Everyday Influence

Social Selfishness and Brand Loyalty

We are all selfish. Is this bad?

In a super-connected world, time and attention is scarce. If a brand does not add value to MY interests, MY needs and MY passions…it doesn’t get too much of MY time and attention. 

Research shows that people are becoming more discerning about the brands and organizations they choose to support through their purchases and advocacy.

Part of this is due to greater choice that consumers have in where to buy, but even more, it has to do with higher expectations to support companies that are genuinely doing good with focus on issues that connect back to an individual’s personal needs, passions or concerns – such as MyHealth, MyEducation, MyEnvironment, MyCommunity.  

We call this social selfishness.

Consumers will often pay a premium for goods and services, where beyond fulfilling a specific product need, the alignment to values and purpose is particularly strong. A firm called Traction recently ran a small experiment in San Francisco, selling lemonade. When presented with the exact same product (branded in two different ways) the majority of people opted to pay twice as much for the “brand” that supported their local community food bank.

In my family, Whole Foods Markets, Timberland, Toms, and The Honest Companyare brands that win on loyalty, based largely on cause and values alignment. It’s important for us to know that our purchases are supporting local small businesses (farms and suppliers), charities, and/or global causes such as climate change, gender equality, animal welfare and education. Our purchases represent votes of confidence on company purpose equal to fulfillment of need.

Other well recognized companies such as Unilever (multiple bands), Ikea, Solar City, and SalesForce have equally committed their companies to sustainable business practices as a strategy and inspire their employees, customers and partners to participate. These companies are leading in their industries on important metrics such as reputation, customer and employee loyalty and market share.

Issues in Context.

Among the most high-profile social issues that brands are directing their resources and consumer influence to support and solve for are:

• Education, through STEM-based initiatives to increase capacity of skills that inspire youth to pursue careers in science, technology engineering and math.
• Gender Equality movements to advance progress of female empowerment, gender rights and equal pay opportunities.
• Climate Change initiatives to educate and reward people to take action to promote a more healthy, safe and clean environment.

These issues are high on the conscience of consumers today, supported by well organized public/private partnerships that connect the resources of corporations, the passions of people, the reach of governments/NGOs and power of celebrity to create movements measured by real world action and change, rather than success through hashtags. 

Behavior-based rewards.

Through mobile and other smart/connected devices, sophisticated companies are now able to extend their commitment to doing good by inviting and rewarding customer and employee participation tied to everyday behaviors and activities that are in themselves, rewarding:

• Exercise (log runs, walks, bike rides, gym workouts);
• Drive without texting or talking on the cell phone;
• Vaccinate or seek regular health check-ups;
• Conserve personal water/energy use in the home or in the car (eco-living);
• Volunteer in local community or attend community meetings;
• Advocate for a cause or issue;
• Etc...

The rewards offered can be in the form of discounts on products, access to entertainment content (through corporate sponsorships with music, sports and fashion), scholarships, access to technology, donations, etc.

Rewarding good behavior that improves the health, education, economic opportunity and happiness of employees and consumers - is real world change that matters.  It’s more than “lipstick cause marketing.”  It’s about using social investment as an advantage.

When a company invests in its employees and customers - they are in turn rewarded through loyalty, advocacy and purchases.  This is the best form of authentic, measurable marketing.

Gender vs. Generational Divide Tops Findings From The Social Consumer Study

 
Today, Vanessa DiMauro and I release the findings from our forth research collaboration since 2009, as part of our fellowship with The Society for New Communication Research.

In this study, The Social Consumer, we explored the factors that inform, impact and shape trust, loyalty and preferences of the digitally connected consumer. We tested the belief that brands which can tap into the emotions about and awareness of their values (human/social) are most likely to inspire positive action and loyalty from consumers.

Our view is that the super-connectedness of global communications has challenged how companies interact, engage and maintain relevance and trust with their key audiences and the public-at-large. Consumers are more discerning about the companies they choose to do business with and support. We are now in a “so what”, “show me” or “can I trust what you say” business, political and social economy.

