Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The 4 P's of Social Business - Learnings via IBM Connect

Social Business = Social Collaboration + Enterprise Social
Making the World Work Better. Making the Web Work Smarter.



Happy 2013, everyone! (Freaky frogs! Month-end already. Where did Jan go?) Moving on from my blog post on Social Business - hottest topic on the web right now thanks to IBM Connect - let's dive into...


The 4 P's of Social Business


 Planning
Social Business begins as a Growth Plan. Put on your thinking cap and map the journey, outline the architecture, define business value right down to delivery, envision strategic goals, put the right people in the right seats. Draw up a detailed schematic of how internal workflows sync with external connections. Failing is OK, but failing to plan is planning to fail. Not OK.

Participation
The transformation from using social media well, to becoming a digitally connected, integrated Social Business calls for enterprise-wide, inter-department, "un-siloed" participation. Sure, adoption takes time. Innovation doesn't happen overnight. Participant buy-in may not come at once, skill transfers may take a while. Begin at the top to catalyze the creation of a top-down, inside-out ripple.

Paradigm
Social Business is indeed, a new corporate paradigm. A holistic approach to work, it calls for a dual shift =  technology and skill + culture and attitude. Making that shift happen is a D-I-Y task, sans instruction manuals. It's vital to have a strong focus on long-term vision. And p-a-t-i-e-n-c-e.

People
The 4 P's of social business could well be People, People, People People. At its core, a social business runs on intuitive social tech platforms, but it is powered + driven by genuine relationships with, for, of and by who else... people: empowered employees, brand advocates, company stakeholders, connected customers, executive leadership, social listeners, community members...






Social Business is more than content, social media or digital marketing. Social Business is about tapping into collective human potential to exploit opportunities of scale emerging from instant global access, 1st-degree connections, cognitive tech and real-time data. And we've just begun...

[Then there's Performance, Philosophy, Process, Purpose - but that's another 4 P's. Another post, another day.]



Which brings me to the 9th P of Social Business... Podcast. Just kidding :-) 
Humour aside, this Social Pros pod is a must-listen. Transcript included. Tune in. Be amazed.

Valuable advice via Sandy Carter: Empowering Employees with Social Business Strategy


9 gems curated for you to explore


(i) A sweet tweet

I've always believed... "Social is not something you do. It is something you are."
Happy to note Vala Afshar's much retweeted acronym on the same line of thought:



(ii) An informative video





(iii) A Social Workforce Is A Smarter Workforce -- an excellent PDF

Download this --> "Liking" isn't Leading. The Rise of Social Business.



(iv) Two well-written articles by:

Emilie Doolittle: Enterprise Social - The Rise of the Humans.

Laura Dinneen: "The Role Of the Social Business Champion in Scaling Social Media."


(v) A cool InfoGraphic




(vi) An eye-opening white paper from IBM Institute of Business Value

Executive Report - The Business of Social Business: What Works and How It's Done


(vii) A new book by Ed Brill







(viii) An educative slide presentation




(ix) A well-meaning suggestion for 2013:

Do one thing that scares you this year. Get Social + Do Business = Think Social Business.


Bonus Content


A Video-wall (x8) from IBM TV

Social Business => Attract. Deliver. Inspire. Simplify. Anticipate. Connect. Engage. Integrate.
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Monday, December 17, 2012

Raise your [SQ] - It is The Key to Social Business Success


IQ, KQ... move over. Here comes [SQ]... and it's here to stay!

Intelligence Quotient, Knowledge Quotient... are both vital elements of success. But the future demands something more.

It's no longer about:

How experienced you are
How connected you are
How skilled you are
How educated you are
How global you are

Don't get me wrong. While all of that is important, what's business-critical today is:

How generous you are
How genuine you are
How emotionally aware you are
How giving you are
How human you are




It's all about how social you are.

At the risk of sounding like Deepak Chopra's social media clone, it's time to put more heart into business. Tom Peters' words have never rung truer:

"The soft skills are the hard skills."

In times of technological parity - where everyone has equal access to cutting-edge innovation and new tech - the future belongs to companies and individuals with a higher Social Quotient [SQ].

Social Intelligence (emotional intelligence in a social context) directly impacts business results:

  • How well do you relate to your customers? 
  • How well do you understand their needs?
  • How well do you connect with customers, employees, partners, suppliers...?
  • Sure, you service and support them. How well do you surprise and delight them?

How well you empathize and 'resonate' with stakeholders has a direct link to innovation.

Success today is still about getting 'Marketing 101' or 'Business Basics' right but... within a new socially, globally, digitally connected marketing ecosystem - that's the real game-changer!

When a business makes that transformation on the inside and outside, in heart and mind, body and soul... it becomes a Social Business.


A Social Business Model Integrates Social into Core Business Processes :- Internal + External
Image Source: Esteban Kolsky on MyCustomer.com


Why become a Social Business?

