How Companies Succeed in Social Business: Case Studies and Lessons from Adobe, Cisco, Unisys, and 18 More Brands by Shawn Santos

Author:Shawn Santos [Santos, Shawn]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Pearson Education
Published: 2014-12-21T14:00:00+00:00

10. Top Social Business Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Lewis Bertolucci, Head of Social Media, Humana

Confessions from a Social Media Practitioner in a Highly Regulated Environment

“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” —Wayne Gretzky

The emergence of social media in recent years has made it possible for one person to communicate with hundreds, or even thousands, of other people about brands and the products and services they offer. In light of this recent social media revolution, executives know that it becomes critical to meet consumers where they are, on social. They also realize that we’re not only playing where the puck is, but also where it’s going to be.

Today’s consumers are moving away from traditional forms of advertising and are demanding more control over the way they’re consuming media. In addition, they’re connecting with brands in fundamentally new ways. We no longer live in a world in which companies closely control their brand’s perception. Social media, by its nature, has produced an empowered consumer whose amplified experiences are creating a new paradigm.

The empowered consumer is now a critical factor in influencing the perception of your brand and shaping the views of other people’s opinions, attitudes, and purchase behaviors. This groundswell has vastly shifted power to the consumer, who now has increasingly more control over the content and conversations that shape purchase behavior.

As more companies begin to align the consumer at the center of their business, it creates a completely new experience. Social now becomes one of the core channels to develop and establish meaningful relationships throughout the entire consumer journey. Though social media has disrupted the consumer experience, it’s not the endgame, but rather one aspect of a larger marketing strategy and a means to engage and meet consumers where they are.

This chapter discusses the challenges that many social practitioners are faced with and how to overcome them. These challenges shouldn’t be unique to one group because the journey in social is an evolution, in which we continually test, learn, and optimize our approach and strategies.

Social media is the new, shiny object. No matter what media outlet you follow, TV show you’re watching, paper you’re reading, or website you’re visiting, you’ll see social media at the forefront via hashtags, share buttons, or bold headlines. You’re not the only one; your C-Suite is seeing the same, in addition to hearing from top consultants and thought leaders around the importance and implications social media has to big business. Your executive team is willing to invest now, to begin creating the appropriate foundation and infrastructure for the future.

Challenge: Championing and Educating Senior Leadership on the Importance of Social: Why Do You Need to Be in the Space and What Is the Strategy for the Organization?

When I first started our social media program 3 years ago, one of the biggest challenges I was faced with was educating our executive team on social media. They’re a group of intelligent business professionals, but most weren’t active participants in social.

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