Web 2.0 is alive and well in the workplace. No wonder, with social business collaboration in the workplace causing an 18% boost in employee engagement (Aberdeen Group) and engaged workforces delivering 2.6 times the earnings per share growth rate compared to their industry counterparts (Gallup), I’m surprised the take-up isn’t faster than it currently is.

If your organization has embraced social methods for communication in the workplace – congratulations! Convincing IT and the C-suite to invest in social business software is a huge success. Your next challenge is to make sure the organization uses it in a way that demonstrates all the ROI you promised. Here are some thoughts on how to do just that:

In the pre-launch phase …

1. Integrate social into your overall business strategy. Make sure the social media platform you use, your social media training, and the way you communicate changes, are in line with your company’s vision, strategy, and general culture. If you go too far off from these, employees won’t know what to do with it. Have a strategy for the platform itself, and integrate it with other communication channels.

2. Clearly define roles and responsibilities, as well as behaviours you envision for all stakeholders. Some key roles to identify and define: Community Manager, Execs/senior leadership, Corporate Communications, “champions” (see tip #3)… and others depending on your social media platform design and purpose. Develop guidelines and other resources to make their job clear.

3. Involve your audience at the early stages of design and pre-launch. They will become your champions who test, shape, and then promote social media in the workplace. Not just early adopters either. Grab some people who say “this is a waste” or “I’ll never participate once it’s rolled out” so you can get all perspectives. Use their suggestions/ideas/comments when fine-tuning your platform and the launch. This includes involving them in a pilot, analyzing pilot results, and incorporating what you learnt.

At launch …

4. Create a launch strategy that will get noticed. Following your traditional communication channels, especially those you know are well-received, create excitement and build up to the launch of your internal social media initiative. Tease the employee audience with a sneak peak into what the pilot participants have been doing. Highlight the benefits. If your culture allows, have some fun with it – make a video and help it go viral (internally). Create a theme and run a poster campaign around it. Or simply identify all audiences, the messages they need to receive, who should send them, when, and what supporting resources you can provide (For example: an announcement from senior execs at a meeting or event, followed by a webinar for management with a tool kit for front-line managers to roll out to employees including talking points and FAQs).

5. Make it easy for executives to contribute content. An executive blog goes along way in encouraging employee comfort with using social media for communication in the workplace. C-suite blogs for their own lines of business, or the organization as a whole, are powerful. If the executives hesitate there are ways to help them along:

• start them with microblogging – just 140 characters about what’s new today, what they are up to
• simplify it – 6 to 8 blog posts a year is plenty; one 140-character updates a month piques employee interest. Think quality not quantity
• encourage video or photo blogs if they don’t want to/have time to write – use Flip or another simple camera – it doesn’t have to be professional quality
• if they’re concerned about content:
  • advise them to share a link that interested them – something from the morning paper (help them find the article online), news from a competitor – then they can just ask for thoughts and comments
  • get the community manager involved. If your exec is worried no one will comment on their post, have the community manager run an audit to listen what the hottest employee topics are and build a blog around those that resonate most with the exec
  • remind them of the principle uses of social media – collaboration, crowd sourcing, notification/news, and sharing knowledge – all described well on OrangeTrail’s blog about encouraging the right messages on your social business collaboration platform.
• encourage them to review peers’ blogs – or those of leaders they respect, whether within the industry or not. One communications guru suggests we get them on the golf course with other C-suite execs who’ve had success to talk about the benefits of engaging in the platform
• remind execs this is about internal branding – about creating culture and leaving their own legacy behind. Encourage them to be themselves, it’s a conversation – just as it would be if you came across a group of employees waiting for the elevator.

Post launch…

6. Audit usage regularly. A formal audit process can help identify how many people are active on the site, what is working well, and where there are opportunities for more social media training. This should happen in regular intervals, not just within the first few months, to help keep the community moving forward.

7. Allow your organization to move at its natural pace. If your company has traditionally been slow to adopt new technology, don’t expect your internal social media platform to be any different. One of my clients in the industry says, “People think their new platform will take off overnight because they think that’s what happened with facebook and twitter. They think facebook is young; but it’s been around for over 7 years. It took years for it to become what it is today.” Organizations can’t expect to transform overnight.

