We keep our eye on the workplace landscape. Currently there are more than 30 unique job titles demanding social media leadership expertise. These require 120 distinct digital skills (competencies). Our training curriculum is aimed squarely at helping you develop these skills.
My friend and former business partner, Gary Goldhammer, pointed me to a “must read” blog post the other day via Twitter - you know the way most Tweet-Peeps do – using one of those short untypeable urls so followers can follow his link and Gary can check in on how many of us believed him.
That blog post was the author’s impressions of a talk she had attended by Edelman Digital’s David Armano on social media Engagement and Community Management.
And from there, there was the usual social media sequence: embedded in the author’s post was the Powerpoint Mr. Armano used during his talk. Embedded on that Powerpoint was a link to the document sharing site, Slideshare, where I could download the presentation. From there I could “like” it, “share” it, comment on it or link through to check out Edelman’s other presentations and where I could “follow” Edelman Digital’s posting activity so I’d be alerted when new stuff was uploaded there for my enlightenment.
The end game of Mr. Armano’s talk (and that which comprises much of today’s professional social media zeitgeist) is how marketers might best go about using Engagement to Sell people – and ultimately reap the benefits of doing so (from sales to shareholder value).
Gary, Edelman Digital, and Mr. Armano are doing so and reaping the benefits.
And lucky me. I have the skills to take up Gary and Mr. Armano on their information offers, and Edelman gets one more marketplace reputation or popularity point among us onliners in the guise of a follower or commentor or a tweet or a share.
But here’s the deal - today, right now, a Very Large Percentage of people - inside every kind of organization – giant, small and in between, and Buying People, Selling People, Servicing People and Governing People do not have the knowledge and skills to participate in, lead, implement, strategize or evaluate social media.
If Engagement is so vital to the marketplace (and it is), and resources are (necessarily) shifting “online,” brands ought to look very hard and very soon at who is NOT there to Engage or to be Engaged.
-- Who among their customers is not there?
-- Who is “not there” among their employees?
-- Who is “not there” among their leaders?
Who is “not there” because they don’t have the skills to lead or influence or participate in the connected marketplace?
And the answer is “most people,” “most employees,” “most leaders,” “most consumers.”
So I ask - or rather throw out the challenge – if social media Engagement is so vital could just ONE of those social media initiatives a brand undertakes be about bringing people IN? Not another initiative to get a like, follower or mention but another Person to Engage or to be Engaged.
Could it be about not just hiring the best social media guru out there, but training employees and giving the organization - and the Employee People in it - 21st century skills security?
Could just one be not only co-opting an online community of people already there, but building up the community of people who can be there with some initiative aimed at giving them either access, knowledge or skills?
Could it be about engaging with high schools, colleges and universities toward adding digital skills and professional social media practices into curriculum? Or supporting organizations like P21 (Partnership for 21st Century Skills)?
Or, what about sponsoring an online community or non-profit group trying to get people up to speed so they can reap the benefits of being connected and have some kind of skills security? I’ll bet WeAreVisible could use a boost.
Or, maybe it is simply authentically supporting digital literacy as public policy and taking a hard look at their own efforts toward Net Neutrality and broadband public policy. Does their stand on these really synch up with their online Engagement and Community Management activities?
Engage, manage and build community around that, please – just a little.
Because our social media world is not “The World.” Not even close.
Yet.
Heads up employers. Your social media policy restricting what an employee can post about your company - or if you require approval of those postings - may bring the NRLB to your doorstep.
The NLRB has filed a complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut for terminating an employee who posted negative comments about her supervisor on her personal Facebook page from her home computer. Co-workers responded to her remarks with supportive comments.
The NRLB action asserts that the termination - as well as the company's social media policy is illegal under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.
According to the NRLB's Office of Public Affairs:
"An NLRB investigation found that the employee’s Facebook postings constituted protected concerted activity, and that the company’s blogging and internet posting policy contained unlawful provisions, including one that prohibited employees from making disparaging remarks when discussing the company or supervisors and another that prohibited employees from depicting the company in any way over the internet without company permission. Such provisions constitute interference with employees in the exercise of their right to engage in protected concerted activity."
This is not a final decision. An NLRB administrative hearing is scheduled for Jan 25, 2011.
A posting on the NRLB's own Facebook page summarizes its tests for protected activity:
Statements by Lafe Solomon, the board's acting general counsel, assert conversations on Facebook are equivalent to the office water cooler and employees have the same rights in either place to discuss working conditions.
Employment attorneys suggest that this action may signal a new focus on social media for the agency and its intent to investigate employer policies on workplace issues surrounding social media activities.
So, review your social media policies to ensure that any restrictions on communications about the company are limited to things that you can legitimately restrict, such as violations of harassment policies, or disclosure of confidential information. The key to not running afoul of the NRLB at present is to ensure your social media policy restrictions are not so broad that they prohibit all employee discussion of the company on employee social media pages.
The FTC has come out with an FAQ for social media and blogger endorsements. The FAQ is in response to requests from ad agencies, bloggers and advertisers.
Social media practitioners have been concerned about staying within compliance, especially in light of Ann Taylor being called on the carpet for its blogger engagement practices under the new FTC guidelines.
Last year's revisions to the FTC's Endorsement Guides specifically target bloggers who endorse products or services, requiring bloggers to disclosure the relationship between the blogger and the company that offers the endorsed service.
The FAQ's clear up several circulating myths: there are no fines for bloggers who don't comply, the FTC has no plans to monitor bloggers and a general disclosure on the site is not sufficient - disclosures should be part of the post about the product, including video or Twitter posts. The FTC will be monitoring advertisers to make sure their practices surrounding social media endorsements are in line with the updated rules, i.e., encouraging disclosures.
Advertisers, ad and PR agencies and social media strategists, be sure everyone on your teams have this information. Put in place formal social media practices that encourage your blogger engagements to disclose any free gifts or paid endorsements.
The FTC's FAQ's are very easy read and provide the clear guidelines you'll need. Download them using the link below and distribute them to team members.
FTC Facts for Business. The FTC's Revised Endorsement Guidelines: What People are Asking
| Download the FTC's Endorsement FAQs |
Originally posted in our email newsletter, Social Media Management News. Subscribe!
Posting an article from our Social Media Management News June Newsletter. Enjoy and subscribe!
Marketing Communications
[ Resources for you ]
Facebook's Description of Community Pages
| Read about Facebook Community Pages |
Example: Automated Community Page for Lipton Tea
The 2012 Social Media Competencies Report.
MMLI on Twitter
