Yakiji (Yah-key-jee)

While the conference was titled Blogwell, the broader idea was about social integration on the web from the corporate view. Having a social presence on the web is rapidly shifting towards a necessity for corporations. Your audience is out there waiting to engage and if you don’t engage with them, your audience will do it on their own. From the great speakers of Blogwell, the message seemed clear – social media is still imperfect and you will make mistakes. The lessons you learn from your mistakes will ultimately define your success. Here are some great lessons from the corporate social media experts:

• Find a Purpose – this can be pretty obvious to some but can be more difficult for others. At the very least figure out what you’d like to accomplish. Don’t waste your time trying to figure out measurable goals right out of the gates. A simple purpose can help you develop your measurements along the way.
• Keep Learning – you don’t need to have all the answers to social media before you jump in. Have some goals and ideas ready (or a purpose) and then jump in (almost all the speakers expressed this idea). Build your strategy as you go and maintain the understanding that it needs to be an ongoing learning process. Constant measurement and evaluation is crucial for planning and honing your strategy. Much of social media is trial-and-error. Don’t be afraid to make some mistakes.
• Where to start? Internally – it’s amazing how much you can learn by the example of your own company base. Before you bust into an external social media strategy, launch your strategy internally and observe. This benefits by helping you build knowledge of what works and what doesn’t. In the grand scheme this will also help promote social advocacy by internal employees.
• Be Transparent – not only is this ethically right, but it’s what the groundswell expects. Lack of transparency in the corporate social media can lead to low acceptance and can sometimes have some harsh negative effects. Disclose your intentions, never pay for endorsements, and make sure your ads look like ads. “I work for ____, and this is my opinion”
• Humanize Your Company – by giving your social media team their own image and allowing their own opinions you create a more approachable environment. People want to engage with people (examples: Matt Cutts – Google; Jeremiah Owyang – Forrester Research). There are times when you can’t please everybody, but respect and trust is gained when the message is geniune and from the people.
• Listen > Participate > Lead –  your audience can make you or break you, so you must pay attention and listen to them. Participate as much as possible with your audience to gain trust and acceptance. Finally, once trust is established – lead the message.
• 70/30 Rule – try to develop an equation for how you engage with your audience. In this case, the 70/30 rule means 70% of your content should matter to your consumer while no more than 30% should be about (or promoting) your company. This can vary based on your business, but the key point is to put the focus on giving back before you receive.
• Build Content from the Users – the best kept secret with social media is that if you play your strategy correctly, your audience will naturally build out the content and spread the word for you. Once trust is gained, you just need to create the channels for your audience to engage with. Some prime examples are with Ford’s Fiesta campaign or the Betty Crocker community.