The evening’s theme for discussion was ‘how does the C-Suite build trust in an era of social business?’, something, it quickly became clear, is a thorn in many people’s side. There were disparate reasons for the pain, ranging from ‘loose cannon’ CEOs to legal department blanket risk aversion to tight industry regulation and subsequent analysis paralysis.
In between these pain points were many comments of a ‘I’d like to but don’t know how’ nature. Fortunately speakers from both Twitter and YouTube offered some distilling down of the fundamentals. Here were my key takeaways:
1. Commerciality is crucial. In the mass rush and land-grab for social platforms, many brands forget the adage that ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should’. It is easy to become divorced from the core principles of audience influence: go where they go, give them content they value and do it regularly. Brands need to understand where their audience goes online; what they’re looking for; where they’re prepared to interact with brands; and only then can they assess how the sales cycle can be integrated.
The most effective way to gain executives’ attention on social matters is to demonstrate the impact on brand and on sales. More importantly, rather than simply rely on the insight fed to them by their teams, the c-suite need to spend time ‘walking the shop floor’, that is invest their own time listening to the conversations that are taking place around their brand. If they don’t have a clear understanding of the forces shaping the reputation and credibility of their organisation online, how can they possibly steer a clear path through it? One CEO, who did this daily, believed he was able to spot issues brewing weeks in advance simply by seeing customer concerns and feedback at the coalface.
2. Pick the right platform. Every platform has its strengths and limitations. To use a sports analogy: as communicators we are the team managers – and we need to decide which position each player should play on a match-by-match basis, according to the team we’re facing and the capabilities of our players.
As a result, communicators need a strong understanding of each platform’s nuances, so that we not only pick the right platform to tell our story but do it in a way which resonates with the target audience. For instance, a CEO could easily use Twitter as a way of apologising or reaching out to their customers in a time of crisis. But YouTube is probably an even more relevant platform for this type of interaction. Why? Because customers get to put a human face to the business, in turn generating greater empathy and understanding.
On the flipside, YouTube would not be the right platform for a CEO seeking to engage with key influencers and opinion formers; it is a platform for content creators rather than conversation creators. Twitter, which is built around the concept of connecting like-minded individuals, is the perfect choice for reaching niche audiences and engaging with them around topics relevant to your business. It’s all about selecting the right platform, for the right audience.
3. Choose authenticity over automation. Don’t try to be something or someone you’re not. It may sound obvious, but many C-level are either frightened to say anything at all or conversely, to put on a veneer. The best examples of customer engagement are when brands respond in accessible language, rather than in corporate speak or as the PR automaton.
There’s been a couple of great examples of the human factor recently, including the ‘fishy’ response from Sainsbury’s to a customer complaint, where the supermarket’s social media managers turned a tongue-in-cheek complaint from a follower into a pun-brimming, light-hearted conversation. It showed both humour and humanity, and it’s the reason why many customers are fleeing the rigidity of call centres for more authentic online help and advice.
During the discussion, we were asked to think of Twitter as ‘the biggest dinner party in the world’. The mistake most brands make is in thinking they’re hosting the dinner, when, in actual fact, they’re a guest. To be invited back to the conversation with the real host (the customer) then, we have to be interesting, tell good stories, listen to our host’s stories, and maybe tell the occasional story against ourselves. In short, we need to be real. In return we’ll be talked about fondly once we go home, be defended when times are tough, and, most importantly, be invited back to the party again.
While this metaphor was specifically for Twitter, I think it holds true across all social platforms. The best way to distil how the C-level think about social business is to invite them to dinner and see if they realise they’re the guest.
The dinner was the fifth in a series planned by The Economist Group and Waggener Edstrom. If you’re a senior executive and grappling with the challenge of building trust with your audience, we’d love to hear your views on what’s working and what keeps you awake at night. Feel free to leave a comment below or contact [email protected] to get involved in a future panel discussion. You can reach Chris Talago directly at [email protected]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited (EIU) or any other member of The Economist Group. The Economist Group (including the EIU) cannot accept any responsibility or liability for reliance by any person on this article or any of the information, opinions or conclusions set out in the article.
