Livingston

Oct
15
2007

Evangelize!

Last Monday we discussed the challenges facing business adoption of social media tools and principles. To get to the other side, social media consultants need to help businesses navigate the sociological challenges of our dynamic new environment.

We must evangelize, and guide them from the command and control era into the participation ethos. Inside the echo chamber this seems obvious, but that’s because we already have savoire faire.

If there’s one thing I’ve gleaned from speaking to many executives and entrepreneurs over the past few weeks, it’s the sure knowledge that the everyday business person still understands very little about social media. The chasm is deep, and it is wide. We are still early in the adoption cycle, and these folks need guides to successfully navigate new media forms.

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Many great marketing and PR pros are already out there on the front lines doing it. But most of us are still on the inside, having fun, rallying ourselves. It’s easier to wax poetic about the echo chamber’s meme du jour than going outside the comfort zone to discuss the actual value of participation to unconvinced businesses.

In the past couple of months, I’ve been privileged to interact with Shel Israel. In one instance, I kvetched about speaking before what I perceived to be a hostile crowd, set against social media. Shel called me out, and said it was easy to convince the believers, but the real victories are won by convincing non-engaged organizations.

This was a great favor. Excitement about social media is best channeled where the most impact can be made. For me, that’s through service to the larger business community as it seeks knowledge about social networks and blogs.

Consider some of the possible outcomes:

  • More businesses listening to their stakeholders
  • More loyal customers who are committed to brands
  • By-products include more ethical businesses that have increased sales
  • And for us, well there’ll be more social media work instead of old school marketing and PR (think fun)

Now is the time. We are the ones leading the marketing & PR professions into this new era. To make it happen, we must focus.

The industry still needs more case studies with hard quantifiable results. Then we need to get outside the echo chamber, highlight our collective successes, and guide companies through the adoption phase. It’s time to evangelize.

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by Geoff Livingston | Internet Marketing |

12 Responses to “Evangelize!”

  • Valeria Maltoni Says:

    October 15th, 2007 at 9:06 am

    Consider that sometimes organizations are not engaged because they’re on auto pilot (about them vs. about customers), not because they don’t get it.

  • Geoff Livingston Says:

    October 15th, 2007 at 9:26 am

    Thanks for coming by, Valeria. I agree with that, but they will not come out of the wood work. And I wouldn’t waste my time trying to get them here.

    Social media consultants can help the ones that will come to events and ask Qs, the ones that are reading news stories from their associations who don’t get it, the ones who are seeking knowledge. But if we aren’t there in a welcoming kind of way, then there will be no guidance into this realm. That creates mis-adoption, blow-ups and asstroturfing incidents.

  • Kami Huyse Says:

    October 15th, 2007 at 9:29 am

    I think it’s less about evangelizing and more about integrating. Give business reasons for joining and then the companies adopt social media readily. I don’t think of old school and new media sepeately. Instead I see social media as a way to live into the two-way participation model, as the relations in public relations.

  • Geoff Livingston Says:

    October 15th, 2007 at 9:45 am

    Kami: Well, I definitely agree with social media as an integration within larger marketing.

    However, my experiences talking with businesses shows that they don’t see it that way, and they see it as a strange, weird thing that they may or may not have to deal with. That’s because there’s a lot of misinformation out there. We need to get outside of the echo chamber, and get out there if we are going to change that. Or someone else will… Like Vocus with their “blogger relations” tip sheet.

  • Lewis Green Says:

    October 15th, 2007 at 10:25 am

    Geoff,

    I agree. Where are the case studies? Well, they are with us; in our own businesses. On several occasions, I have taken the time to not only relate my own blogging ROI but to recognize those businesses who found me through my blog. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to recall another instance where I read a blog discussing hard ROI (with the exception of your sharing Ogilvy’s fine words).

    Oh, I’ve read lots about the soft returns: listening, sharing, and learning. But can we be real? How many businesses will invest in social media if those of us currently invested don’t have hard results to share. In some corners of the blogosphere, there are those who seem turned off by the idea that ROI has to result in business growth and revenues. My response to them is please stop saying that, if you want business people to invest in social media.

    At the end of the day, business is about growth, customers and revenues, and we need to acknowledge that. Within that model social media can work to provide customers a voice and businesses a learning tool.

  • bizsolutionsplus Featuring Solutions to Grow Your Business: A Case Study: Blogging for Business Growth Says:

    October 15th, 2007 at 12:04 pm

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  • Communication Overtones: Social Media and Business: Evangelists or Catalysts? The Drip Theory Says:

    October 16th, 2007 at 7:40 pm

    Kramer auto Pingback[...] doing so, don’t see it. My colleague Geoff Livingston calls this gap in understanding a chasm, and makes a call for evangelism.  I say that we must be catalysts for change, which is much quieter, but just as powerful as [...]

  • Becky Carroll Says:

    October 17th, 2007 at 12:56 am

    Geoff, I have seen this as well in the execs I have spoken to lately. They are curious about social media and wonder whether they should be using it, and how to use it. I think a basic “Social Media 101″ needs to be shared; perhaps we can come up with one we can all pull from to evangelize? :-)

  • Heuer Livingston Pre-CEA Podcast » The Buzz Bin Says:

    October 17th, 2007 at 8:47 am

    [...] our roles before yesterday’s CEA Industry Forum panel on social media. We started with the need for social media consultants to get out of the echo chamber and talk to businesses. Our discussion revolved around and progressed over several [...]

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    October 18th, 2007 at 10:40 am

    Kramer auto Pingback[...] of savvy companies) is up for debate. Kami urges everyone to heed Geoff Livingston’s calls for evangelism of social media, while emphasizing at the same time that traditional PR shouldn’t be forgotten in [...]

  • Fear Kills Social Media Efforts » The Buzz Bin Says:

    October 25th, 2007 at 7:13 am

    [...] of the social media savvy is not to chastise these folks, but to help them. I’ve called it evangelism, but perhaps the right word is coaching. And who hasn’t had someone coach them through a [...]

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