Though it’s been several weeks since I attended Useful Social Media’s Corporate Social Media Summit in New York, I couldn’t resist sharing some of the learning’s with my blog readers. In addition to attending as a panelist, I also enjoyed the opportunity to hear presentations and connect with social media leaders from Lego, Gap, Hilton Worldwide, H&R Block, Whole Foods, JetBlue, and many more.
Here are a few key takeaways:
“It’s not about you all the time, it’s about them,” via Scott Gulbransen for @HRBlock
When it comes to implementing a successful social media strategy, you need to evaluate the interests of your fans first. Sure, every brand or company has products to sell, or campaigns to promote, but the secret sauce is found in catering to the needs of your audience. While many of the brands at the conference shared how tailor their content to meet the needs of their audience, I was particularly impressed with H&R Block.
I don’t know about you, but I prefer to think about my taxes as little as possible until it’s time to do them. As a result, H&R Block has built their strategy around what’s relevant to their customers and when. They’ve also become a leader in social media customer service, developed a compelling blog, and even successfully leveraged wackier initiatives to reach new audiences, like supporting the Stache Act.
“When you’re in a shared interest community, you’re sharing stories,” via Rachel Tipograph for Gap.
It’s well-documented that the internet offers a treasure trove of sites and communities dedicated to various hobbies and interests. Yes, even if your interest is as obscure as, “really, really good Pho.” So, how does your brand or company decide where to invest time and possibly dollars in engagement? According to Gap, look to online communities that help you share brand-inspired stories and content with your fans.
Although Gap also advocates engaging with fans on more traditional social media platforms like Facebook, Rachel Tipograph from Gap shared that partnering with LOOKBOOK.nu to style inspirational, yet accessible, outfits featuring a Gap wardrobe essential has helped them share styling ideas with fashion trendsetters. Gap also shares DIY content on uses for old t-shirts on P.S. – I made this, offering a fantastic opportunity to think about their brand in a new, highly shareable way.
The Pentagon doesn’t have firewalls blocking employees from using social media sites. Yet so many corporate companies do.
The one con of publishing this blog entry several weeks after the conference is that I failed to capture the name of the brilliant presenter who shared this tidbit. However, I wanted to share this zinger, because it’s important to note that I’m hearing more and more about corporate social media policies at conferences. Namely, how to write them in a way that employees can understand the do’s and don’ts. Given the popularity of smartphones, employees will just find another way to engage on social media sites during the day even if they’re blocked at work, so it’s important to have a policy, versus blocking and hoping for the best.
As a result, one of the biggest assets to a social media team is having legal counsel that can help write these policies in a way that benefits both the company and its employees. Employees genuinely want to know what they can and cannot do, and writing a policy filled with hard to understand language isn’t going to help anyone. Also, a key point emphasized was to make sure that all platforms are represented (e.g. can you recommend a former colleague on LinkedIn?). Some are more obvious that others, but catering to these FAQs goes a long way.
All in all, I immensely enjoyed the Corporate Social Media Summit in New York. It was so fun to get together with social media experts from dynamic companies across the globe. It’s safe to say that I’m already counting down to the next one…
Thanks again to the team at Useful Social Media for being such fantastic hosts!