Are you ready for Social Media?

Looks like Social Media tools and applications aren’t the passing phase that the cynics were predicting, they are here to stay.

If you are just starting to think about Social Media tools for your organisation you can be forgiven for feeling like you are significantly behind the eight ball. There is a lot to think about, and you should work out if you are even ready to use Social Media tools now…in fact you may never be ready.

For some companies Social Media works a treat, for others it fails miserably and just won’t ever work, why is that?

Well, some companies simply aren’t the right environment; they don’t have an employee culture where Social Media tools works well, or they have overriding business requirements that prevent that sort of open, collaborative communication.

Here are a few important things to consider before you dive in:

Will it succeed?
It isn’t just the younger population who are embracing Social Media tools, hell my parents are on facebook and twitter! But they may be more willing to make it part of their daily working lives and adopt it more readily. Different groups will be more willing than others, think of technically minded folk such as engineers versus labourers, how will the different groups respond?

Are Social Media tools likely to be seen as an extra burden by your employees?
Are senior leaders likely (and willing) to embrace the new technology?
Do Social Media tools complement your existing strategy, vision, goals and values?
Who is your audience, and are they already using these tools?

Build a business case
Don’t feel you have to implement everything. If a wiki is likely to work best for you, start with that. Once it becomes accepted and you can demonstrate value, then you can branch out and try something new.

Is there a need?
Who will use the tools?
How will they generate useful conversations or information?
How will they give employees better access to leadership?
Will they help global teams communicate better?
How will they actually help your business and your employees in their daily jobs?

Can you let go?
Social media tools only work when they are open and honest. Communication has to be transparent and it has to be two-way.

Do you work in an industry where information is sensitive, and needs to be controlled?
Are you REALLY ready to hear the feedback that is likely to be generated?

Conduct a trial
Get together a focus group to trial the new tools. Make sure you are implementing the right thing at the right time and to the right people.

Set guidelines
Yes Social Media tools are designed to be open and honest, and you have very little control over them. But you need to set guidelines. What can and can’t be talked about, and to remind employees that confidential information rules still apply.

Have a look at Telstra's 'Guardrails', released after a Twitter incident. Another example is the Powerhouse Museum and there are loads more out there.

The basic premise should always be, use common sense and don’t be stupid. Make sure everyone is accountable for what they say, allowing anonymous postings can lead to disaster.

Internal versus external
Social Media isn’t a great way to sell products. However, it is great for building a community among your customers, gathering useful feedback, and has been succ and For a lot of organisations, using Social Media tools internally is a lot less scary and can offer great benefits to employees and the organisation. Capture knowledge through a wiki, engage employees by encouraging your Managing Director to blog and solicit comments and questions. Build team cohesiveness through a facebook style tool, or bring in an instant messaging system that also allows for online group meetings, video-conferencing and collaboration.