The findings from The Social Consumer study reflect a number of surprising and validating insights, informed by surveys completed by 927 respondents mostly from the U.S. with about 10 percent from rest-of-world, with great distribution and balance across age and gender. The study explored:

• Expectations for brands by digitally engaged consumers
• Characteristics of the relationship factors between a consumer and a brand
• Whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences consumer behavior
• How strongly do perceptions of a brand’s "making a positive difference" shape consumer preferences to purchase or affiliate with the brand
• The rewards (e.g. product offers, discounts, CSR) that consumers favor most from brands
• The impact of rewards on a consumer’s digital behavior (e.g. purchase, endorsement, vote, rate, etc.)

The complete report can be found here. We encourage you to read, share and comment.  

Here is a summary of our key findings:

From like, to want, to need to love… The Social Consumer Research Study

A new research study by Vanessa DiMauro and Don Bulmer, Board Members and Fellows of The Society For New Communication Research.

Click here to complete The Social Consumer Survey.

From likes, to wants, to needs, to love…

The super-connectedness of global communications has challenged how companies interact, engage and maintain relevance and trust with their key audiences and the public-at-large. The reputation of a company is no longer defined by what they “report” or what they “say” they stand for. Instead, they are increasingly defined by the shared opinions and experience of socially-connected consumers.

With greater access to information and news, heightened awareness of economic and (geo) political matters and – most important — the experiences of other individuals (through online communities and social networks), consumers are more discerning about the companies they choose to do business with and support. We are now in a “so what”, “show me” or “can I trust what you say” business, political and social economy.

Who do you trust?

How do companies break through the incredibly high volume of marketing noise to sustain awareness, relevance and preference with consumers? What do consumers care about — and respond to most positively through their actions and choices — when it comes to brand engagement? If consumer loyalty and advocacy are signs of trust, what shapes trust between consumers and a company or brand? What are the characteristics and motivations of the social consumer? What moves them from likes to wants toneeds to love it, gotta have it?

Our view is this: consumer choices are increasingly driven by new factors of influence which are not entirely driven by the image that a company markets or projects, but rather, through the demonstrated impact of its actions and behaviors. This is core to our hypothesis about what motivates the social consumer to act.

About the research

Today, we launch a study with The Society for New Communication Research (SNCR) that seeks to explore the factors that inform, impact and shape trust, loyalty and preferences of the digitally connected consumer. We will test the belief that brands which effectively tap into the emotion and awareness of their values (human/social) are most likely to inspire positive action and loyalty from consumers.

Specifically we will explore the following:

• Expectations for brands of a digitally engaged consumer
• Characteristics of the relationship factors between a consumer and a brand
• Whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences consumer behavior
• Whether a consumer’s preference to do business / affiliate with a brand that (they believe) is making a positive difference, weigh high in establishing trust and loyalty
• The rewards (e.g. product offers, discounts, CSR) that consumers favor most from brands
• The impact of certain rewards on a consumer’s digital behavior (e.g. purchase, endorsement, vote).

We seek to offer a model and approach for brands to engage and reward consumer behavior (i.e. taking action/engagement in exchange for “something” they deem of value) to increase higher levels of loyalty and brand preference.

This is open research, with results to be shared publicly. We encourage you to take time to contribute your views through completion of this study and share with your friends and colleagues. We hope to complete and share findings in mid-summer.

Click here to complete The Social Consumer Survey.

About the authors:

Vanessa DiMauro is the founder and CEO of Leader Networks, a research and strategy consulting company that helps organizations succeed in social business and B2B online community building. DiMauro is a popular speaker, researcher and author. With over 20 years of experience in social business leadership positions she has developed award winning social business strategies for some of the largest and most influential companies in the world.

