Do these 5 things and turn your company social

All the clients are talking about social...but not many of them know how to go about it. Oh yeas, one caveat before we begin...'doing social' isn't about buying a button on Facebook.



I was at WPP Stream a couple of weeks ago, I attended a CPG client session talking specifically about this. The guys from Hershey's did a fantastic job of facilitating the debate; Unilever, KC, Reckitt Benckiser and P&G, the heavy hitters were a in attendance

Here are the 5 things I learned when taking your organisation social:

1. Its organisational

Listening to these guys talk the first thing I picked up was how difficult it is to get your organisation to change. Some of they guys create a fund that they ringfence and distribute to brands where they feel they can make a difference. That is a good thing; but how does that budget get protected when the inevitable round of budget cuts come through?

2. Champion and "Live the Space"

The next thing we picked up was the role of champions. These champions live and breathe social, these guys tweet continously and 'don't just read about getting fit'...they go to the gym - ring any bells with your clients?

One thing that I have observed Unilever do really well is how the champion (i'll spare his blushes) really started to teach and lead the organisation and not just trash the prehistoric nature of his business. Needless to say he built his campaign and won over the skeptics

3. Make it competitive

I have also found that you need to give these champions some evidence from peer or 'leader' companies. It's easy to say 'well Apple did this...' but when you say 'Look at this Old Spice campaign' it gets noticed and the competitors stealing a march will be vowed never to happen again

4. Measure measure measure

Just because it's free you still have to prove it. Many senior marketers still think its a risk. they have seen the Domino's pizza YouTube effect so getting the right metrics, tracking positive sentiment and responding is vital. Get your self a good listening tool. Some are cheap and some are good. Few are both.

5. Finally you really have to be in it for the long haul. Hershey certainly are....it typically takes years to change a culture