Do you have any other tips on encourage internal social media adoption? I’d love to hear them.

Here are some links/sources I found helpful:

The ROI of social media networks: http://socialmediatoday.com/nancy-kaplan/288293/3-benefit-measures-roi-internal-social-media-networks

OrangeTrail blog: http://www.orangetrail.com/category/blog/

A survey to deliver to employees before launching your social media network: http://123socialmedia.com/employee-activation-and-corporate-social-media/

The social future for CEOs: http://mashable.com/2010/08/30/ceo-social-media-future/

A book for execs on using social media in the enterprise: http://www.amazon.com/Executives-Guide-Enterprise-Social-Strategy/dp/0470886021

Last night I braved the rush-hour traffic and bitter cold in downtown Toronto to attend an event hosted by the Professional Independent Communicators (PIC) – part of IABC Toronto – featuring local social media trainer and guru Jaime Almond. Jaime introduced us to the social media marketing potentials of Linkedin and how the site can benefit small and large businesses.

Really a network and marketing virtuoso with extensive experience in social media, Jaime educated the sold out crowd of communications experts, sole proprietors, and freelance writers on the importance of developing a Linkedin strategy. More like a bio than an on-line resume, Jaime showed us how to use Linkedin as a beacon to “create an environment that leads our target market right to us.”

Here are 4 steps to getting the most out of Linkedin for business:

1. Improve your profile

The number one most important thing to get right on Linkedin is, in Jaime’s words, a “kick-ass profile” (She says it with an Australian-Canadian accent so it comes across as charming, not crass!).

A great profile should include:

• a professional headshot photo (no cropped shots from the bar last weekend),
• a detailed headline – did you know the headline allows 120 characters? Jaime suggests you put your name, title, target market, their main problem and the result you deliver – which, I’ll admit, is hard to do in 120 characters,
• a video – she taught us how to imbed videos into Slideshare,
• great recommendations – to achieve a Linkedin rated 100%-completed profile we need at least three recommendations. Jaime’s idea is to have a writing buddy interview your clients/colleagues and write recommendations for them to approve and then send through their Linkedin account to you. This way you get stronger, results-oriented recommendations, and it’s easy and convenient for your client – clever! Suggested interview questions are available on her blog.

She also noted that increasing your recommendations increases your likelihood of turning up in Linkedin searches (visible in the lower right side of the screen). It appears that 12 recommendations will more than double the probability of your name  or business turning up in search results.

2. Make connections the right way

The next step to help promote your business on Linkedin is to be deliberate in how you invite people to connect.

Jaime reminded us to approach social networking like you would any networking opportunity: start by asking people about themselves and never, ever, try to “sell” in the introduction stage.  And this is where the video comes in. Create a brief video describing yourself and what you offer. Then invite people to connect so you can learn more about them. She also talks about offering a “free gift” in your video … I’ll get to that in a minute.

3. Always respond to new connections

Always respond to any invitation you receive to connect with someone with a question about that person. A simple “tell me about yourself” is all you need to get the conversation started. In most cases, the contact will finish their overview of who they are and what they do with a question about you. That’s where you can add value (see below).

4. Seek ways to add value for your contacts

Whether it’s displaying your latest blog post, contributing to a group, or answering a question, you can demonstrate value to people who visit your page.

Jaime advised us to present an invitation for “free gifts” – before you think Jaime wants us all to offer perfume samples on our Linkedin pages… hear me out. I’ll be honest, some of us thought this was a bit off the wall when we first heard it but Jaime made us quickly realize that a simple tip sheet, free webinar, white paper, or how-to resource is simple to produce, demonstrates your leadership in a given subject or field, and offers tremendous value to others. I’ve been brainstorming all day on what my free gifts will be.

___________

Jaime touched on ways to increase traffic, including adding people from your existing network, searching names/companies in your target market and inviting key personnel to connect, hosting and promoting events (or your attendance at events), joining and creating groups, and more. What’s important to remember with your Linkedin strategy is it’s not the number of people you’re linked to, it’s the quality of the relationships and the value you provide that will make the difference for your business.

