6 Principles That Lead to Social-Media Success
For a great example, look at Zappos — a company whose success is due largely to an emphasis on culture. Zappos is based around 10 core values, which all employees know and understand. Beyond that, working at Zappos is fun, personal and social. For example, there's a Dance Dance Revolution machine in the lobby! Most importantly, though, employees are encouraged to connect authentically with each other and with customers. They feel good about where they work — and that shows in their engagement and performances.
Rule 3: Mind your online and offline manners
How you say something — be it online or off — is as important as what you say and can help make the difference in gaining fans, friends and followers. And remember that technology connects people in faster and more transparent ways than ever!
Social media can definitely propel your company forward, especially when employees are excited and involved. Australian telecommunications company Telstra gets this concept. In fact, at Telstra, social-media participation is mandatory! However, the company trains each employee on how to appropriately participate, basing its guidelines on responsibility, respect and representation. Very, very smart.
Rule 4: Listen, learn, adapt
Social intelligence enables your organization to benefit from all that is happening around you — including the conversations of your constituents — so you can adapt what you do and how you do it to better meet the needs of your donors, employees and beneficiaries. After all, it's a good thing to understand what your donors and supporters need and want, and how they interact with your services.
If you have a younger child, you've probably heard of Webkinz, which has turned out to be a brilliant concept by Ganz. Kids receive avatars of their stuffed animals in an online community, which allows them to interact with other children and to care for their "pets." But more importantly, Ganz is able to keep tabs of how many customers it has, how long they spend online and how they feel about the products they've bought. Using this information, Ganz is able to improve its product and its customer interaction.