Her work has been covered by leading publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. Vanessa DiMauro sits on several boards including The Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) whre she is a senior research fellow and co-chair of the research cohort, and Social Media Today. She is former Executive-In-Residence at Babson College’s Olin School of Management, holds both a B.A. and M.A. from Boston College.

Don Bulmer has over 19 years of multi-national experience leading innovative, award-winning marketing and communication programs at top energy, enterprise technology, internet startup, and professional services companies. He currently leads Shell’s social media and brand innovation efforts.

Don serves as a member of the board of directors at The Churchill Club, an internationally-respected independent business and technology forum located in Silicon Valley, where CEOs, thought leaders, global business executives, and senior political leaders meet to discuss and debate important issues related to innovation, leadership, and economic growth.

Don also serves as a senior fellow and member of the board of directors at The Society for New Communication Research.

About SNCR

The Society for New Communications Research is a global nonprofit 501(c)(3) research and education foundation, think tank, and public service organization, dedicated to the advanced study of the latest developments in new and emerging communications tools and technologies such as digital, social media, and mobile, and their effect on business, culture, and society.

SNCR is dedicated to creating a bridge between the academic and theoretical pursuit of these topics and the pragmatic implementation of new media and communications tools and methodologies.

The Society’s Fellows include a leading group of futurists, scholars, business leaders, professional communicators, members of the media and technologists from around the globe—all collaborating together on research initiatives, educational offerings, and the establishment of standards and best practices.

To learn more about SNCR’s Fellows and their work, visit the Fellows Directory.

 

Posted with Blogsy

The Power of Voice and Connectivity

We live in a time of amazing technological transformation.

The advancement of global communication since the invention of the internet 25 years ago, is a gift of "connectedness" to information, knowledge, commerce and people that has transformed societies, industries, governments and the lives of billions of people.

With all of it's imperfections, it's easy to take for granted and even criticize (in a developed world) the great gift of modern-day connectivity which has made our lives easier, more productive and prosperous in so many ways.

Twenty-five years and a generation of change!

Most young people in the developed world (screen-agers) have never known a life without the instant gratification of socializing (without being social) nor a life without immediate access to information, knowledge and entertainment in the palm of their hands.

Yet, we must not overlook the disparity in the fact that 4.3 billion people in the world lack basic access to what we now see as a fundamental right of being "connected." This lack of access impacts the delivery and progress of healthcare, financial and social inclusion, education and other important human rights.

I'm inspired by the work of many NGOs and organizations like the UNDP, the World Bank and numerous initiatives like Internet.org and mPowering Action that are working hard to bridge this gap, by building capacity through partnerships and collations to bring basic and affordable technical access to the internet and other social and economic service to the parts of the world that are most in need.

A recent study commissioned by Facebook (as part of internet.org) shines an important light on how basic and affordable access to the internet and internet services can change the lives of the billions of people in developing countries, significantly improving health, education and sustainable economic development.

The study found that by expanding internet access in developing countries to levels seen today in developed economies, productivity would increase by as much as 25 percent, generating $2.2 trillion in GDP and more than 140 million new jobs, lifting 160 million people out of poverty.

The report also found that increased internet access would deliver critical information on nutrition, hygiene and disease prevention to billions of people. Once connected, people gain access to basic tools like health information, financial services and education that can help them live fuller, better lives and join the worldwide economy.

Below are two charts from this important study representing the impacts should the developing world have the same access to the internet as the developed world. The full report can be found here.

Corporate leaders need to prioritize and adequately resource the funding, commitment and delivery of social investment and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs that advance the health, education and economic prosperity where they operate today and where they hope to be, tomorrow. This is just good business.

Governments must encourage and participate in public/private partnerships through the delivery of policies, incentives and commitments that bring together expertise, capital and technology (across sectors) required to safely advance their communities - small and large. If we don't take adequate action, we limit progress and guarantee enormousness poverty and stress on our global ecosystem.

Today we are in a world of seven billion people. By 2050 we we will be in a world of nine billion people.

