Social Media Networks: Get used to them

My post last week about the diffusion of innovations offers a great gateway to my post today about social media networks.

Social media – defined as “media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques [and] web-based technologies to transform and broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues” by Wikipedia and these networks are changing the communication landscape for communicators in all areas.

Who has not heard of Facebook? Twitter? YouTube? In one of my readings this week, dated 2013, Facebook was credited with having more than 1 billion active users – there are only 319 million people in the United States! While I do not have a specific number for Facebook in terms of United States users, I think it is probably safe to say we are past “Innovators,” “Early Adopters,” and possibly through “Early Majority” to the “Late Majority” in the Diffusion of Innovations classifications in terms of how Facebook alone has permeated the United States daily life. Even my 71 year-old mother recently asked my wife to help her “set up the Facebook” on her computer. And this social media phenomenon is not going away any time soon.

But what does that mean for strategic communicators? It means that these communicators have to realize there are great opportunities as well as great risks through the use of social media networks. The opportunity is to make personal, direct, real-time connections – relationships – with a wide array of stakeholders: customers, stockholders, employees, regulators, general public, detractors, and even competitors.

But opening those gates of access can be akin to opening Pandora’s Box – though the use of social media networks, there is the potential for tremendous harm. If a company is not using social media networks – or at least monitoring them – there may be complaints, negative information, videos, photos, etc. circulating on the internet damaging the organization’s credibility and image without the company even being aware of it. Granted, they may not be able to remove the information, but if it circulates without even being addressed by the company, the silence could be perceived as an admission the information is accurate.

In an article by Soumitra Dutta that appeared in the Harvard Business Review (2010), the author provides a great discussion of how individuals can develop their own personal media strategy. Careful consideration should be given to what the goals are of being on social media networks, which networks are most appropriately suited for achieving the goals, etc.

Veteran internet marketer Adam DeGraide also wrote an insightful article that appeared in the marketing trade journal Rough Notes (2013) about choosing what social media network(s) to focus on, where spending time will result in the most ‘bang for the buck.”

A word or two of caution, though. As with any component of an overall strategic communication plan, careful consideration and investigation should be employed to determine not only which social media networks to use, but what the goal of that use is. Some social media networks may not be ones your particular stakeholders (customers, shareholders, employees, regulators, etc.) utilize, so occasional monitoring may be sufficient. Some networks like Facebook and Twitter may require active, daily participation – both monitoring as well as posting/responding.

While it may seem logical that this type of activity falls under the purview of the Senior Communications Manager, there may be more benefit by having members of the senior management team (President, Chairman, CEO, COO, CFO, etc.) maintain a presence on the various social media networks.

A particular area of concern for any company is photos and videos going viral on the internet. Social media networks like YouTube, Tumblr, Flickr and Instragram are closely linked with static images or photos and videos. For a time “planking” was all the rage on YouTube, but when it started showing up on employees’ personal Facebook accounts, demonstrating safety standards were being ignored, companies like The Home Depot issued communiqués reminding employees purposely ignoring safety standards and standard operating procedures was a major work rule violation and could result in discipline up to and including termination of employment.

Kevin Allocca, Trends Manager for YouTube said during a TEDYouth Talk video that what makes a video go viral is usually a result of three things: Tastemakers, Communities of Participation and Unexpectedness. Essentially, a video can be posted today and receive no notice or views for months, but all it takes is someone mentioning it, like a Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, etc. to bring attention to the video. That attention can turn into communities of participation (people “sharing” the video) among all their friends, etc.

Again, what does that mean for strategic communicators? That means that today’s harmless, meant-to-be-funny video posted by an employee could turn into tomorrow’s crisis media relations event because the video showcased workers ignoring safety practices, or putting customers in harm’s way, or conveying an attitude, bias or stereotype that is not consistent with  the corporate public image.

The bottom line is this: The traditional mediums of print (newspapers, magazines, brochures, flyers) and broadcast (television, radio) are now competing with digital media channels like websites, blogs, social media networks and podcasts. And it is the savvy strategic communicator who incorporates all the various mediums to work in concert to successfully achieve the communication goals for an organization or client.

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About the Author: David is a dedicated husband and proud father of a strapping fourteen year-old son and twin five year-old daughters. He has twenty years of professional communication experience, working in the public relations field. He has worked for public relations firms in Metro Detroit, hospitals and a state-wide faith-based social service organization helping at-risk children and their families. He grew up on a mid-sized Michigan blueberry farm, spent two years in Texas and now resides with his family outside Tampa, Florida. An avid reader and photographer, David also enjoys building furniture using recycled/upcycled wooden pallets.

How well do you know your 'friends' on social media networks?

