Communications Directors… I’d tell them that the blogosphere has unwritten rules and codes of conduct. These can be either respected or broken (if they’re smart enough…) as needs require, but they have to understand what they are first.
They have to view it as an anthropological exercise. Observe a strange tribe, get to know their ways. Then start interacting with them. Exchange views and ideas, trust in their curiosity. But be aware that certain things will land them in the stock pot.
Oh blimey, yes. Interesting talks. Ho hum…
Company directors. Blogosphere.
What do they want to achieve? What they’ve got to be aware of is the vastness of the potential audience for everything they do, and the tinyness of the number of people they will actively end up interacting with. But see the validity of the exercise, as well the the potential pitfalls the screwing it up could do, with reference to the size of audience point.
Classic example recently is Habitat. They made themselves look absolutely dickish on Twitter. I doubt if many people remember exactly, and probably sort of just think something happened but they’re not sure wehat – but enough people made enough negative noise to have left a slightly uneasy feeling about their brand for good (ftr, it was using hashtag spam, but for something like a natural disaster / the Iranian election).
So it’s not just a question of engaging with the blogosphere, it could well need a new mirror on the company, that actively makes it open up, gives it a human face, even calls people who run it by their actual names, increases accountability… sorry, Meg, I’m just musing, it’s not like I’m actually explaining this to you. Hey, Meg! The sky turns out to be blue, and the grass green, it’s incredible!
Er. Nutshell. Have an authentic voice. Be yourself. Be prepared for how you will tackle it when you’ve fucked up (ans: with good grace, and open handedly, because you can afford to be viewed as a human being), it’s not like a press conference where you can stonewall something away. Do not block engaged customers if they’re being a bit of a pain in the arse because they’re pulling you up on some aspect of company policy which evidently does need to change / hass been rerepresented badly – remember that they’re doing you a favour by needling you about it.
And always, always, with integrity. Because your engaged customers and bloggers will be able to sniff bullshit immediately, and will wash away your reputation before your eyes.
God, remember Tom and Cilit Bang? What a bunch of utter cocks they were.
Blog posts in any order you can manage, I’m patient :)
Communication Directors?
It’s not about ‘communicating’ it’s about conversing. Do not think we won’t notice if you aren’t taking part in other related blogs and whatnot, if you are just pitching at us, we know.
Don’t try and learn the rules, or create any, because they don’t exist. Each situation will demand a different reaction, including those you’d rather ignore because someone has said something nasty, you need to deal with those as well.
And hey, if you screw up, be honest. It means you are human, invested in this whole social media thing properly (not just ticking the box) and we may like you a little more for it.
We can tell when you aren’t really interested.
Hope some of that helps.
Speaking as a communications managers, my plea to comms directors is think about what you want to achieve before you consider blogging. Most corporate blogs are rubbish, because they’re not authentic (full of PR guff). Changing a press release to first person tense is not blogging.
If the CEO wants a blog, only agree to do it if a) the CEO agrees to actually write it himself and b) has something worth saying. “Went to a meeting… went to another meeting…” doesn’t make for engaging content.
And a third thing: Ensure you have the capacity and will to respond to comments before you start blogging. It’s supposed to be a two-way conversation.
Social media shouldn’t just be an afterthought or an add-on, and it really needs to represent and reflect your brand culture and personality in order to be engaging. And it’s not just a passing fad, so if you start a blog or Twitter feed, it needs to be maintained. Don’t abandon it as soon as the next big thing comes along!
Also, I think it’s quite important that any use of social media needs is properly integrated with other marketing strategies in order to continue the experience into the physical world. It’s all very well allowing customers to have a two-way conversation with you, but what about when they try and call your helpline or visit one of your stores – can they expect the same level of personal service?
Oh, and number 1 please!
S