The CEO Is Your Friend: The C-Suite and Social Media in 2010

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January 2010, Issue 71

Featured Article
The CEO Is Your Friend:
The C-Suite and Social Media in 2010
By Jake Wengroff, Global Director, Corporate Communications, Frost & Sullivan

The C-Suite to Take a More Hands-On Role in Social Media in 2010

From problem child to child prodigy, social media will clearly be the most watched, discussed and measured portion of the marketing and communications mix in 2010. As the medium matures and begins to be integrated with other corporate efforts, several trends are sure to evolve and surface.

Frost & Sullivan has been monitoring the social media space for close to two years now and finds that the following will be the top three trends to watch in 2010.

Trend #1: Marketing and PR Will Converge

Social media has been the emollient and bond joining marketing and PR/communications departments. This is a good thing, as there has traditionally been a Chinese Wall between the two departments, with perhaps a "Marketing Communications" manager thrown in as a go-between for good measure.

As social media has taken center stage, Marketing and PR have each claimed ownership of the medium—but politics aside, the most effective programs incorporate elements of both. Such charges and tasks as content, creative, distribution, syndication, messaging and measurement can be shared between the two—unifying the departments and making them stronger.

Additionally, for those on the agency side of the business, this can only mean another opportunity to "walk the halls"—selling to more than just the PR person at a company in order to introduce services to more people on the client side. This will also task PR people with serving the needs of clients who don't play a traditional "Corp Comm" or PR role, but rather are professionals they traditionally have not served. This is a benefit, and it will also encourage traditional PR agency people to move beyond the press release and media campaign and find more dynamic, creative and flexible solutions.

And perhaps this convergence will finally give PR professionals the stamp of authenticity we've always craved—moving us from "PR people" to "Communicators" to "Marketers."

Trend #2: Measurement and ROI Will Be More Important than Ever

With such confusion as to what social media even means, measurement will take on new importance, as companies need up-to-the-minute feedback on how their brands and overall reputation are being discussed and presented on the social Web.

The use of tracking and analytical software programs that aim to measure comments, blog posts, mentions, tweets, fans, followers, friends, clickthroughs, downloads, site visits, traffic, and page views—all at the same time—will become more critical. Radian6 and PR Newswire's Social Media Metrics tools are only two of at least a dozen software programs that currently aim to measure social media.

"Influence" and "Engagement"—two of social media's most prized measurements—will take on more importance in 2010. Expect more software companies to jump into the space—or perhaps even consolidation will take place among smaller providers as they ramp up to compete in this soon-to-be highly competitive segment.

Of course, measuring social media in the context of marketing campaigns should not be anything new. Social media is simply galvanizing the existing needs to measure the ROI of interactive media. However, according to a recent Frost & Sullivan survey of senior marketers, less than 50% of interactive marketers measure the ROI of their marketing programs. With so much attention now given to social media, ROI will become more closely watched, not only by the director of marketing, but by others in the C-suite of the organization. And on that note:

Trend #3: The C-suite Will Take a More Active, Hands-on Approach to Social Media and Marketing

The one blessing of social media is that the hype has finally reached the CEO, president and others in senior management. Thus, while Marketing or PR might have been a "nice-to-have" in years past, social media has forced marketing or PR to be a "need-to-have." CEOs are suddenly quite interested in what Twitterers have to say about their brand or company; overnight, they are now concerned with the number of Facebook followers.

While this may seem peculiar, marketers and PR practitioners can use this sudden interest—or some might say, hysteria—to their advantage. For example, they can show how marketing not only serves the purpose of "getting the company's name out there," but how it can also serve as a valuable tool for garnering customer feedback, which in the past had been awkward, inefficient and difficult to gather.

And while some senior managers see online conversations as having the unfortunate potential for opening the floodgates to negative criticism that would be difficult to shake off, marketers and PR people can demonstrate how this feedback is actually quite valuable and could potentially lead to adjustments or tweaks to a company's product mix or service line.

In this way, marketers are strengthening their role within the organization, displaying how their work extends to other functions, including new product development, client services or corporate strategy.

All Eyes Are Focused on the Bottom Line

Such involvement and proximity to customers through social media will also necessitate more oversight of ROI and results of marketing campaigns or efforts. Invariably, the C-suite will want to see a stronger link to the bottom line: revenue. While often difficult in branding initiatives, this will serve as the clarion call for marketers and PR pros to think creatively and dynamically about how they can best serve their companies or clients. Again, social media will clearly prove itself as a way for marketing professionals to push the limits of what they already know and do.

According to a recent Frost & Sullivan survey of senior executives, when asked about their use of social media and Web 2.0 tools, the respondents clearly demonstrated a strong perception of both risk and value.

When asked about the potential risks of social networking sites to their organization, executives responded in the following way:

As the chart above shows, loss of productivity is the biggest concern, but if marketers can demonstrate the ROI of various social media initiatives, this can quickly alter senior management's perception.

Alternately, when asked to indicate the value they perceive their organization receives from various social networking benefits, here is what close to 1,000 senior marketing professionals selected:

Not surprisingly, selling to more customers—but also pleasing them—nabbed the top spots.

Get Proactive About Social Media in 2010

In sum, 2010 will prove itself an interesting year for social media. Expect more engagement and interaction from people within your organization or from the client side with which you never usually maintained a close relationship; use this to your advantage to demonstrate your strengths, skills and abilities. And don't wait for them to find you—get out there and show them what you know.

Don't be afraid to train others in your organization as well; they will surely thank you for the help and remember you for future training needs.

The best part of social media is that as the market and professional skills evolve, there are plenty of free online resources to help us along. Utilize and maximize these for various campaigns and initiatives; experiment when you can. You will quickly find yourself with a very effective—and engaged—2010.

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Jake Wengroff is Global Director of Corporate Communications, Frost & Sullivan.

Marketing Watchdog Journal is a monthly newsletter from Bulldog Solutions, an online marketing agency that changes the way BtoB companies define demand-generation strategy, engage prospects and convert leads to customers. We welcome your feedback on this newsletter's content and design, and encourage you to share your ideas for topics you would like us to cover in future issues. Please send your comments or questions about Bulldog Solutions to Amy Bills, director of Field Marketing.