I would like to think I have a vast following of readers for this blog, hanging on my every post about various topics relating to strategic communication. There are thousands of IP addresses clicking in each day, seeking my lofty, unbiased opinions about strategic communication trends, successes, and failures. However, I have access to the “traffic stats” for my blog and I know my vast following has yet to arrive.

I am surprised by the level of traffic I do have, but it is nothing to get excited about just yet.

What makes for a successful opinion leader? Can opinion leaders use social media networks as a channel to reach even more followers than they might already have on traditional media networks? Would you know an opinion leader is using the social media network for commercial purposes?

Think about your own life. If you are in the market for a new TV, will you be seeking out the opinion of your computer geek/nerd friend or the opinion of the gym rat friend who does not even own a TV and hikes 150 miles every weekend just for fun?

According to Diffusion of Innovations theory, the first 2.5% of people who try a new product or innovation are called “Innovators.” The next 13.5%, called “Early Adopters” encompass most of the opinion leaders relating to the particular subject matter at hand. These are the people the rest of us take our cues from when making decisions relating to a particular topic.

For our example, you will rely more heavily on the opinion of the one you feel has more of a relevant insight into which TV is a better value for the money. But what if you have never met face-to-face this “friend,” this opinion leader about all things electronic? The study of electronic word of mouth marketing (WOMM), specifically in online communities, is extremely interesting and may make you wonder about some of your “friends” online.

A study conducted by Robert V. Kozinets and published in the Journal of Marketing (2010) broke down how opinion leaders were viewed after they participated in a marketing campaign, depending on how they presented the information: did not announce it was a campaign, announced the campaign, recommended the product or did not, etc.

Three things Kozinets observed: the message was communicated, the communicators staked their reputation on the message, and the message was converted by the communicators to fit the various online communities.

Back to our TV opinion leader you have never met face-to-face. What if you were to learn your “friend” is actually an employee of BetterBought electronics superstore? Does that change your opinion of the recommendation he made? How would you even know?

This makes me think about my own social media network affiliations. I am a member of a number of general social media networks (Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+) as well as some special-interest networks (Deviant, LumberJocks, Flickr, Instagram). As I note in my profile, I make rustic furniture from recycled wooden pallets. I post pictures and simple descriptions of the various pieces of furniture I design and create. I upload them on LumberJocks, for example, and there are usually a number of comments left by other members about how wonderful the project turned out, what a great way to be “green” or questions about designs/tools, etc.

What if Irwin Tools were paying me to weave into my discussion or responses mentions of their wood drill bits or clamping tools? Would the other members of the community know? What would their reaction be to the use of our little social network community for commercial gain through my “name dropping?” What if I raved about how much easier it was to do a particular project with the tools from Krebs for pocket-hole joinery?

[Writer’s Note: Irwin Tools, Krebs nor any of the social media networks mentioned have employed me to hawk their goods, sing their praises, or drop their names in any of my blog entries. I will entertain all offers, though.]

With the proliferation of social media networks and use of the internet touching almost every facet of our lives, WOMM is a growing field, ripe with huge potential. In additional to the obvious ethical questions about disclosure and transparency, how will these online opinion leaders remain significant over time? In a TED Talk presentation from May 2011, Eli Pariser warned of the “filter bubbles” that can be created as internet companies incorporate relevance filters and algorithms designed to “learn” the user and automatically filter out things it deems as not of interest to the user based on the choices previously made.

If you routinely click on headlines about sports events and rarely click on headlines about art shows, your searches on your web browser will load query results with more of a connection to sports because it has learned this is of more interest to you than query results related to art shows. Pariser warned that these algorithms had the potential for creating a “filter bubble” around your interactions on the web, inadvertently sheltering the user from information that may be different, uncomfortable or just thought to be of no relevance.

As we become more and more entrenched in the use of social media networks and the internet in general, those opinion leaders who use primarily the internet as their source of information have the potential for being shielded by filter bubbles, skewing not only the information they use to formulate their opinions, but as a result, skew their opinions in general about topics that may be important to you. Rely on a single source opinion leader? Not likely. Not anymore.

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About the Author: David is a dedicated husband and proud father of a strapping fourteen year-old son and twin five year-old daughters. He has twenty years of professional communication experience, working in the public relations field. He has worked for public relations firms in Metro Detroit, hospitals and a state-wide faith-based social service organization helping at-risk children and their families. He grew up on a mid-sized Michigan blueberry farm, spent two years in Texas and now resides with his family outside Tampa, Florida. An avid reader and photographer, David also enjoys building furniture using recycled/upcycled wooden pallets.

Remaining Relevant

Welcome to the resurgence of my (mostly) professional blog, focused on topics relating to strategic communications and the topics that impact the field, including diffusion of innovations, opinion leadership, social media, government communication, strategic vision, message development, crisis communication, successful communication and measurement, and many more.