Posted with Blogsy

mPowering the Millennial Generation

Nearly half of the world’s population is between the ages of 13-33. That’s nearly 4 billion people living on the brink of the greatest technological advances and human progress while also surrounded by intractable public health epidemics, record jobless rates, outdated education systems and historic pressures on the planet’s resources. This, the millennial generation (born between 1980 and 2000) is the largest generation ever. In some countries such as Brazil, Nigeria, Iraq and Kazakhstan, the population of youth is as high as 70%.

The underlying thread connecting the issues in the above stated paradox, is Energy. Unfortunately, most people do not realize that 1 in 5 people today (1.3 billion people), live without access to energy. If nothing is done to address energy poverty, by 2030, nearly 4,000 people per day worldwide will be at risk due to toxic smoke and indoor fires from unsafe cookstoves. This is just one consequence of the energy challenge.

Shell is proud to be a founding partner with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Foundation (UNF) to empower and motivate a generation of young people to learn about global issues and take positive action in their communities and beyond.Take action and download the new mPowering Action app -- iTunes: http://bit.ly/1m7bV9e Google Play:http://bit.ly/1gCfOS5less

Posted with Blogsy

Shell and the Great Energy Challenge Go Social: A Case in the Making

What inspired me most about the opportunity to join Shell in 2011 was nothing short of scale and impact.

There are few industries and companies that can claim true relevance to every person on the planet. Energy is such an industry that serves a vital purpose in sustaining daily life and enabling progress around the globe. Shell sees its role to deliver more energy in ways that are economically attractive, and socially and environmentally responsible.

As the world grows in population from 7 billion people to 9 billion by 2050, societies will become healthier and more prosperous. This growth will increase stress and scarcity on water, food and energy, our most vital, global resources.

The complexity associated with the energy challenge play out on social, environmental and geo-political levels. In order to make progress, active engagement with people of all ages, societies and cultures is required.

Scale and Impact

Given the scope of the energy challenge, the question I asked was "how do you make a company like Shell relevant and relatable to every person on the planet?" This is a big question and challenge to solve for.

The good news is that the means to support the challenge exist, in part, with the smart use of social media and mobile (technologies) applied with strategic partnerships, compelling content and purposeful engagement. There is no better way to engage a broad spectrum of audiences at scale (from one to one billion) than through social media and mobile.

I’d like to offer insights into a few key areas that helped to guide our efforts in addressing the challenge:

Purposeful Engagement

Working through answers to simple questions is important. You don't have to be a social media expert to develop smart and high impact strategies, as long as you work through the right questions. I have been drawn to a very simple question-based framework to guide our social media content and engagement efforts at Shell:

What do you want people to know, feel and do as a result of interacting with your company and/or content?

Facebook advocates working through the following question, which I also like:

Why would someone care and why would they share your content?

Answering these questions has proven important as we define our audiences, understand what they care about and develop content that relates to their interests, concerns and/or needs.

It forces us to think about and appeal to the emotional and behavioral drivers that inspire people to engage and take action on a daily basis. Every person has a different entry point into the relationship with Shell.
Our challenge is to provide an environment that allows for each person to benefit and contribute in a meaningful way.

Conventional Partnerships

It is important to have a strong balance of strategic partnerships and relationships in place with companies like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google and with agencies (PR, media, creative) and technology partners like Adobe and/or Buddy Media (now Sales Force Marketing Cloud).

Developing a collaborative structure that brings together motivated teams from each partner with well defined roles and responsibilities to contribute to the success of your larger business strategy and objectives is crucial. Each partner brings with them an important lens on audience and engagement opportunities supported by great data, insight and expertise that when pulled together into a uniform view, have enormous impact.

Unconventional Partnerships

It’s also important to seek unconventional partners. Those who have common interests in the problems you are looking to solve and a willingness to collaborate to offer powerful solutions to address. In many ways, the unconventional partnerships are the ones that will distinguish your efforts in game-changing ways.

