From time to time I like to provide small snippets of national perspectives regarding the economy, employment, healthcare and general business trends. The following has been reprinted from “FOXBusiness” to share a perspective about social media.
 

Frank

Social Media: Embrace It or Risk Falling Behind
By Aedhmar Hynes
Published March 15, 2011

Ten years have passed since Geoffrey A. Moore published his seminal marketing tome, Crossing the Chasm. In the intervening decade, another chasm has opened up: social media.

The advent and dramatic uptake of social media means businesses have a much more critical gulf to negotiate. Social media channels are no longer the playthings of the tech elite or “pajama-wearing bloggers.” Digital destinations such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube are profoundly affecting consumer behavior and the businesses community.

The shift to digital isn’t a fad, these channels exist because they enable three fundamental human desires: to share, to collaborate and to create. The smart business leaders have seen the writing on the digital ‘wall’ and realize their businesses must participate because the game has changed forever. The tone is now being set by their customers, and companies must adapt.

P&G’s (NYSE:PG) Social Media Lab program shows how businesses can use social media and digital channels to fundamentally change their businesses. This program allows the company to study how customers interact over social media channels. With brand managers understanding these behaviors, P&G has changed the way it communicates--and collaborates--with customers.

The degree to which P&G understands the practical application of digital influence is shaping its business. Social media’s relevance and impact across the breadth of business ecosystems cannot be underestimated. Those companies that have a full appreciation for its ability to infiltrate all areas of their business will inevitably come out on top.

Digital is forcing many enterprises to rethink their business models--from product to sales to customer service to marketing--as it enhances and amplifies their ability to connect with customers, partners, influencers and employees.

Global food and facilities management services provider Sodexo has taken this to heart. It takes an integrated approach to recruiting through social media channels using a Facebook Page careers blog, LinkedIn Group, YouTube channel, Twitter and Flickr. This program communicates the company’s values and work experience while creating ways for prospective employees to interact with the company during the recruitment cycle.

The logic is sound and the evidence is mounting. A December 2010 McKinsey study of 3,249 executives determined that technology-enabled collaboration with external stakeholders helps organizations gain market share from the competition. It also concluded that Web technologies raise productivity, help create more valuable products and services resulting in higher profits. Other surveys have shown creating and engaging with a digital community can dramatically reduce the cost of customer acquisition - from $10 to $400 per customer to as little as zero.

Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) has proven the value of social media. More than 100,000 of the company’s employees use the Chatter social collaboration tool. Similar to Facebook, Chatter allows employees to create profiles, update their status and share files and data. This has improved information sharing, encouraged better collaboration and enabled faster decision making.

The challenge for both business and communications executives is two-fold: They need to reshape their organizations and simultaneously keep pace with ever-changing communications channels. From PR to marketing to advertising, there will be new tools and tactics to influence and connect with customers that force rethinking of frequently entrenched go-to-market models. Businesses also need to get past the scrum over which communications discipline will “own” the mandate and establish dominance. The change we’re talking about is fundamentally bigger than a marketing tug-of-war.

The ultimate prize is to reshape companies for a digital future. The ‘chasm’ is growing but there is still time to make a change. This change must be driven by each business function incrementally, towards a common digital destination. Each function must consider its constituents’ needs and begin to engineer digital day-to-day processes around these needs. Those organizations that refuse to take these steps do so at their own peril and face an uncertain future. Those enlightened companies that have a clear, collective sense of the destination and put steps in place to reach it will reap the returns.

Aedhmar Hynes is a board member of the Arthur W. Page Society, a professional association for senior public relations and corporate communications executives who seek to enrich and strengthen the profession.

The Spring Edition of Pulse – Lorain County’s Magazine has hit mailboxes and should be on your desk by now. If you are unfamiliar with Pulse, or do not receive the free subscription, be sure to go to www.PulseLorainMag.com and subscribe for today. The Spring edition has a great article on LCCC’s SMART Commercialization Center for Commercialization of Microsystems. Find out how Chris Mather, managing director and Matt Apanius, technical operations director are focused on making LCCC and Lorain County a national leader in Microelectro Mechanical Systems chips (MEMs) packaging. Also read about Lorain County’s golf course communities and the amenities that are making them a destination for today’s lifestyles. There is great write up on some after work hotspots that range in size from a former greenhouse (Wolfy’s in Elyria) to Close Quarters which only seats 24 people. There is also a feature on the soon to be re-opening of the world-renowned Allen Memorial Art Museum, which has been closed for an $11.23 million renovation. Plus, the ballot for the 2011 Best Of Lorain County is included in this issue, so be sure to vote!

