(And if the answer is none/not much…would you like to get started?)
Nicole Sheffield, CEO of NewsLifeMedia, part of News Corp Australia, and owner of properties such as Vogue, Taste.com.au and Australia’s number one news site, news.com.au, has recently stated that NewsLifeMedia now generates more traffic from their social media activities than they do from Google. This is an astonishing statistic given the power Google has to bring traffic to websites large and small. Little wonder then to hear in the same speech that NewsLifeMedia considers itself not so much as a publisher, but as a content-connector. Content really is their core expertise…and they have made the transformation necessary to be successful in the new media landscape.
If such a success story in social media seems a far cry from where your business currently sits, be neither disillusioned nor surprised. There is no single factor more closely indexed with success in social media than getting the right content in the right environments at the right time. NewsLifeMedia started in a very good place – they were a publisher after all, but they had to move quickly if they were to prosper and grow. Other industries, though perhaps having the same level of opportunity, have not had the same imperative to adapt or die. Risk aversion has created a barrier to participation that is still very much in evidence. And while NewsLifeMedia are already masters of the social media environment, many others have yet to take the first step.
And take the first step they must, because in almost every category, even if a business is not actively engaging in social media, its brands are already engaged – by customers and other influencers. At some stage, every brand owner must tackle the (perceived) ’risk’ hurdle and seize the opportunity to make those customer/influencer engagements work for the brand and not just run on unattended and un-cared for.
Employee Advocacy represents a great way to start out on the journey with social media as it is readily moderated, it’s expansive in its reach, it spreads the load (across multiple participants) so is readily scalable, and it is built (at least at Scoop Social) on a reporting platform that lets you know what’s happening every step of the way.
Just as importantly, from an internal perspective, Employee Advocacy helps organisations to bring the will-we-won’t-we discussion to the leadership ‘table’. Involving employees from across the organisation in what is outwardly at least, a marketing activity, Employee Advocacy brings the two key functions that deal with Social Media (and the writing of Social Media Policy), HR and Marketing, together with a common purpose – to build value for the organisation and for the employees themselves. If an Employee Advocacy program is implemented, marketing will increase the brands’ reach and influence, and HR will increase employee engagement and facilitate a significant value-add for the business. In the process, the risk barrier should be hurdled.
If you would like, either as an HR exec or a marketing exec, to enlist our help in furthering the will-we-won’t-we discussion about engaging in social media among your leadership team, we would be delighted to help.
Please call us on +612 8006 1616 or email us.
MAR
2015