As I have previously written, Shell is a founding partner of an initiative called mPowering Action that seeks to engage 100 million youth across 120 countries over the next five years.

This innovative program is orchestrated by Tribal Brands and is delivered through a public/private partnership model with the United Nations, NGOs, businesses (like Shell) and top global athletes and artists in the entertainment industry.

Today, people under 25 make up 43 percent of the world’s population – in some countries, that number is as high as 70 percent. This amounts to nearly 4 billion young people living on the brink of the greatest technological advances and human progress while also surrounded by intractable public health epidemics, record jobless rates, outdated education systems and historic pressures on the planet’s resources.

This generation of millennials are social media savvy and eager to help create real-world change, and for the first time in history, technology has the ability to facilitate change in the palm of their hands.

mPowering Action is a powerful initiative because it brings together organizations that do not typically work (or work well) together with a common interest to provide a voice and bring real world solutions to the challenges representative of 43% of the population on the planet. No one organization can deliver on this vision alone. It requires participation from the value-chain.

Developing unconventional partnerships such as this showcase your company's purpose and commitment to deliver on the very human issues that motivate and inspire people to take action...which just might lend to brand preference for your company.

In a future post I will offer additional insights on:

• The importance of behavior-based vs. transaction-based engagement to establish loyalty and advocacy
• Mobile. More than “just” the phone

Related articles

 

Back to the Future: Social Media at Shell

A Social Movement for Seven Billion People

Research Findings Highlight the Evolution of Social Business

mPowering a Change Generation

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Insights on Brand and Reputation Management

I was recently asked a provocative question: “What experiences or insights have shaped your views on brand and reputation management in today’s business environment?”

This is a great question and the more I thought about it, the clearer the answer(s) became.

1. The first insight reflects the The Changing Role of Influence.

There is a great quote by Gary Hamel who says “Influence is like water. Always flowing somewhere.”  This is very true in today's business enviornment as new sources of influence are forming around our companies and industries at an extremely rapid pace.

I have talked with many marketing and communication leaders over the last two years who are rethinking the design of their programs and organizational structures to understand the changes they need to make to be more effective in an evolving business (influence) environment.  The need to become more relevant and relatable to customers are driving much of the change.

The reality is that traditional marketing and communication platforms and one-to-one relationship models that many of us have built our careers on have been disrupted.  Trust in mainstream media and NGOs (for reputation management) and traditional advertising, digital marketing and mass communication tactics have been challenged by how people want to engage with companies.  Most companies today are not approachable and lack a personality or an image that people can relate to.

It's extremely important to understand how customer expectations and influence has changed in our industries and adapt our structures, programs and mindset to allow for balance both in how we influence and how we are influenced.

2. The second insight extends from The Cultural Impact of Social Media.

As much time as we spend talking amongst ourselves as marketing and communication professionals about the technologies, tools, processes and governance of social media, at the end of the day the problem we face is how we adapt to a new cultural imperative. This is what social media is really about - culture and mindset.

The implications of this are high as success requires humility, authenticity and courage to be open to opposing views and discourse in an effort to make progress.

3. The third insight is associated with Brand Empowerment.

In light of a highly disrupted media industry a strong and compelling case can be made that “Every Company Is a Media Company.”

Tom Foremski has been a champion of this idea for several years.  Tom is a former journalist with the FT and maintains a blog called Silicon Valley Watcher.

The notion of every company is a media company does not suggest that companies are the next CNN or FTs. What it does suggest is that companies now have the ability and in many ways a forced accountability to communicate direct with its key audiences – providing greater reach and more influence than traditional media has ever offered as a primary channel in the past. 

Companies no longer have to be intermediated by traditional media or other organizations as technology has opened up direct channels to reach and engage audiences (to an individual level) in meaningful ways.

4. The forth insight is The Power of Experience.

Joseph Pine III and James Gilmore have famously promoted that we now live in an experience economy . I fully buy into this.

