July 27th, 2010 — 6:06am
I had an enjoyable chat over coffee with Anol and Josh from B2Bento last evening. Among other topics, we spoke and debated about how ‘social media’ can be an organisational tool to encourage employees to be advocates of their employer’s brand. I got stumped over a few tough questions, but nothing is more enjoyable than intellectual stimulation.
Among Anol’s many questions, one particularly touched the very foundation of my arguments for enhancing social connectivity in the workplace. Here it is, paraphrased.
| What then is the winning formula to encourage employees to speak openly and favourably of their employers’ brand? How do you create employee brand ambassadors? |
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2 comments » | Management & Leadership, Marketing 2.0
July 19th, 2010 — 5:23pm
After letting the previous post run happy (
Happy Employees = Best Brand Ambassadors), I received a tweet question from
@thangdynasty thrown into the mix:
| What about monetary incentives? Do you think these will taint or complement the positive effects of the rise in social currency? |
The Short Answer
The Beatles said it best. Money can’t buy you love.
That is my sole conviction. Just as the practice of paying bloggers in dollars to endorse products is a thorny and questionable issue, providing employees with monetary incentives to engage on the social web comes with considerable risks to reputations, both employer’s and employees’. The integrity of the corporate and personal brands will be questioned. Don’t forget, we are dealing with social media, everyone is ready to pounce on you at the whiff of a questionable practice or the slightest mistake (see Google search results on ‘I Hate Tiger Airways’).
Furthermore, to quote Daryl Tay:
‘Will paying get the same kind of emotions and authenticity? Will your paid post even be remembered a week from today?’
But I know you will still ask, why would employees openly and willingly talk about their employers on social media when they are not compensated for it?
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4 comments » | Management & Leadership, Social Media
October 17th, 2009 — 10:17am
The importance of online branding is, without doubt, equally applicable for both businesses and individuals. With increased emphasis on branding through digital marketing efforts and social media engagement these days, the need for reputation management and preservation becomes critical. One wrong move or erratic online behavour may spell public relations disaster, brand damage or, worse, the loss of customer/community trust (trust creates loyalty). The following is a case study on Monster.com.sg (or perhaps an “authorised agent”) that highlights an online practice that is both unconventional and inappropriate on many counts.
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3 comments » | Business, Marketing 2.0, Social Media
