Social Media: No “Get Of Jail Free” Card

If there was, “Bob” would be using it. But should he?  Here’s my take.

Meet Bob

“Bob”  is, according to the story (see link below) caught in the crossfire of the “new world” of Social Media, where all seems to be permitted (and should be forgiven) and the “old world” of… well companies that “don’t get Social Media” and need to get with the program and embrace it where ever it appears.

Actually, this isn’t such an uncommon situation. Organizations do, and will continue to face a growing dilemma when it comes to dealing with employees who are often rather savvier than their organizations about how to use Web 2.0 to engage customers. But for now, back to “Bob.”

The Post

Shut Up You’re helping the Customer on Chris Brogan’s blog has ignited some very interesting discussion.

Basically “Bob” an employee at a Fortune 500 Company had begun participating in an online forum discussing products as a representative of his company with some of their customers. (Bob is not his real name by the way. And we only have Bob’s side of the story as explained by Chris). Bob’s manager asked him to stop doing this, and in “Bob’s” own words:

“not to further engage with them any more.”

But Bob apparently didn’t want to stop. So he disregarded his boss and carried on.

On his blog, Chris picks up the story…

“What comes next is that Bob, being raised to be helpful, kept engaging with the customer base. He answered some questions, got into some conversations, and brought the company’s story to these people.”

In other words Bob ignored his boss and carried on. Where the story is picked up on Chris’s blog, even though it isn’t overt there is some sympathy for this employee’s predicament.

The Crossed Line

Now, as with most things there are always three sides to every story – two sides and the truth. Based on the details provided however, I have scant sympathy for Bob’s plight and said so, as did several other commentators.  There’s another view here if you’re interested:

You Can’t Ignore Your Boss

Regardless of whether it was a good idea to engage with customers at that time, or that is seemed like an irrational request from his manager, if his manager said stop, Bob should have stopped. It’s really that simple. Social Media isn’t an excuse for being an irresponsible employee who could have got the company into hot water in any number of ways, however well meaning he was.

Suffice it to say, if he is representing the company, then what he says is what the company says. They are responsible. Bob really should have looked for an alternative way to present his case… with his manager on-side.

Community Frustration… maybe?

There’s another aspect of this story I wanted to comment on, though. And that’s the growing frustration of Social Media pundits and practitioners with companies who “don’t get” Social Media (and who don’t show signs of embracing it here and now). The frustration seems to be giving rise to opinions of these companies ranging from companies will tank, are stodgy, behind the times, or doomed to fail.

If you want to read the fascinating conversation – or better still join in – head on over and check it out for yourself.

I’m an advocate of using Social Media as part of a strategy to solve business problems. I also use Social Media personally.  Companies should be getting closer to their customers (who are already using Social Media) if only to hear first hand what they are saying  and improve how they do business with them them. Serving customers better means having more loyal customers. And you can bet that customers have ideas about what might make them spend more money with a particular company as opposed to a competitor.

Terms like “listening to the conversation” and “developing community” may sound like esoteric social networking fluff, but when you get down to it, I believe that there are far more benefits for companies than they would believe.

The Best in Class

Some companies see that too, as you’ll see in my post here:

Social Media Best in Class vs. the Rest. These companies are using Social Media to solve pressing business pressures and meet key business drivers. And they are seeing results.

Having considerable experience working large companies I completely understand that for most companies, jumping on the Social Media bandwagon, which still has little proven case history, simply isn’t an option for them. For some the issues could include any number of the following…

• fear of losing control of their message
• consistency of message
• Adverse PR
• impact on a variety of stakeholders
• reputational risk
• industry regulation
• compliance
• confidentiality
• information leakage – of all kinds
• control of communication channels
• employee impact

Regardless of what Social Media pundits would like to believe, corporations, in most cases can’t simply hop on board because one or more of their employees “gets” or is passionate about social media, or because the social media community thinks they should.

What Corporations Want

I believe that executives need more than the social media community seems prepared or able to offer right now. What think you?  There are indeed many companies who want nothing to do with Social Media.  But there are others who are open to learning more.

However they don’t just want tools, they want strategies. They want numbers because they are going to need to commit funds and resources. They want more “reasons why” than “you gotta engage in Social Media NOW or your company will tank and die…”

And I believe they also want social media practitioners to show greater understanding of, and more appreciation for:

• their strategic objectives and a strategic approach
• their most pressing business problems
• organizational issues
• risks – and how these need to be mitigated
• impact – including profit and loss
• all the pros and cons
• how the organization currently works
• how the organization markets
• the channels for achieving buy-in
• key processes and metrics
• sales processes
• the fact that Social Media may not be appropriate

Clearly it’s not possible to get all this information without dialogue with key influencers within the company – and lots of questions. And you could add a lot more to the list above.  But to successfully embed any new solution, particularly one that is such a shift from what’s been the norm, this information is critical.

And, honestly, would  you criticise a prospect who just might become a potential client?

I believe more larger companies will become engaged, or more fully engaged in Social Media… in their own time, and hopefully in a way that will endeavour to involve the entire organization. It doesn’t mean employees will be able to do what they like; there will still need to be rules. And some companies, quite frankly will not get involved at all. That’s their right.

Tea and Sympathy?

But if we really want corporations to become future clients, reaming them out because they don’t “get”  or see Social Media as we think they should or implying they are dinosaurs because they don’t a “Bob” to take matters into his own hands does nothing except provide reason for them to hesitate further. And maybe put them on the defensive.

We need to focus on making the case for Social Media as strategically as possible  – as tools to achieve business objectives…looking at each company as unique with unique issues and concerns, and avoiding generalizations.  When companies want to buy in skills to help them achieve their objectives they will be looking for practitioners with just this holistic understanding.

As for Bob…Social Media gives employees no “Get Out of Jail Free” card. They don’t get to break the rules or ignore their bosses simply because they are passionate about using Social Media to engage with customers.

Actions still have consequences, some reaching far beyond Bob.

Your thoughts?

Tagged as: corporations_and_social_media, Customer Service, Social Media, socialmedia, web 2.0