Selling Social Media to 'The Man'; #blogchat recap

Last night was another great #blogchat conversation, this week we discussed how you can convince your boss/company to start using social media. So many of you had great suggestions that I wanted to capture them here and share your ideas:

1 -Mattceni: buy-in comes from confidence. you need to build confidence. small wins is how we did it

2 - _djh: For us it was small steps also. Printed quartery newsletter -> on-line newsletter -> blog -> other SM

3 - tamera: do your research. provide alignment with basic business needs and prove how the value can be extended into social channels.

4 - thebrandbuilder: 1. Show them that SM can have measurable impact on the organization's success. Demonstrate that there is real ROI.

5 - thebrandbuilder: 2. Help them understand specifically what the risks associated with SM are, and address them.

6 - DavidSpinks: First figure out what the company's goals are, then show how social media can help them reach those goals...

7 - deirdrereid: It doesn't hurt to show what yr competition is doing and what you may lose by now participating. Risk of Ignoring

8 - Tojosan: getting your boss involved in social media? #blogchat -> I'd say give him a crash course, inside the walls, perhaps Yammer?

9 - MackCollier: I agree I think the easiest way to get your company blogging/using social media is list poss objections & counter

10 - matthewray: Education on how to social media tools and who can use them; need to know good and bad case studies

11 - stevecunningham: How about this: find somebody they admire/respect who is also using it for their company. Get them to talk.

12 - jonnew: Also it is important to give them examples of other similar companies and the success those companies are having.

13 - justincresswell: many think it is play time, time waster, don't see the ROI since they're seeing it with old eyes. they need allegories.

14 - TamarahLand: identify the company's target audience and show them how that audience uses social media to find and buy products/services

15 - andrewmueller: Expain that you will use SM show your customers that you care, and give examples of how you would do so

16 - Teeg: What do they want? Show how sm can help meet their wants whether it's getting the word out to group or communicating one on one.

17 - mattceni: one way to show value of sm is bring up Twitter Search (summize) and just let them see the tweets about your brand. eye opening.

18 - amymengel: It's easier to convince a co. to jump in with SM if its customers are using it; if they're not, it's a much harder sell

19 - katebuckjr: RT @thebrandbuilder Understanding the client's immediate needs is crucial. You don't want to "sell" SM. You want to integrate it.

20 - glecharles: Social media emphasizes tools over results; establish a clear goal, then show how tools can help achieve it. No magic bullets.


I'll stop there, since there were literally over 800 tweets during last night's #blogchat. Another great conversation, and if your company has successfully integrated social media into your communication efforts, how did you get your boss to commit? For those of you that have run into resistance, what objections to social media are your bosses offering?

And remember, #blogchat is every Sunday at 8pm CST on Twitter, anyone and everyone is welcome!