Experience is perhaps the single most important and credible factor that influences any individual or community to take action.  This is very hard to buy.

One's experience (good or bad) is authentic and extremely credible.

In this regard, social media provides profound insights about how people think, feel and act as a result of their experiences with a company, product or service.  This represents the trifecta of insight that we all strive for. To understand how our customers truly think, feel and act is priceless.

In today's enviornment, when there is a crises often times it is “the gap” between the Brand that a company has built and stands for and the actions in its Business that people react to and attack.  I call this the battles of the “B”s.  

If not completely aligned, Brand sits on one end and Business on the other. In the middle is the credibility or experience gap.  The credibility or experience gap is one of the biggest liabilities for companies in this new media and business environment and is why all programs must be strongly linked to managing experience.

 

These are some of the most important insights that have shaped much of my thinking and work. 

From understanding the changing role of influence; to adapting to a new cultural imperative for engagement as a result of social media; to adapting to our role as a media company; with full respect for the power of experience.

My question to you: “What experiences or insights have shaped your views on brand and reputation management in today’s business environment?”

mPowering a Change Generation

On February 8th, the United Nations Foundation, Shell, Tribal Brands and members of the entertainment industry came together to celebrate the launch of mPowering Action, a first-of-its-kind worldwide movement and mobile platform designed to inspire, empower and motivate a generation of global citizens to take positive action in their communities, for their families and for themselves.

The initiative was launched at a star-studded event during Grammy Week in Los Angeles, and featured a special appearance by the platform’s first Producer-In-Residence and super-producer Timbaland as well as performances by actor and singer Justin Timberlake, Avicii, Estelle and Indonesian artist, Agnes Monica who alongside Timbaland made the U.S. debut of the first song in support of the initiative.

A Focus on Global Youth

Today, people under 25 make up 43 percent of the world’s population – in some countries, that  number is as high as 70 percent. This amounts to nearly 4 billion young people living on the brink of the greatest technological advances and human progress while also surrounded by intractable public health epidemics, record jobless rates, outdated education systems and historic pressures on the planet’s resources.

This generation of millennials are social media savvy and eager to help create real-world change, and for the first time in history, technology has the ability to facilitate change in the palm of their hands.

mPowering Action

mPowering Action incentivizes youth to learn and engage through two popular mediums: the universal language of music and the ubiquity of the mobile phone. Bringing together A-list artists from around the world, a mobile application was developed by Tribal Brands that will offer young people everywhere exclusive content from globally recognized artists, as well as athletes and other celebrities, in exchange for a story or personal commitment to take action in one of five issue areas including: Education; Health; Reproductive and Sexual Rights; Energy Scarcity and Resource Management; and Jobs.

Through the mPowering Action mobile application, young people will be able to explore and articulate the issues that are important to them, search a global database of nonprofit organizations to get involved with, find local meetings and/or events that focus on issues relevant to them and connect with like-minded peers throughout the world.  

UN Foundation and Shell – Leading the Way

By working with organizations like the UN Foundation and Shell, mPowering Action aims to invite people into this process, providing a cross-sector approach to mobilizing 100 million young people to address some of the most pertinent development and resource management issues of our time. As part of the launch event, the UN Foundation and Shell (mPowering Action’s lead corporate partner) expressed a call-to-action to the global nonprofit, entertainment and corporate communities to learn more about the initiative and join efforts to help reach billions of youth around the world, encouraging them to take part in creating a better future for themselves and their communities.

For more information about the platform, please visit mPoweringAction and follow the initiative on Facebook and Twitter.

Insights Into The Social Mind

By Don Bulmer, Vanessa DiMauro and Peter Auditore

Social business is dynamically changing the face of human interaction and communications globally. The emergence of new social behaviors and interrelationships between individuals, organizations, thought leaders and influencers are evolving in new and previously unforeseen ways primarily because of social media networks and peer groups.