Senator Sherrod Brown announces a seminar for Small Businesses at LCCC on April 7, 2011. Members of Senator Brown's staff and members of the IRS, SBA, the US Export Assistance Center, SBDC and LCCC will be on hand at the seminar to discuss opportunities for small and minority-owned businesses, including opportunities related to the recently enacted Small Business Jobs and Credit Act, health insurance reform, the tax extenders bill and the US Export Assistance Center as well as small business procurement opportunities. Topics include – What the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act means for your business; What the new tax extenders bill means for your business; Loan programs with the Small Business Administration; Energy efficiency incentives for your business, just to name a few. RSVP by calling 216-522-7272 or email at Brown_RSVP@brown.senate.gov 

Spring is in the air and that means it is time to think about lawn care so why not think about Lorain County Chamber member Weed Pro. And right now, Weed Pro and the Lorain County Chamber have a Value Added Benefit for you and your employees that saves you money and helps out the Chamber as well. Weed Pro is offering a $28 discount on their Lawn Fertilization Package. Go to www.Weed-Pro.com/refer and put in the LCCC28OFF Referral Code and start saving today. On top of that, Weed Pro will make a donation back to the County Chamber for everyone who takes advantage of this offer which will help the County Chamber’s Program of Work in 2010. So let your Chamber Membership save you money and help the County Chamber at the same time. As Weed Pro states: Our success is tied directly to improving the community in which we live and establishing a business that is deeply rooted within Lorain County.

The Lorain County Chamber of Commerce hosts some of the finest events in Northeast Ohio and we only do things top notch. We are able to offer these great events mostly because we get Chamber members like yourself to help underwrite the costs of them. Spring is nearly here and some of our best events are on the calendar yet to come. If you are interested in sponsoring in some part any of the following: Beer & Food Tasting at Diso’s on May 19; Golf Outing on June 9; Jet Express Adventure Part 2 on June 16 – contact Tammy Cascio at 328-2553 and find out how you can help. We are always looking at new and exciting ways to get our members involved and make our events enjoyable for all.

One of the most frustrating issues for employers when discussing workers’ compensation and workplace safety is the challenge of how to get employees to follow established safety rules. A common refrain heard from employers is “I can have the best safety program in the world, but if employees don’t follow the rules, then what good is it?” The million-dollar question is how to get employees to stop making risky decisions that lead to on-the-job injuries and higher workers’ compensation premium expenses.

The challenge for employers is to raise the awareness among employees of the importance of safety and gain their buy-in for the company’s safety initiatives. As with most things in life, everything starts at the top. The message sent by business owners and management to employees sets the tone for the value placed on safety within the business. However, safety cannot simply be a top-down, management-driven process . While business owners and management are doing their part to establish safety as a business priority, efforts need to be made to include employees in the process and generate grassroots involvement to make your operations safer. In terms of demonstrating management commitment to workplace safety, ways to do this start with developing a company safety policy and extend to making safety a regular topic at employee or management meetings. However, these words will ring hollow if they are not followed up with action.

Ways to “walk the walk” include providing resources (financial or otherwise) to implement safety initiatives, empowering employees to identify areas of need, suggest ideas for improvements, make decisions and supporting their decisions. Last but not least, it is critical to follow through on promises made to employees or at the very least explain why certain corrective actions cannot be taken. Ideas for engaging employees include creating project-specific teams or focus groups that have a specific goal (e.g. creating an emergency evacuation plan or developing a safety recognition program) and timeframes. These “Involvement Teams” could be involved with internal inspections and self-audits, among other projects.
Perhaps the most effective way to engage employees is through a formal safety committee. The purpose of a safety committee is to identify, evaluate and address safety issues (employee comments, complaints, safety inspection results, safety goals/metrics, employee injuries, etc.). Safety committee meetings should include representatives from every area of the company and meet on a regular, continuous basis. Candid, open discussion between employees and management on a wide range of topics should be encouraged at safety committee meetings. A critical element is to value the input of all safety committee members, act on suggestions and follow through on promises.

Safety recognition initiatives are also a good way to jump-start a company’s safety program and can go a long way toward raising awareness among employees and encouraging safe behavior. Safety recognition awards range from gift cards, gas cards and movie passes to paid time off. If done right, any of these strategies generate an enormous amount of learning about the exposures in your business, foster better communication between employees and management, and create a greater likelihood that employees will follow safety procedures…all things that over the long-run can lead to reduced workers’ compensation expenses.
 

Lorain County Chamber Testimonial from
Denny Pavan
President of BFL Marketing Communications, Inc.

It was not long after we moved our offices to Avon from the Powerhouse in the Flats that we were invited to a the Lorain County Chamber’s Business After Hours at Quaker Steak & Lube. The anxiety of moving to an area where I was unfamiliar with local area businesses and services quickly vanished as I met more and more members. I was instantly sold and we are now happily entering our second year as a Lorain County Chamber member. (Lesson number one: Never eat wings and try to meet new people.)

Having the opportunity to visit different businesses and build not only business connections, but friendships with great people, makes our membership all that more valuable. We had the pleasure of hosting a Business After Hours this past fall and we took advantage of the crisp autumn night to show off our facility with an Oktoberfest theme. It was great for the County Chamber members to get a firsthand view of what we do at BFL and how we might be able to help them in the future. What I’ve discovered through the Chamber is that it provides businesses with the means to create a greater sense of community and a commitment to bring growth to Lorain County. As a Marketing Communications firm that specializes in brand building and Web site design, we still value one true form of communications that has outlived every technology since scribes etched out those “walk like an Egyptian” figures around the pyramids, and that is a handshake and a smile. (Lesson number two: Relationships build trust. And trust builds business.)

Thanks Tony, Tammy and Kristy for working diligently behind the scenes to make it all happen.
(Lesson number three: Join the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce. It’s good for business!)