This past month has been extremely exciting for me. With the help of the rest of the team at FLIRT, we have successfully launched one of our “common knowledge communities.” This particular community was designed to help and empower employees to create their own action plans by sharing personal successes, challenges and opportunities.
I have learned more about social media in the corporate environment in the past two months than I have over the past two years. The process hasn’t been easy, but living through it and learning from an actual experience, has made it all worth it and extremely rewarding. So here goes, two key takeaways…
1. Conversations are happening everywhere. They are not only occurring between consumers or between businesses and consumers – they are seeded within the walls of every company. Listening to those conversations, understanding how they can add value to your company and developing ways to make it easier for those conversations to take place -is vital. It directly relates to the attitude, atmosphere, and culture of your company.
Be understanding and patient. What I learned from this experience is that many companies are still uncertain about the value and security of online social communities. Don’t look at it as a burden; instead see it as an opportunity to begin a dialogue. Although the answers may be strikingly obvious to you – they may not be so apparent to others. Instead, recognize that you don’t have all of the answers either, no matter how much you may think you do. Take this opportunity to really learn from and listen to your client. Inevitably, you will uncover some of the most valuable insights into their DNA and anticipate unruly roadblocks
2. Many companies have an approval process…for every decision that needs to be made. Most likely, this process takes a heck of a lot longer than any of us would like. That doesn’t mean we should cut corners.
Knowing what the approval process entails from the beginning gives you a great head start. Understand who the major decision makers are and what their process is. Just because you are working with the marketing department, for example, doesn’t mean you can assume that other departments don’t need to be involved as well. Legal and branding happen to be the two “roadblocks” we faced. The lesson I learned: get everyone involved from the START of the project. No matter what your client may tell you, it is your job as their consultant and partner, to advise them otherwise. Often, your client is just as eager to get things moving along.
Approval time can nearly double, and in some instances, the project may even be rejected completely if you don’t take this into consideration. Getting everyone involved will ensure you are taking all of the necessary steps possible, to get things started off right. And when it comes time for branding and the legal department to review the site you have just designed and built, you won’t find yourself in a state of panic because you are back at square one.
What lessons have you learned the hard way, and what advice would you give others in order to avoid the same mistakes?
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