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02.22.10
 By Lee OddenMany business owners and managers are perplexed by the social web. The effect of customer participation with social media on brands is undeniable. The effect of employee participation with social media can be a bit of a quandary. The range of acceptance for social web activity runs the gamut from IT blocking all internet connections to sites like Twitter and Facebook to the expectation that every employee spend work and personal time as social media brand ambassadors. Being social on the web isn't natural for everyone and certainly not for every company. Once people and companies "get it" and develop processes, listening programs and overall strategy, social media policies tend to lighten up and move towards being productive vs limiting. Some people really shine in their social web participation and companies often see increased social networking and engagement by individuals as an uncertain area. Some see building personal networks and attention as a threat to the brand that prompts questions as to whether individuals are simply building their own brand, (brandividual) on the company's dime or are they acting as they should on the company's behalf? This issue has come to light several times in the past. As an example, there are some interesting arguments surrounding Forrester's recent policy decision to limit staff blogging to non company topics. Forrester's product is their IP, so they want to control what IP is released. At the same time, analysts discussing those topics on their own blogs can build more attention and awareness of the products Forrester sells. The issue of corporate brand and brandividualism will only increase in importance. The real and perceived loss of control for managers has to be dealt with eventually. Concerns from managers are totally reasonable since not all individuals promoting themselves and growing their networks during business hours are doing so with corporate business goals in mind.
On one hand, the employee is paid to promote the company brand. Because of so many opportunities for self promotion with corporate brand promotion, there can be "distractions". It's essential that the company and employees acting on behalf of the company operate with a congruent vision and mutually agreed upon expectations. Many budding brandividuals have an over-inflated sense of importance because of what they perceive to be end goal successes which are often more like proxies or stepping stones to what's really important for a business. For example: attracting friends/fans/followers, being mentioned by influential blogs, networking with other "known" digerati can seem uplifting to an individual that seeks increased visibility and credibility. Those are important events, but they're not the end goals that help companies make payroll. They're a means to an end (revenue, brand, customer acquisition and retention). I think a lot of the folks that get "amped up" by social celebrity confuse notoriety with the ability to generate revenue. Of course customers might become aware of a company's services because of their social connection with a brandividual and may even stay with a company due to their relationship with that individual. But that's not the issue I'm describing. I did a post about the crack-like addiction to online fame in the SEO industry a while back, observing newer SEOs giving away loopholes and "secret" tactics to gain notoriety. Seeing fame as an end goal vs. a tool to extend brand exposure and shorten sales cycles created a situation in the Search Marketing world where individuals would focus all their efforts on becoming "known", missing the business objectives entirely. "It's hard to pay the bills with a pocket full of famous".  Continue reading this article. About the Author: Lee Odden is CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, a digital marketing and public relations firm in Minnesota that specializes in search, social and online PR consulting and training for companies worldwide. Odden has been cited for his internet marketing expertise over the past 10 years by the Economist, Forbes and U.S. News and contributed a chapter to the book, "Online Marketing Heroes" published by Wiley. For the past 5 years he has also been the editor of TopRank's Online Marketing Blog, a Technorati 100 favorite blog and one of the top marketing blogs according to Advertising Age. |
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