Why do so many corporate social networking attempts fail?

In today’s age of Web 2.0, it seems as if every business in existence has a Facebook Fan Page, a YouTube Channel, and a slew of devoted Twitterers.  So – if companies ranging from mom-and-pop stores right up to Big Business each have a social media presence – what makes a company stand out?  What makes people join and follow these networks?  What keeps users coming back?

Now, as someone who visits social media sites daily (okay, so daily is quite the understatement…it’s more like I go on Facebook every half hour without even being conscious of doing it), and as a user who is a product of the Web 2.0 era, I would like to offer some insight.  Why should you listen to me?  Because I represent today’s consumer and know what people in my age bracket like, because, as it so happens, I’m part of my age bracket.

Some musings:

It seems as if one of the biggest problems is generating an audience to join and use these sites.  For example, if a business has a Facebook page, the business cannot assume that people are out on Facebook just dying to be fans of the company/product so badly that they search for it and join and then invite 10,000 friends – same goes for any other social media endeavor.  Social media marketing and advertising works just like regular marketing and advertising.  GET THE WORD OUT.  Tell colleagues and customers.  Engage bloggers and Twitterers.  Advertise.  Put links anywhere and everywhere.  Publicize in every applicable newsletter and website, both internal and external.  Chances are you’re Facebook ‘friends’ with some of your colleagues (and maybe even customers) on Facebook.  Post a link in your status message so it shows up in the Facebook news feed and in the ‘recently updated status’ tab – trust me, people DO click on this stuff.

Look into advertising on Facebook.  Facebook now allows you to create a targeted ad that you can make specific to people’s genders, age groups, interests, marital status, etc.  If you’re trying to reach single tech guys, for example, you can target them.

Hype your company’s social networking groups when speaking with teen-to-college-age audiences.  I know that IBM, for example, is involved with the younger crowd – thus, when giving presentations, it’s a great idea to mention Facebook groups, YouTube channels, etc.  Having been in college but a year ago, I would have been interested if a business directed me to their social networking projects.  I’d think, “hey cool, maybe company X is relevant to me and my generation, and tuned to what I want as a future employee/consumer.”

Offer an incentive for people to join your company’s network / group – it doesn’t have to be big – encourage people to take a survey, and give them a $5 iTunes or Starbucks giftcard or something.  Have a small contest for the best photo or video, and give away an iPod.  People love free stuff, but make them do something in order to get it.  Another thing to keep in mind is that people will get turned off if you make them do too much to get the free thing.  So the key is to try and find somewhere in between giving people something for merely joining your group, and making them fill out 10 pages of questions.

Keep the community going!  Don’t just create a group and then stop there – make sure the network has dynamic content, and update the material often.  Keep discussions going, and engage the community as much as possible.

And now for some shameless self promotion:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/IBM-DB2/10442975871

http://www.facebook.com/pages/IBM-Informix-Dynamic-Server-IDS/23461144288

http://www.facebook.com/pages/IBM-InfoSphere-Warehouse/17628877758

http://www.youtube.com/user/IBMer5985

I work for Corporate America?!

I just graduated from college in May 2007, with a degree in Journalism.  That was but a year ago.  Now, I find myself saddled with this thing called a “career,” at this incomprehensibly huge IT company.  Uh, wow.

I’ll be honest when I say that I never quite saw myself as a Marketing Communications Specialist for IBM.  When thinking of my future job, I always had visions of newspapers, magazines and publishing.  But IBM?  Nah.  I had always thought of it as a place for tech people – you know the type – that guy in the shirt and tie with the thick glasses (the kind with the tape in the middle), the overgrown hair and pens in his shirt pocket.  It also struck me as a place for business-suit-wearing guys who speak in all acronyms and perpetually have their Bluetooth headsets on and constantly check their Blackberries.  But, being neither a techie nor a staid businessy person nor a man, alas, here I am, complete with a fancy e-mail signature and my own conference call line and a vague knowledge of databases. 

And, I’ve come to find out, it ain’t half bad.  I’m getting into my own groove here, realizing that, “hey, maybe I can actually contribute something.”  I have a lot to learn about this whole corporate thing, but I also have a fresh perspective to give IBM.  And thus, a blog is born.

I’ll leave you with this, a little segment I like to call “Corporate Word of the Week.”  In case you were wondering, a ‘corporate word’ is something that particularly strikes me as being, well, fluff.  Fodder for this segment is pulled from meetings, e-mails and the conversations I overhear while sitting in my office.

Corporate Word of the Week:

Organizationable (adj.) – An adjective meaning, ‘like an organization.’  Perhaps people who use this word actually mean, ‘organizational?’  Or ‘organized?’  Or something that’s actually a word?

ex. – The tiers of management within the company are very organizationable.