of mind after reading the entire book!! There is so much information in the book Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. Now I know why this book is a BusinessWeek bestseller. Groundswell is a great experience and here I am to share my thoughts will you! :) As I read through the chapters I found myself saying, "I can't believe I haven't read this book." Here's my first bit of advice to you. If you haven't already, go and pick up this book or if it is available on Kindle, then you should download a copy. It's critical that how the brands understand how to traverse the social landscape, and that stars with our own understanding on how to advice them. Before I go on, for those who don't know the concept of Groundswell, it is (as defined by the authors): "A social trend in which people use technologies to get things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations." Groundswell is a book that provides a roadmap and it does this in a number of ways. Li and Bernoff have succesfully managed to instruct through helpful higher-level concepts, great case study examples and useful graphics and diagrams that support their work. Let's take a look at the initial part of the book, which I would say captures chapters 1 through 5 or 6. I really have the feeling that the authors were very careful to introduce ideas and concepts and also help the reader to learn each one before moving to the next chapter. Although there are many, the most powerful concepts and the critical points that I want to stress on is the following:
The tool compares the audience particiaption as Creators, Conversationalists, Critics, Collectors, Joiners, Spectatord and Inactives, as compared to the average US consumer. The results of using a simple tool will guide us with the Social Media Strategy. It is critical that our target's participation matches the efforts that we want to put in place. For example rushing to build ratings and social networks when our target audience is mostly adult spectators will not produce best results. Below is Forresters Technographics ladder (source:Forrester) with an explanation of the breakdown of activities on each rung of ladder.
Strategies for tapping the Groundswell is one of my favouraite chapters in the book. The authors introduce an acronym for their four-step planning process - POST. According to the authors POST stands for: People - What is your target public ready for? Here's where they tie in the Social Technographics profile. By taking a good look at the people first we can assess the level of engagement based on the type of particiapation in social networks that is familiar to them. Objectives - Here's the one that I find missing quite often. The authors ask outright, "What are your goals?" They want to know if we are more interested in talking to groups of people, energizing or supporting them, and that means both external as well as internal employee groups. Strategies - How do we want our relationships with our customers to change, and what exactly do we want them to do? Carry messages? Become more engaged? If we don't map out our objectives, we cannot measure the change in activity once the strategy begins. The authors offer 5 helpful types of objectives: listening, talking, energizing, supporting and embracing. Technology: After we determine the people, objectives and strategy, it's lot easier to identify technology whether it is a blog, wiki, social network etc.
Listening to the Groundswell is never can never be stressed enough and that we must have a listening plan in our strategy. I am a huge proponent of listening. The authors break listening into 2 listening strategies. The first is to set-up our own private listening community, which is more expensive, but definaitely worth the investment. The second listening strategy is a more frequently used strategy and that is to begin brand monitoring through "blogs, discussion forums, youtube and everything else..." The authors use case studies to illustrate the listening strategies and include stories from National Comprehensive Cancer Network to USA Mini. I also think it is excellent the authors address how listening will change one's organization. This means that the Marketing, PR and Communications department take on a critical role with the listening function in Social Media Comunications. Of course, all the information obtained from any listening exercise must go beyond Marketing and PR to other departments in the organization. Social Media is shared responsibility!
I thought it was so useful to look at the Social Technographics Ladder as well. It is interesting to look at each individual group and understand how each help to form the groundswell.
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