I’ve recently had my attention drawn back to this article in the Wall Street Journal, which hones in on the fear Twitter seems to strike in the hearts of CEOs. No wonder execs are cautious when it’s almost impossible to miss the Twitter #FAIL stories which can quickly plunge a brand into deep water. When social marketing goes off course unprepared senior executives can find themselves out of their depth, and the consequences aren’t pretty. Take British Gas’ recent attempt to talk to its customers via Twitter about its price hike. The PR disaster that followed was enough to send shivers down my social marketing spine.
Consumer facing brands are usually at the coalface when it comes to social media backlash – anyone (man, woman or cat) can make waves on the internet if they want to, and challenge a brand when they are unhappy about something.
So it follows that the professional audience of B2B companies should make it easier for their CEOs to navigate the business towards social success. Right? Wrong.
It’s not all plain sailing for B2B brands, which are still struggling to empower their senior executives on social media. Just one inappropriate comment or photograph posted publically and CEOs can be thrown to the sharks for the greater good of the company – under the watchful eyes of the board and stakeholders.
This fear prevails in far too many corporate executives (Seven in 10 Fortune 500 CEOs have no social media presence). But the root cause of their fear of social media runs far deeper than the possibility that a photo could be misinterpreted online.
Business’ adoption of social strategies has driven an unprecedented change in the formula for business success. In a very short time the ability to embrace a social ethos at every level of a company has become a key part of being a ‘modern business’. The shift is summed up rather nicely by Erik Qualman, who says, “We don’t have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it”.
Many senior executives have spent years in a business environment that values control above all else. It’s a world where board meetings are scheduled, authenticity is manufactured, plans have timescales, and ‘responding’ to the needs of the customer is not an immediate priority. Being a social business today is a direct challenge to this old-school control and authority.
Corporate power and value is no longer cultivated behind the closed-doors that many executives – especially those outside of generation Y -- are used to hiding behind. Business leaders need to effectively ‘unlearn’ traditional rules about building a successful, profitable and respected business. “In the new social world control is not as successful as influence”, so B2B CEOs must open up a meaningful dialogue with their digital audience.
Left, right and centre organisations are stepping up their social efforts – considering its impact from early strategy through to daily execution. This puts the pressure on everyone else to up their game too – and quite rightly. Soon we’ll actively avoid businesses that don’t operate in social channels, because it just doesn’t seem normal not to have a voice.
As the immediate and distinct interactions afforded by social media channels become the norm, it’s up to B2B executives to turn their fear into bravery. Data, social, and mobile will form the basis of competitive advantage, and B2B brands have to compete using social marketing. It’s sink or swim.
By Kimberley Brind, Global Marketing Executive, Social Strategist & Modern Marketer at Oracle.
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