Social media Content Marketing and the Nature of the Professional Relationship
Refreshing and humanizing relationships in business
It surprises me that even today there is a certain segment of the business population that argues the increasing ubiquity of the social web will in some way dehumanize professional relationships. But is that a real risk and something to be concerned about? Perhaps, but if you’ll allow me just a moment of philosophical consideration here I would argue that just as with any new tool delivered unto man it is ultimately up to the practioners to determine if they’ll put that tool to use for good or evil. I imagine when the printing press was hot new technology there were those that were decrying the horrible impact that this new method of communication would have upon the daily exchanges with in the community of commerce.
Last year I had the good fortune of interviewing Ford Motor Company’s head of digital and social media communications, Scott Monty. The discussion focused on the impact this new era of communication has on the individual from a career perspective (here is the the whole interview on personal branding from the perspective of professional staffing services ) and personal branding, but Scott added something at the end of the discussion concerning how these tools may actually improve every day relationships developed via commerce.
“We’ve developed these amazing abilities to reach millions of people at the same time, yet we’ve kind of dehumanized things as part of the process. And think about when you were a kid or when I was a kid, you’d walk into the bank with your mom or dad on a Saturday morning and whether it’s the teller or the bank vice president or whomever, they would know your parents by their first name. They would know you by your first name and where you were in school. And now you need three forms of ID before you can even get out the door, and that’s if you’re dealing with a person, let alone just talking to a machine. So we’ve really desensitized and dehumanized a lot of things recently, and I think through some of these online tools, we’ve kind of allowed ourselves to get back to those basics, to have a digital handshake as it were, and to start the humanization process all over again.”
Having been using social media and content marketing tactics now for over two years I would have to agree with Scott’s perspective. Used responsibly and properly the effect of actively participating in the global discussions being held over social digital outlets create a level of intimacy in the business relationship that hasn’t existed since bartering for goods and services gave way to currency. Consider some of these examples:
Trade Events: Social media and content marketing tools create a greater sense of community when attending a trade event. Leading up to the event you can ‘follow’ those who will be headed there, find out what they are hoping to learn at the event, and make arrangements to connect with these ‘followees’ in ‘real-life’. At the show we are able to instantly share what we learn and what is being discussed and throw a hash tag (#) with the show acronym and instantly those thoughts are made available to those not able to attend.
Sales Cycle: The best sales professionals work hard to ensure they are delivering value to their clients. It is a matter of pride for them. How much more value would a sales pro be able to deliver if they better understood the direction and objectives of their clients by reading their blog posts, ‘liking’ their Facebook page, and following their employees on twitter? This social media and content marketing activity allows the sales pro to gain a level of knowledge that will help better serve the client, and more importantly understand the client’s culture, what truly matters to them and do so in a way that could never before have discerned by simply reading their annual report and exchanging firm handshakes with one or two executives.
Product Management: Not too long ago I served on the product management and marketing team for a certain project management software company. We gathered product requirements from maybe annual or bi-annual ‘customer advisory panels’. How’d we do? I’d say the requirements gathering was maybe 50% accurate at best (and I’m being extremely generous). Today with social media tools like Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous, Yammer and countless number of others we have the ability to ‘crowd source’ product management. That is, easily, quickly, efficiently and more accurately identify the requirements of the market place by simply listening and participating in the conversations with content marketing tactics.
Content Marketing: I can recall not so long ago it was the common wish of product marketers across the globe to create a ‘portal’ of information that would help and educate customers. A knowledge base not only of support materials but of industry perspectives and insight that would help customers achieve their goals. The answer back then was to throw up a couple of whitepapers here and there but it never really gained traction. Today? I can develop a content marketing strategy that consistently develops informative presentations, eBooks, whitepapers, blog posts, and analysis that not only is more easily accessible but naturally fosters discussion. A great way for adding value to your customers and building deeper relationships with them.
Bottom line on this whole thing is twofold. Yes there is danger of losing the intimacy of relationships if we allow digital relationships to supplant the real thing, but on the other hand used responsibly digital and social media can and should serve to deepen and strengthen the business relationship. In my opinion marketers bear a greater responsibility in this, and this is one of the motivators behind writing more about product marketing and product management strategies at Inflection Methods.