At its most simplistic level, here's how the old, linear, one-way business model used to work: Everything began internally as 'content' and ended up externally as 'customer experience'. Whatever happened between launch and purchase determined the project's success.

Today, our lives are played out in a social environment. Most popular activities - entertainment, marketing, games, events, news, sports, TV, commerce - have become two-way inter-activities.

In the 'social' business model, customers are co-marketers, co-creators of brand and content, co-idea generators. Through feedback channels, customers are shaping and designing products by telling businesses exactly what they like and what they don't. Truly, a community of co-innovators.


Sandy Carter's Social Business (#SocBiz) Agenda for Enterprise-wide Collaboration


By leveraging social technologies to create a culture of readiness internally, and enabling e-commerce via multiple channels externally, a social business performs better by being an effective listener of customer needs, and an efficient executor/ deliverer of consumer demands/ desires.

The traditional customer-to-company funnel is gone. Now, it's one, big pipeline with CRM, Sales, Marketing, R&D and Innovation - all processes going two-way simultaneously. With smarter use of data, better application of insights and real-time analytics, the pipeline continually gets refined.

However, once the social (digital, mobile, retail) technology is in place, everything depends on the quality of relationships. Good enough reason to become a social business, and raise your [SQ].

Two well-written pieces on the same line of thought:

“Social Intelligence describes the exclusively human capacity to effectively navigate and negotiate complex social relationships and environments."
"Someone with a high social quotient will have the ability to positively influence and inspire others to achieve, whilst also being able to prioritize their work to generate the biggest output."


Social Business starts on the inside and it starts at the top. 5 ways to explore the concept:

1) An excellent presentation by Jennifer Dubow:


2) Books:

Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman


Return on Relationship (#RonR) by Ted Rubin


Socialized! by Mark Fidelman


Get Bold! by Sandy Carter


3) Follow Sandy Carter, IBM Vice President, Social Business Evangelism

To view all videos in the social business series by Sandy Carter, click here.

For more, watch Sandy's YouTube Channel or read her blog From Social Media to Social Business



4) Attend/ Follow this event: IBM Connect 2013

@IBMConnect (#IBMconnect) - Jan 27-31, Orlando, Florida


5) A Social Workforce Is A Smarter Workforce

a. Download this study by IBM's Institute for Business Value: The Business of Social Business.

b. Visit the IBM website for e-books, whitepapers, reports... dedicated to Social Business

c. The Rise of Social Business: Liking isn't Leading - Download this brilliant PDF

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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

What in the World Are We Searching For? Google knows.




Smack bang on 12-12-12, Google has created an excellent digital initiative... Zeitgeist 2012

If, like me, you weren't too sure about the meaning of "Zeitgeist", here it is. I just Googled it!




After conducting an analysis of the Top Global Search Trends (aka keywords, in SEO speak), Google has neatly compiled the most popular search terms into a list of categories:

  • Searches
  • Images
  • Athletes
  • Events
  • People
  • Feature Films
  • TV Shows
  • Performing Artists
  • Consumer Electronics
  • Airlines
  • Google+ Hashtags

Also features a brilliant Interactive Map of moments that captured our attention in 2012, allowing you to explore and compare the most searched queries - by country and month.

Overall, I loved Zeitgeist 2012. Enjoyed the web design (UI/ UX) and relished the top-notch content. In one master stroke, Google lets us know they dominate "search", and what amazing stuff can be done with good data at hand.

But before you wander off, watch the Year in Review: A video timeline of 2012's greatest highlights. It'll make you laugh, cry, happy, smile...


Never stop looking. Never stop questioning. Keep asking. Keep searching... in 2013. And beyond!


 [ps: Dear Google, the precise timing you chose to launch this cool initiative - 12/12/12 - has been noted. Well done!]
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Monday, November 26, 2012

Buyral Viral and BS Buzzwords - Techies have fun too!

Thanks to LOLcats, punk'd-style clips and home videos galore on YouTube, there's no dearth of mirth or lack of humour in social media. But what is rare is...

For something funny to come from tech brands. Very often, most are esoteric in-jokes which only 0.003% of the target audience find uncontrollably hilarious.

However, with mainstream channels gone social (or rather, geeky stuff gone mainline), I happily hit upon two good ones - a short film and an ad - on the same day. I just had to re-share:

1) BuyRal: After Gangnam Style's dream success, now everyone wants to go viral. Solution: BuyRal - Professional Clicking. A good spoof on viral videos by Toronto based agency, John St.




2) BS Detector: Adobe Systems' send up of jargon-junkies and BS (bullshit) artists who profusely use marketing textbook terminology and infuse every sentence with the hottest buzzwords.