Jaime did a stellar job demonstrating how Linkedin is a key component of our social media marketing practices. My first step after the event was to update my headline. I’m still editing it but I already feel better about it. Next I’m going to work on increasing – and improving the quality of – my recommendations.

What will you do to maximize Linkedin for your business? Do you have any other tips for capitalizing on Linkedin for business?

I was researching content for a blog on tips to help a new self-employed consultant prepare for tax time in Ontario. It’s something I’ve been procrastinating, because frankly, I’m not prepared and it scares me! And while I strongly agree with Timothy Ferris’s philosophy of outsourcing in his book “The Four Hour Work Week,” and will happily have an accountant prepare my return, there are still steps only I can take to get ready.

As I pull all this together, I’ve learned at least four things I SHOULD have been doing all year to prepare for this moment. I’ll sadly admit I’m about 40% organized. So here are some tips (or personal resolutions) for next year:

1. Write a quick note on all receipts of expenses I plan to claim so I know where/how to categorize them.

2. Purchase an accordion folder for each month; engage (pay??) one of my children once a month to file my receipts in the appropriate category (car, meal, home, education, etc.) – can’t remember who suggested this to me but it’s a fabulous idea!

Or consider scanning receipts into my computer at the end of the month and categorizing them on line to save paper (and home-office space).

3. Conduct regular monthly data entries of all receipts into a spreadsheet or software such as Quicken, Quickbooks, etc. (This has the added benefit of becoming more aware of what my business expenses actually are so I can set future goals).

4. Continue my current method of keeping an envelope in my glove compartment, laptop bag, and home office so receipts can only end up in 1 of 3 places (no pockets, dresser-tops, kitchen counters, etc.).

What am I missing? Have any other tips?

As a new independent consultant with time on my hands in the Spring, I got the chance to do something I always wanted to do: teach at Community College. Now that it’s over, I’ll say it was an interesting experience with lots of ups and downs but a fantastic credibility booster for my new career as an independent communications consultant.

My motivation for teaching was threefold:

1. I‘ve wanted to be a teacher since I was 4 years old.
2. I loved the idea of “giving back.” Helping others learn from my personal experiences: answering questions, giving feedback, and sharing my advice. Everything I miss doing now that I no longer manage people
3. A resume booster – something I needed as a new independent consultant

After the 14 week course, I look back and see there were great moments (when my students wowed me with a fantastic team presentation filled with strong graphics, great coherency, good facts, and funny/exciting video clips) and low moments (when a student yelled at me for giving him the mark I did; when another cried when she realized she wasn’t going to get the B she needed in the course). In the end, the benefits of teaching at college outweigh the disadvantages. Benefits included:

1. Increased credibility. When discussing my abilities for the last two projects I’ve landed, the decision-makers asked specifically about my teaching experience. People are really impressed by it.
2. Achieved a personal goal. I always wanted to be a teacher; now I am. I also now know elementary school teaching is no where near as great a profession as an independent communications consultant.
3. Expanded my skill base. Teaching isn’t easy. Especially when you are in the Greater Toronto Area and 95% of your students were born outside of Canada. Marking and evaluating is tricky.  My expectations of the students were very high. I had to remind myself many of them had never worked in corporations before.
4. Expanded my knowledge. A surprise for me was how much the students taught me. I feel more connected to this newer generation. The textbook taught me some principles, concepts, and information I didn’t know. Teaching keeps you fresh!

Disadvantages? It’s a lot of time. I call it volunteer work, as you’re not paid for the amount of time you put into each class. For me it was about 8 hours of prep for each 3 hour of class. Not including marking. Answering student questions before/after class and answering emails adds to the time. Also, there are a lot of personalities you are dealing with. Believe it or not, they will beg you for better grades, get mad at you (maybe even yell), cry, give excuses, cheat. It’s a highly emotional job.

One of the hardest things for me, is that I had many bright students who couldn’t speak English well. While their ideas were great, if they couldn’t communicate them, they didn’t get the marks. It hurt me to mark them down when they were trying so hard. I wanted to reward effort, not outcome. But not allowed.

I am taking this semester off, but am signed up to teach the same course again in January. I will do some things the same, some different. But I will definitely do it again.  I’ll let you know how it goes second time around!