Comments on: Social Media Squeeze Endangers Midsized Firms

By: Ricky

Ricky — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:16:50 +0000

Great post! If a business wants to grow, they have to start looking about how to use social media to enhance their customer experience. Not all avenues are best for all businesses, but if you don’t take charge of the conversation about your brand, someone else will.

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:30:18 +0000

Hi Danielle, Businesses understandably underestimate the time involved in maintaining a social media presence, because they don't have much if any experience on these sites. I've learned to be very clear about explaining that, so companies don't experience something like "sticker shock" when they delve into Twitter and discover it's a serious commitment. Brad Shorrs last blog post..Are You a Social Media Doer or Dabbler?

By: Danielle Ingram

Danielle Ingram — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:44:29 +0000

This is a great point, although it is generally free and accessible to all the point about social media that is often forgotten is that it does require a strategy, so obviously it requires manpower which equals...money of course. It is also incredibly time consuming not only sitting writing twitter posts every 10 minutes, but the planning if done correctly should take a significant period of time i guess! Danielle Ingrams last blog post..Google One-Line Sitelinks - May 9, 2009

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:47:52 +0000

Hi Andrew, You've articulated the area that concerns me about outsourcing social media - the ability to handle issues. I suppose it would depend on the complexity of the business and the scope of what the dialog might cover. Thanks as always for your clear thinking! Brad Shorrs last blog post..How to Succeed on LinkedIn in 100 Easy Pages

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:05:01 +0000

Brad, I like Karen's suggestion, and provided that the outsourcing process is managed effectively, then this could be an arrangement which works effectively with for a mid-sized company. I would see no reason why this type of arrangement would not work. As Fred pointed out, the concept of spokespeople who may not be employees of the organization concerned has worked well terms of traditional media relationships. I don't see why it couldn't work in social media. To me, it's not so much a question of whether public communication comes from internal employees of an organization or from external parties. Rather, the most important question would be whether or not the representative concerned has the willingness and communicate effectively with the target audience and to effectively handle any issues of concern raised during the course of the social media dialogue. Andrews last blog post..Animal testing - a positive EU proposal to eliminate unnecessary suffering

By: Fred H Schlegel

Fred H Schlegel — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:00:27 +0000

Outsourcing is a funny word in terms of social media and may be part of the solution for mid-size companies. I like the way Karen talks about being open about the relationship as well as who the individual is. As long as the person talking for the company has the ability and relationships within the company to solve problems and talk with authority then I see it as a potential win-win. (Working for, working with, hardly working... all works). Spokespersons are nothing new, within the social media world I think (and since I'm mostly a bystander I differ to you folks here) that a spokesperson with authority works just fine on twitter and such in many situations. Fred H Schlegels last blog post..Community Creativity: “Let’s Put On A Show”

By: Karen Swim

Karen Swim — Mon, 11 May 2009 21:10:27 +0000

Hi Brad, I am doing quite a bit of social media work for clients. I would feel comfortable tweeting for them as part of the company brand but with disclosure it was me (i.e. @karenswim for X company). Twitter is a medium that in my opinion requires transparency. LinkedIn and Facebook Fan pages are a different story but Twitter is all about conversations and engaging others. Karen Swims last blog post..Let’s Connect - Maybe

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:53:40 +0000

Karen, Your note of optimism is wonderful - I hope people take it to heart. A couple things I'm curious about - to what extent do you think social media engagement can be outsourced, and how transparent should the outsourcing be? Would you be comfortable Twittering on behalf of a client, for instance? Brad Shorrs last blog post..Social Media Squeeze Endangers Midsized Firms

By: Karen Swim

Karen Swim — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:41:30 +0000

Hi Brad, you make an astute observation. The way for mid sized firms to overcome this is to outsource it. In that way they can remain focused on the core business and hire expert help that will not have the learning curve and produce results quickly. I can see the function itself easily managed under Service or Sales. The problem, however is at the heart of your insight, there are solutions but do mid sized firms see them and if they see them are they committed enough to take advantage. A failure to adapt will have them going the way of the middle class - nearly extinct. Interestingly enough I believe mid sized firms are in the best position to dominate. They're big enough to have more resources than the little guy, yet small enough to be able to reinvent faster than large cap firms. Karen Swims last blog post..Let’s Connect - Maybe

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:30:09 +0000

Fred, I think you've nailed the problem. There is a tendency for midsized company leadership to work on the business by working in the business, which really doesn't allow for much experimentation. Along with that, as I mention briefly in the post, many of these firms don't have a distinct marketing department or even a distinct marketing function is another major hurdle. So not only do you have a reluctance to experiment, but no place to perform the experiment. That may be why the whole concept of social media is so baffling to certain organizations. Brad Shorrs last blog post..Social Media Squeeze Endangers Midsized Firms