Kudos to Darren Woolley for blogging. Get more info on both videos on his site, TrinityP3.com:


Source Credits with Gratitude:

Many Thanks for a fun read, Darren.
Shout out also to @AndrewArmour

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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Why Social Media is a Lot Like Sex - {47 Shades of Grey}




With an oh-so-hot title like "Why Social Media is a Lot Like Sex" and a steamy hashtag like #SocialSmushing to boot, this was designed to get eyeballs popping. But shock-jock value apart...

Here's a naughty but nice presentation by Hubspot with funny one-liners and twisted analogies. "Everyone's doing it." "Survey says: Social Networking is harder to resist than sex." A fun read...




Read Shelly Kramer's comprehensive blog post on the cheeky but clever presentation.
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Barack Obama wins US Election 2012 - A Victory for America, A Triumph for Tech + Social Media Strategy

This photo got 1.25 million+ Likes on Barack Obama's Facebook page - in less than 1 hour!



Barack Obama Wins Re-Election As 44th President Of United States!


BARACK IS BACK! Obama wins US Presidential Election 2012.


  • Three hashtags dominated by Team Obama - #Obama2012 #TeamObama #Ivoted
  • Driving @Obama2012 was a strategic, master-minded move by Democrats.
  • Friending top celebrities - Bruce 'The Boss' Springsteen, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Madonna, Oprah, Elton John, Robert de Niro... seriously... just look at this list!


"Four more years." - the most tweeted tweet ever - 327K tweets per minute !!!
Read more about how Twitter went nuts over President Obama's 3 word tweet here.



And this one, the first tweet from a very grateful Obama, minutes after his Election victory:



An important question was raised in this article by Venture Beat:

Q: What will 4 more years of Obama mean for the technology industry?


★ Highlights from President Barack Obama's Victory Speech after his historic win:


  • "For the United States of America, the best is yet to come"
  • "It is not about what can be done for us, it is about what can be done by us, together. That's what democracy is all about!"
  • "Your job is not done. In your role as citizen, your responsibility to this country does not end with the vote."
  •  "Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over."
  • "Michelle, I never loved you more. I've never been prouder to watch the rest of the nation fall in love with you"
  • "For now, one dog is probably enough." (to his daughters)
  • "Hope is that stubborn voice inside us that insists a better future awaits us and keeps us moving towards it."


Visit other websites of related interest:

http://www.barackobama.com
http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Nate Silver, a mathematician/ data statistician emerged a surprise winner of the US 2012 election.

Meanwhile, here's the 'real reason' why Barack Obama won. Hilarious Will Ferrell video - enjoy :)




As Barack Obama thanked Michelle Obama (publicly, generously, genuinely and emotionally), the Election 2012 victory for Democrats was also a big hit for women voters:



Here's a brilliant, original quote by Dee:

Life Happens... Winning Helps!

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Sunday, November 4, 2012

30 Tips to Super-Charge your Presence on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the social selling platform of choice


The best business relationships start with a connection. From there, follow-up, build and develop. But first, you have to start somewhere. LinkedIn is a great place to begin.

LinkedIn is the world's go-to place for professional networking and these statistics from LinkedIn's Marketing Solutions Blog show it is the social selling platform of choice for businesses worldwide.

  • 80% of B2B social media leads come from LinkedIn.
  • 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute their content.
  • 50% users are more likely to buy from a company they engage with on LinkedIn.
  • 77% of B2B marketers plan to increase their use of LinkedIn in the future.
  • 63% of marketers rate LinkedIn the most effective for B2B social media.


Creating your All-Star Profile

  1. Upload a clear, professional-looking profile picture. (Of yourself. Not your pet.)
    "People trust those they can see more easily. A clean photo adds credibility to your LinkedIn profile" - Cliff Rosenberg, Managing Director, LinkedIn, SE Asia and Australia
     
  2. When you set out to create your profile, follow LinkedIn's step-by-step guide to complete your profile. LinkedIn has clear prompts and pop-ups to guide you through the set-up.
  3. A good way to learn the basics and pick up a few time-saving tips is to look at "All-Star" profiles - highest rating given by LinkedIn to complete and compliant profiles.With humility, my LinkedIn profile is All-Star. Click here to take a look. Got questions? Feel free to connect.
  4. SEO Tip - Google loves LinkedIn. Use industry-relevant keywords in your profile. A 100% complete profile is a great way to raise your search engine ranking.
  5. Social Recruitment: As the world's #1 network of professionals, LinkedIn is ideal for employment seekers & talent scouts. The first place a recruiter will look up a prospect.
  6. More than a static resume, your LinkedIn profile is a dynamic document. Update it regularly. As an active forum of global business connections, it is a vital part of your personal branding and online marketing toolkit. "Brand" yourself in the summary.
    "On LinkedIn, you are your own CMO."     - Reid Hoffman, Chairman & Co-founder, LinkedIn
  7. Write a neat summary of who you are as a professional, in first-person, Channel your inner voice. Mention what you're passionate about, key drivers, strengths, specialties...
  8. Enhance your summary by adding media: videos, images, documents, presentations
  9. Add publications, projects - don't forget to credit your collaborators / contributors
  10. Ask people you know well and have worked with, for LinkedIn Recommendations.

