Tag Archives: authenticity

Twitterpated with Twitter

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twitterI first discovered Twitter in the spring when my web communication class watched the Commoncraft Twitter video. I signed up because it was free, but more than half my class thought it was a waste of time. I think by the end of the semester more people were changing their mind about the growing microblogging “fad”.

Twitter is great because it’s ability to direct followers to more information. Shel Holtz (@Shel) refers to the idea of Twitter as a table of contents or a billboard advertisement. You would never just look at a table of contents or a billboard and be satisfied; you would see the message and then go to the destination to be satisfied with an article or product. He does point out that Twitter is best when it is used for conversations. I agree because of the idea of ‘markets as conversations’ outlined in the Cluetrain Manifesto.

I recently researched how nonprofits and development organizations are using social media. Some development organizations are using Twitter to promote their mission, publications and events. Web 2.0 for Development explains how Twitter allows organizations to share information, network with stakeholders and discuss ideas with a large audience. Organizations can create dialogues with their audience asking and answering questions. Like any other social media tool, time and resources are the investment made to achieve a high return. Some of the development organizations on Twitter referenced are UNHCR, the World Food Programme, OECD, and the World Bank.

Beth Kanter (@Kanter) discusses Twitter on her blog and shares ideas about how to decide who should tweet for your organization. She suggests creating only one organizational account because of the need for several daily updates. Staffing Twitter with a team of employees may be the best way to manage an organizational account. She highlighted Co-Tweet’s Twitter account to see how each employee identifies their tweets within the account adding faces to the organization.

Employees can have personal accounts and should be encouraged to create an account to humanize the organization, but they need to remain transparent about their affiliation with the organization. An easy way to remain transparent is to identify twitter handles on the staff page of a website or web sites newsroom and to identify their affiliation in the twitter biography and website link.

There are several tools, including Hoot Suite, which can update an organizations twitter account with individual employee’s tweets about the organization. Also, Hoot Suite enables scheduling tweets ahead of time, shortened URLs and measurement options.

At IFPRI, most people rely on e-mail to send information out within the organization. An information and knowledge management specialist at IFPRI recommended this article to explain how Twitter is similar to e-mail because of the abilities to respond, retweet, mention a person or topic, and send direct messages.

Before an organization, like IFPRI, uses Twitter, a strategy must be made concerning what types of content will be tweeted and who will do the tweeting. For individual use I recommend that everyone gives Twitter a try. What’s one more social media addiction?

Sony: Corporate Communications Blogger

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Sony “Sony, No Baloney.”

The title of Sony Electronics first blog post, by Rick Clancy, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, identifies the blog as a transparent and authentic medium for communication and conversation. Clancy reveals his blogging strategy right off the bat.

The majority of blog posts will be written by Clancy. With the help of moderators, he will respond to relevant comments. Like a good blogger, Clancy plans to write at least weekly. He acknowledges not everyone will appreciate the blog, but he is going to use this medium to inform consumers about Sony initiatives as well as to address controversial issues and any misunderstandings about Sony.

Writing a blog is time consuming and revealing, but Clancy is prepared to take the time to  provide meaningful personal experiences relevant to Sony. The content of the blog will deal with topics ranging from product issues and events to affiliated Sony companies. Clancy established guidelines for commenting and indicated comments will be moderated before posting. Clancy’s first post provided readers with a framework of the blog to establish expectations for participants.

Engaged in a competitive market, Sony needed to establish a way to interact with their consumers directly. With an audience invested in social media, Sony had to meet their audience online and establish a blogging strategy that would be effective. Sony worked with Nielsen Buzz Metrics and Forrester Research and together decided a blog would be their next step for building relationships. Sony realized early on that all feedback is good feedback because it provides an opportunity for Sony to be a part of the conversation.

Why would a corporate communicator be in charge of a company’s external blog? In the following video, Rick Clancy answers this question by arguing corporate communicators are strong writers, communicators and are willing to take the time to listen to their audience. Content is important in the blog, but reading and listening to comments before deciding on the best response can positively impact the relationships the blog helps to foster.

Clancy takes a book, I mean blog tour around the United States to different Sony Style stores to talk to consumers, employees and other stakeholders. The goal is to form dialogues to determine how the blog can be more relevant to the audience to increase traffic on the blog and consequently, Sony’s websites.

Anyone can blog.. with a trustworthy personality!

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Companies need to choose a voice to represent their company, either CEO’s, employees, corporate communicators, or anyone else who is willing to take risks with the new social media. The time has come to form two-way relationships built on conversations and dialogue between the company and their audience.  Blogs are a way to form relationships by answering questions or giving people information they actually care about. Consumers do not want to hear advertisement after advertisement or press release after press release. Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting to never mention a company’s product or publish a press release on exciting news your audience may be interested in, just write in a conversational and authentic way. Whoever decides to take on the challenge of maintaining a blog should be aware of their personality and authenticity.

Josh Bernoff, co-author of Groundswell, noted in his blog that people do not trust company blogs. All the information and research Bernoff provides is kind of depressing, but he points out that even though people do not trust blogs, you shouldn’t let that discourage you from blogging. Instead of giving up, think about the reasons and the approach your company should take when blogging.

Valeria Maltoni, Conversation Agent, suggests letting employees get involved if they want, as long as guidelines are created and enforced. She points out that you can’t force people to blog for your company, so who writes for your blog may depend on who is willing to try. She cites a survey by Melcrum and based on the survey, the top perceived benefits of implementing social media strategy are employee engagement, internal collaboration, internal community development, and two-way dialogue with senior executives.

Companies may find that their CEO is prepared to blog for the company or that different departments want to co-write a blog. I will be discussing and showing examples of companies that have started blogging and who are writing for those blogs. If you have any ideas on the best writers of corporate blogs, feel free to let me know!