How the 4Cs model of social business highlights ways to create shared value
In my previous post I asked whether businesses are ready for social business and looked at 10 pitfalls of using social media which suggested many may not be. For those who are becoming proficient in using social media, understanding progression to social business is the next logical step. This begs the ‘what is social business?’ question. In this post I will look at the scope and applications of social business so that you can review how much progress your own organisation has made onto becoming a social business?
What Is Social Business?
So what does the term social business actually mean? Another buzz word coined by highly paid management consultants or a fundamental change in the modus operandi of your organisation, critical to future growth and competitiveness?
In simple terms, a social…
10 tests for social media usage which show social business maturity
We have spent the last five years trying to convince companies to engage with social media. From initial scepticism (‘this is all very interesting but it’s really not for us’), interest and enthusiasm for social media in the UK and other countries has grown rapidly over the last 18 months. The CIM social media benchmark research shows that the majority of companies now have some type of social media presence.
However, most remain at an experimental/testing the water stage of social media maturity. Many view social media as another broadcasting channel for talking AT rather than WITH customers. Very few organisations have developed an integrated and coordinated Social Media Strategy fully aligned with and supportive of core business goals and objectives.
Social media pitfalls remain common and suggest a company limited in…
New social media benchmark research reveals which social media tactics are working best for businesses
The Social Media Benchmark is a rolling six-monthly study exploring how marketers are adapting to, investing in and getting value from social media.
We first reported on Wave 1 in February 2012 when the results from an Autumn 2011 study were published. Wave 2, the first survey for 2012 was published in June 2012. I have updated our summary below, showing the changes between Wave 1 and 2.
Purpose and methodology
This is a major, ongoing initiative from The Chartered Institute of Marketing which is supported by Ipsos ASI and Bloomberg. You can see from the names behind this research is not just, a poll, instead it's a major research programme.
It's intended to help companies understand how they can get value from social media marketing through publishing regular waves to benchmark against. The first wave of 1500 marketers…
The IAB pitches in with new industry best-practice guidelines
Are you doing paid-for promotion of your brand via social media channels? If so, or if you're intending to, be sure have a glance over these new guidelines from the IAB.
The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has released guidelines into the payment for editorial content to specifically promote a brand, product or service within a social media environment.
The new guidelines developed by the IAB’s Social Media Council are also supported by the Voice of British Advertisers (ISBA), the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP), offers marketers direction to ensure transparency when promoting to consumers in the social space.
The guidelines are helpful for brand owners and marketing practitioners since they help ensure that you comply with consumer protection law and do this by featuring six relevant social media scenarios to demonstrate how the guidance may work in…
Trends From Social Tech 2010
Value: [rating=3]
Our commentary: So, you have the website, the blog, Twitter account (with a degree of usage) and maybe even Facebook fan page, you're tooled up - but do you feel like you're just a hamster on a treadmill - we all do, sometimes. The question is - where's the magic? Ann Handley notes in a recent post at the Daily Fixblog, "B2B marketers + social = lots of room for improvement." She's written up her 4 take-aways from 'Social Tech 2010', an event focussed around the B2B marketer, and in particular for the high tech industries.
Marketing implications:
All content is not equal: You know the new mantras - "Content is King" - "We are all publishers"! But, "B2B companies have to produce the right kind of content: Web content that is honestly empathetic, seeded with utility for your customers, and that reflects your business's core values…