My name is David Jablonski. No, not the world renowned geophysical sciences professor from the University of Chicago. Nor the urologist working in the Orlando, Florida area. I’m the guy who graduated from Michigan State University in 1987 with a Communications degree and has 20 years of professional communications experience, working in the public relations field.

After the economic downturn in 2007, I left the field and thought I would explore the retail/merchandising field. And while I have enjoyed progressive success in this new (for me) field, my heart and true love is still the communication field and how it influences almost every aspect of every field you can imagine.

In order to remain relevant return to the field, I felt I needed to expand and grow my own skills and knowledge base, so I enrolled in the Strategic Communications Master’s program at Troy University. One of my professors (Dr. Steven Padgett) requires a professional blog as part of the coursework and I am embarking on the second course under his direction; thus the “resurgence” of this blog.

Thank you for reading this far. For your future reference, the address for this blog is:

http://davidstroyuniversityprofessionalblog.blogspot.com/

My goal (in addition to an ‘A’ in this class) is to publish a new post each week for the next nine weeks and beyond. While this blog is a requirement for my course, it goes beyond simply checking off an item on a list of things to do. This will give me an opportunity and outlet to provide some insight and thought-provoking information for fellow communicators as well as those looking to understand what a strategic communicator utilizes (tools, skills, research, etc.) when developing a specific course of action or a strategic communication plan.

The Asset-Light Generation

A great discussion about the difficulties faced by newspaper publishers written by Alan D. Mutter, media consultant, introduced me to the term ‘asset-light generation,’ a term coined by Mary Meeker, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of the top venture-capital firms in Silicon Valley, according to Mutter’s post.

Mutter’s post and the report by Meeker (linked in Mutter’s post) outline one of the most significant challenges faced by newspaper publishers: remaining relevant to the younger generations who have grown up with digital devices like computers, video games, cell phones, and tablets – and who rely on those devices for news instead of traditional printed newspapers.

According to Meeker, the asset-light generation prefers to have services do “chores” for them (grocery shopping, home/car cleaning, laundry/dry cleaning, lawn care, etc.) and do more from their smartphones or other computing devices (banking, investing, shopping, reading, etc.), thereby keeping their “assets” minimalized and mobile.

How do publishers connect with this segment of the population? How do they transform their existing product (printed newspapers) and make it not only accessible to the asset-light generation, but also desired and relevant? It’s a question yet to be answered, but from this communicator’s viewpoint, the starting point is better understanding the audience segment in question. What drives this group? What are the important beliefs and values held by the asset-light? What are the things that will turn them away?

Understanding the diffusion of innovations research would be a great place to start for publishers. Les Robinson’s article “A summary of Diffusion of Innovations” notes a key component for tapping into the diffusion of innovations five distinct categories – Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, and Laggards – is to recognize each of these categories has its own “personality” and there will be different approaches needed to connect with each group.

Social Media Networks

According to the Diffusions of Innovations (DoI) theory as outlined by EverettRodgers (1995), diffusion is the process by which an innovation (1) is communicated through certain channels (2) over time (3) among the members of a social system(4). What will be critical for newspaper publishers to understand is that the rise of social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Pheed, etc.) has dramatically changed three of those major ingredients: channels, time, and social system.
 The sheer number of social media networks available presents a daunting task: which networks do the publishers study? The channel along which information flows is now greater than any time in the past. While it may all have a common core channel – the internet – it is further fragmented by as many social media networks as there exist. Wifi, smartphones, and tablets allow almost anyone to spread information instantaneously. Whether at work, school, driving, shopping or recreating, people can instantly share data and images almost as quickly as events occur, sometimes in real-time (remember the Boston Marathon bombing?). Identifying the opinion leaders as identified in DoI has now become more challenging. The low-keyed, meek person at the office who is virtually non-existent in the workplace may have a social network following of thousands online. How do publishers identify these opinion leaders? These are all the issues publishers will need to consider as they look for ways to remain not only relevant, but to merely exist in the future. Just as I look to return to my chosen field, the the bottom line answer is that there won't be a simple, single quick-fix for publishers. It will require creative, strategic thinking and planning with input from those familiar with the changing landscape in the communications field.

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About the Author: David is a dedicated husband and proud father of a strapping fourteen year-old son and twin five year-old daughters. He has twenty years of professional communication experience, working in the public relations field. He has worked for public relations firms in Metro Detroit, hospitals and a state-wide faith-based social service organization helping at-risk children and their families. He grew up on a mid-sized Michigan blueberry farm, spent two years in Texas and now resides with his family outside Tampa, Florida. An avid reader and photographer, David also enjoys building furniture using recycled/upcycled wooden pallets.