A disruption is in the making, but this time, human behavior is the driver, not technology. People want and need to get the information they need at the time they desire it, especially from those they consider to be experts. We are returning to the “apple cart” of yesteryear. However, this time around we are armed with digital devices to extend our global ability to talk with the companies and people who inform our decisions.

This paradigm shift is a major communications innovation in all markets, which is radically changing the way people and organizations engage and behave online. There is also a strong link between social networking and what might be called “a new global anthropology” that is developing because of these new behaviors, interactions and interrelationships between cultures enabled through social business.

Over the past three years Vanessa DiMauro, Peter Auditore and myself, all Society for New Communications Research fellows, have embarked on a series of research studies to understand this new and evolving business platform and its impact on social communications and influence.

The New Symbiosis of Professional Networks

The findings and predictions from our most notable study, the New Symbiosis of Professional Networks research conducted three years ago, (2009), identified what we called a Social Media Peer Group, (SMPG) this is essentially a Web 2.0 community of interest around a specific topic and/or business in the course of this treatise we will refer to them as Social Media Networks (SMNs). SMNs, are not always groups of peers, but are enabled by the new social media human computer interfaces and platforms that facilitate easier information sharing and collaboration. And the second New Symbiosis of Professional Networks study (2010) honed in on the changing role of the online influencer and formatively noted the rise of the “crescendo effect” where content creation and curation was being used as credibility builder in online environments.

The Social Mind

The Social Mind research project was designed to explore and understand interrelationships of global communications and how they impact the consumption of information across social media channels and influence flow. Social Mind findings will enable B2B, B2P, B2C or cause marketers to understand the importance and relevance of content - and - its ultimate impact and influence on behaviors, beliefs, decisions and actions. The Social Mind identifies key characteristics and insights into the engagement behaviors of influencers and individuals, and how organizations can maximize reach and influence to execute on what we call the new "Principals of Engagement in the Millennium."

We surveyed more than 400 mostly professional and highly educated people in North America who actively participate in social media networks. And nearly 50% regularly create content through blogging, the other half engage and share/create content in social media networks.

Our findings show that social media networks have evolved into trusted expert communities that are testing the trust that people have in more traditional news and information sources. This is a huge shift in information and influence flow as nearly 65% of the sample base indicated that SMNs and professional networks are more trust worthy than traditional news and information aggregators (again remember that these are highly educated individuals.)

We found a significant shift in information flow: 

• The role of the expert is rising in importance on the social sphere; 
• And the need for expert content is high among content consumers. 
• Journalists are no longer considered the sole authoritative sources, and traditional media is just a leader to let people know what they need to self-educate about on their own. 
• As an alternative to media-fed information, content consumers find greater value in curated content from experts in order to discover the information they need.

We found that professionals spend approximately 40% of their time online interacting in peer -peer communities closely followed by friends (31%) and then family at (13%.) 

• Twitter and blogs are equally important as the company or organizational website which ranked 2nd in importance to Twitter. This in contrast to research from just three years ago where a majority of respondents indicated that websites were the most important source for information, followed in close second by social media channels. 
• Twitter emerged as the most important social network for professional interaction.
• Facebook was “the friend network” where in-person friendships are reinforced and extended, virtually. 
• Email remained the preferred channel for family to interact online.

Summary

The Social Mind research study clearly defines the characteristics and behavior of social media influencers within social media networks that impact the brand, reputation and potentially the sale of products. Organizations that are socially savvy will and are recognizing the value and enhancements that can be derived in the areas of customer service, CRM and customer experience through social media networks. This is becoming a significant competitive advantage for many companies and organizations as social business evolve and grow globally.

In the coming weeks, Vanessa, Peter and I will blog about the research specifics. We will each take the topics that inform our work practices, and together, this blog-ring will offer our perspectives on the outcomes and offer a platform for engagement. So please, follow-on, ask hard questions and discuss with us your ideas about The Social Mind. You can purchase the study here.

