If you are a 21st century-born organizations, you probably don’t need a social media strategy. Social media is an integral element of your overall strategy; the two do not have separate lives.
But what about more mature organizations? A non-profit celebrating its 125th anniversary this year; a 75-year old global manufacturer; a 110-year old financial services institution with hundreds of billions in assets and ranked among the safest in the world? What does a social media strategy mean to these organizations? Why – and how – should they change a successful business model?
Social media is not a discontinuous technology change that demands attention and threatens the “old way” with a single blow. It’s hard to define. (Use the words “social media,” and many companies think only Facebook and Twitter.) It is amorphous. More than anything, social media reflects social change, not technology change.
Over time, successful businesses do need to adapt to social change – in the way they operate both internally and externally. Social media and social networking have evolved to the point that they are changing people’s expectations about how to interact - person-to-person, individual-to-business, and business-to-business. Because, to state the obvious, “businesses” are just amalgamations of people with a common objective. Once changes in personal interactions take hold, those changes leak into business interactions.
What are the big changes requiring significant shifts in business models?
· Knowledge is a commodity. Remember when knowledge = power? Knowledge is not only now available, it is freely shared.
· The quantity of available data has exploded beyond our capacity to process it. Data and automated analyses are like an active volcano, constantly spewing out. The lone hero with the data who could run statistical programs has a lot of competition, competition that is trumpeting different data and different statistical programs.
· Engagement is not just the word of the day; individuals want a say; they want to be heard; they increasingly demand to be respected and empowered.
These fundamental changes demand shifts in what is valued in the workplace and how companies function. Continued success in this century requires that organizations evolve to new norms.
· The visionary composer is one of the most valuable employees. The individual who can take all of the data and analyses and create a harmonious future vision, who understands how to integrate all of the information, is more valuable than the expert.
· Hierarchies are more porous; command and control is dead. Corporate hierarchies will not disappear, but the leaders need to be the first among equals, one of the team. Excellent corporate leaders will manage not demand.
· The ability to herd cats, not sheep, will drive results. Increasingly, employees want to control their own time and to have an impact. Like cats, each wants to be recognized as an individual participating in a shared culture.
Organizations need to build these new norms into their processes. How they recruit, train and review employees, for instance, needs to change. The old performance metrics might no longer measure what really matters.
What new metrics have you used to adapt to social changes?
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