Denise Shiffman’s Engage Daily Blog

Companies large and small are using social media not by spending big bucks on viral campaigns or contests, but by simply participating in the conversation and connecting with bloggers.

Cartier and Mulberry among other high fashion brands are courting bloggers to get them excited about products but also to better explain costs and respond to complaints.

Up to this point, high fashion has considered itself above social media. Now, companies are digging in. Thanks Andrea for pointing me to this article on the fashion industry.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, a start-up mom and pop pet food company has built it’s revenues to $2.5 million solely on plain old word of mouth. Without hawking their brand, the owners of K9 Cuisine have logged onto a variety of social networks and joined the conversation about pets. Their passion for the health and safety of the animals they love has given them a fast following.

K9 Cuisine also blogs and maintains Twitter and Facebook accounts. This way they can initiate the conversation, optimize their content for search engines and develop a core following.

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Those 20-somethings won’t join companies that ban Facebook on company time. Executives that don’t allow texting during a meeting are considered out of touch. Companies that don’t blog have missed out on the conversation that is the marketplace (their customers, prospects, and even competitors).

Wake up! It’s a new world.

Web 2.0 and social media are here to stay. These tools, technologies, features and Web platforms have forever changed user behavior online, as well as user expectations of the companies they purchase from. It is important for companies to understand and participate in this new Web.

Social media offers new opportunities to engage customers directly, influence the marketplace, increase brand awareness and affinity, build a better customer experience, and collect market intelligence. Now, why would you want to ignore that?

Learn and Apply

Today user-generated content (UGC) in blogs, podcasts, wikis, social networks, communities, virtual worlds, product reviews/comments, and videos is fast becoming the bulk of content on the Web. No longer can corporate websites, branding activities, and mainstream press programs alone drive the conversation online.

The vast amount of information created by customers, prospects, and industry bloggers through these new media vehicles can help employees gain a better grasp of trends, customer sentiment, competitor activities and product and service requirements. So encourage all of your employees to get online and learn!

In addition, employees can enhance and extend the company’s customer experience by creating and distributing content that adds value, and learning from and applying information created by external audiences. In the old-fashioned, hierarchical workplace, executives want absolute control over information going out of the company. That’s understandable assuming there are some crown jewels to protect.

But the wholesale rejection of employee blogging or interacting with social media as a part of their job is a grave error in judgment. The opportunity cost to a company can be huge. To meet the needs of both sides, there must be rules in place that guide employees through their online interactions.

Responsible Participation

Social media interactions and blogging by employees should be designed to build relationships with customers, partners, and bloggers, attract prospects, initiate or add value to the public discourse and embrace outside interaction. Employees can be encouraged to interact responsibly on social media such as blogs, wikis and through comments.

Getting involved in social media should be the choice of each employee. Anyone with a passion or interest should be encouraged to create a blog or participate in a group blog. Start with internal blogs to get a feel for how it works. And make sure you have written social media guidelines that every employee reads in advance. I’ve written in the past about specific guidelines that help employees make good decisions.

It’s critical at this point that you don’t let fear of the unknown hold you back. It’s okay to take baby steps. At least you’ll be walking in the right direction.

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