Build your 'Power Influencer Network' with LinkedIn

Formatting and optimizing your LinkedIn profile

  1. Improvement is a continuous process. Go over section-by-section and refine each. (Pssst... you can drag and drop to re-arrange entire sections of your LinkedIn profile.)
  2. Download LinkedIn's suite of mobile apps. They provide tremendous value on the go.
  3. On LinkedIn Pulse, select the topics to tailor your own daily feed of quality content. Follow the world's top Thought Leaders. Read / share their posts.
  4. Use all the free resources available to you. There's LinkedIn Blog to research LinkedIn topics, the Help Center for any help you need, Answers, Polls...
  5. Update your 'Skills and Expertise' so connections can endorse you. Return the favour.
  6. Under LinkedIn Profile settings (i) Tick the box to display your Twitter ID on your profile. You can add more than one. (ii) You can also turn on/ off your activity broadcasts.
  7. Edit and customize your Public Profile URL (eg. www.linkedin.com/in/trivediamar)
  8. Explore the top navigation bar in detail. Each tab opens a meticulously designed drop-down menu offering a host of useful applications.
  9. LinkedIn owns Slideshare. Sync it with your profile. A vast information resource, it is one of the most underrated business apps / presentation tools out there.
  10. Once your personal profile is in order, apply the same best practices to build your company profile via LinkedIn Company Pages: Link your website and twitter feed to the company page. Update the page regularly. Inform all employees to get on-board, connect with and contribute to the company page. Also, promote the page on your other business networks.

Engaging and connecting on LinkedIn

  1. IMPORTANT - When sending out a request to connect, edit and personalize your invitation every time, to suit the recipient and match the occasion. (Note: To personalize invites on LinkedIn's mobile app, tap on the 3 vertical dots on the top right of the profile page.)
  2. Regarding 'who to connect with' on LinkedIn, you don't have to meet everyone in real life before you accept their invitation. Then again, you don't have to accept all invitations. (You can reply to invites before accepting.) Who you should connect with on LinkedIn is your call, but it comes down to business/industry relevance, interest and familiarity. Some people are LIONs (LinkedIn Open Networkers) and are open to connect.
  3. Do not hawk or hard-sell your wares on LinkedIn, or spam your connections en masse. While it won't fetch you the desired response, it may tarnish your online reputation.
  4. Be courteous to connections. Respect their privacy. Don't be "salesy". Say Thank You. Be helpful. Add value. (This tip applies to every Social Media Engagement Policy.)
  5. Pro Tip: Use your Privacy Settings. Tick/ Untick those little boxes for better control.
  6. Keep your content fresh - post updates regularly, at a frequency that suits you best. Never ever plagiarize or pass off other people's content as your own. The Internet does not forget!
  7. Integrating LinkedIn with Twitter: While posting updates on LinkedIn, tick the box to post to Twitter at the same time. (i) Remember to allow Linkedin access to your Twitter account under your Twitter Settings/ Apps. (ii) Do bear in mind, only 140 characters of your LinkedIn update will display on Twitter. If posting a link, only 118.
  8. Join LinkedIn Groups specific to your industry / field of interest. Ask questions in group threads. Give answers. Engage in (comment, like) discussions you find relevant.
  9. Groups: (i) While posting a comment to Groups, untick the box if you do not wish to be notified by email for every comment following yours. (ii) Via LinkedIn Group Settings, choose the delivery frequency of the digest emails for group activity (weekly/ daily).
  10. Check "Who's viewed your profile" regularly for leads and people interested in your profile. (LinkedIn Premium or LinkedIn Business (paid accounts) afford greater functionality.)
      • Hope this helps 'super-charge' your profile and you too.
      • Since we're always learning, please share tips/ feedback.
      • If you have any questions, just ask. I'm happy to reply. 

As with most social tech platforms, LinkedIn too is constantly upgrading and adding new features. To get a good grip (and I can't stress this enough), you must invest the time to experiment and explore the many tabs and functions. Watch video tutorials, if starting out.

When it comes to learning new technology or social media, I often use a 'swimming' analogy: No one's ever learnt it by reading or talking about it. You have to get in the water and get wet.

Dive in. Keep doggy-paddling. To be good at anything, you have to give it a shot. To be great at anything, as business coach Des Walsh would say, you gotta have... "stick-at-itness".
  • LinkedIn's first ever TV commercial - voice over by Jeff Weiner, CEO, LinkedIn




  • Tweet-chat with Koka Sexton, LinkedIn's Social Marketing / Social Selling Guru



 
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