Back to the Future: Social Media at Shell

On February 15th, 2012 Shell launched its first globally integrated Facebook page, representing a significant milestone for the company and its commitment to open communication and community engagement.

In many ways, the learnings and experience (in the first 10 weeks) have clarified our viewpoint on what community and social engagement truly means for a company like Shell. I call it our "Back to the Future" insights and learning moments.

The Need to Engage.

Shell's senior management endorsed the company's progressive entry into social media (starting with Facebook) driven by a need to engage with people in a way that reflects the realities of the world that we operate in today.

Energy is a complex industry that affects every person on the planet.

There are many socioeconomic, environmental and geopolitical issues surrounding the energy industry that require a great deal of education and exchange with people of all ages, cultures and in all countries, to progress.

Although Shell was not the first energy company to embrace social media, we have been the fastest growing and are now leading all others by measure of followers. As we enter the tenth week with our Facebook effort, we have surpassed 900,000 followers and are on track to reach 1 million in the first three months.

We are learning daily as to "why" people are following and engaging with us.  The learning and insights have been tremendous.

Back to the Future.

Modern day public or community relations (circa early 1900s) was famously founded and put into practice by Edward L. Bernays, Ivy Lee and other early public relations pioneers.

The principles were rooted in the need for companies and government to engage with citizens and stakeholders in local communities to make progress on very complex social and economic issues that existed in the U.S. at the time.

The many technical and professional innovations introduced to the world in the 100+ years since (e.g. advancements in radio, press release, telephone, television, facsimile, Internet, email, social media, etc.) have increasingly made communication with people and communities easy and scaleable but arguably less personal.

This has tested societal trust in "the message" as the content that many organizations create has become increasingly generic, technical, fragmented and detached (from everyday people) to compensate for the desire to reach the "masses".

Corporate marketing and communication professionals have worked hard to adapt by tapping into the social phenomena of "word-of-mouth".  The fixation to develop strategies to drive influence with and through specialized audiences of consumers, professionals, voters and citizens (from within) have brought about a more purposeful but vulnerable level of engagement. 

Fast Forward.

The recent advancements to communication through social media has, in many ways, taken us right back to where we started over 100 years ago as a profession.

Social media and its implementation through blogs, and robust communities like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (among other social media peer groups) is one of the greatest advancements and innovations to the "new" modern day public and community relations profession. The principles introduced over 100+years remain the same.

Back to Basics.

There are many "back to basics" realities that companies must employ to be successful, today.  Early lessons from our work at Shell reinforce that success (in part) is driven by leadership discipline and conviction to:

• Understand and acknowledge the difference between audiences, influencers and stakeholders and how to communicate with each. There is a big difference between them. Here is a great articulation of the difference. 
• Seek to understand what your general or specific stakeholder audience cares about and adapt your message to relate to them. In doing so, it's important strip away corporate, technical and/or buzz words that often annoy and turn people away. 
• Invest the time and human resources to support constant, active engagement. Simple gestures of responding to someone is sometimes enough to move them from concerned, to informed and to advocate.  We witness this on a regular basis. 
• Minimize the complexity of your organizational structure in how you represent yourself to the world. The general public does not see you for how you're organized, rather they see you for your behavior (past and present) and the impact and value that your products and services provide to them. 
• Provide simple and easy ways for people learn and experience (or share experiences) with your brand. 
• Create shareable moments, experiences, view points and insights associated with your brand (products and services) that allow people to engage and develop informed viewpoints. The shareable moments should be visual and allow people to be informed and inform their own perspectives. 
• Don't be afraid of controversy or adverse view points from the public. Trust and progress happen when you accept contrary viewpoints and adapt or take action accordingly.

These are just a few of the lessons we have used to guide the design of Shell's social media strategy to build and sustain a community of followers (not just "fans"). We are constantly learning, testing and adapting the content and practices to increase informed view points (two-way) and build authentic advocacy, loyalty and social-economic results.