Comments on: Risk Management and Social Media: A Paradigm Shift

By: links for 2009-02-20 « Brendan Cooper, your friendly neighbourhood social media strategist

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:09:43 +0000

[...] Risk Management and Social Media: A Paradigm Shift If you mitigate the risk then it’s not about saying “no” to taking a risk; it’s about how to say “yes” – like the difference between saying "why" and "why not". (tags: socialmedia fintech banking banks finance) [...]

By: Maureen O'Neil, Gartner Analyst

Maureen O'Neil, Gartner Analyst — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:51:44 +0000

Jenn,

You bring up a critical point which is the proactive planning for this. Doing nothing, responding and all other options can be appropriate but will not ultimately effective without an over arching plan or strategy.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:30:08 +0000

Maureen, I think marketers may not be able tap into the younger consumers without using alternative outlets such as social networks and so yes in a sense they would miss out on these consumers if they don’t at least explore social media on some level. That said, one of the reasons that user-generated marketing works is that people often don’t realize its marketing. However, Facebook and MySpace have already begun to complain that their sites are being overrun by corporate profiles and advertisements. Thus, by trying to trick these young consumers into this form of marketing, it may have the reverse effect. The users may feel duped and the whole purpose of the technique would subsequently be undermined.

By: Don

Don — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:24:34 +0000

Janet, Jerry and Steve
While I agree that corporations need to be fully aware of the conversations that are happening in cyberspace, you have be careful to respond with facts and try to remove the emotion from the issue. You can’t win an emotional battle with a unhappy party but you can refute inaccuate information and reinforce your position.

By: Maureen O'Neil, Gartner Analyst

Maureen O'Neil, Gartner Analyst — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:08:18 +0000

Melanie, thanks for your thoughts and comments. Please consider how we might use this blog forum for your clients.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:50:44 +0000

Thank you for the feedback – it definitely gives me some ideas and talking points to discuss with clients throughout 2009 and beyond who are considering their own social network or virtual environment. Learning where this responsiblity will reside within a company could be interesting as it would seem it could cross many areas and have significant overlap in ownership.

By: Steve Leigh, Gartner Analyst

Steve Leigh, Gartner Analyst — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:44:12 +0000

Jerry, I agree entirely. Firms must be very careful not to over control. They should recognize that they are seeing into a reality that was formerly invisible to them. Negative conversations about their firm, complaints, and irritations have been happening over lunch tables for centuries. The beautiful thing is that social networking now enables the firm to become an active part in these conversations. But, as you point out, they risk alienating customers that they wish to court.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:34:32 +0000

If all of the statements are either factual, or personal opinion, how effectively can the organization “control the chatter”? The basis of the web, and social media, is the free flow of information. It may seem idyllic, but there is a fine line between monitoring the firm’s reputation vs. turning off the target audience…

By: Steve Leigh, Gartner Analyst

Steve Leigh, Gartner Analyst — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:19:23 +0000

Here are the top three (OK 4) things that insurers (and other companies) should be thinking about in 2009. The good news is that none of these recommendations cost very much.

1. Social Networking is not going away – Most business recognize that social networking has been growing at unbelievable rates over the past several years. Wikipedia quotes Comscore to indicated that in June of 2008 Facebook attracted over 132 million unique visitors. What is not as well known, is that this experience is not just for the young. Increasingly all ages are adopting new social networking applications. Ning for example has over 600,000 individual social networks. These have been created by groups, clubs, churches and schools to effectively launch their own Facebook.

2. Create a strategy – Figure out what you want to do. Do you want to simply promote your brand, inform people about your product, allow customers to transact business or sell new products? The answer to this question will determine whether social networks can even help you. Experiment and understand social networks first, and then you will be able to leverage them effectively.

3. The watering hole – The metaphor goes both ways. Think of it either as the African watering hole, or your local pub. Its where the people or “prey” come together and find essential “nourishment”, but if you look like a predator, you will chase them all away. Businesses must be very careful not to frighten away the locals. We all know how it feels to have Jerry the insurance agent sit down at our table. So, don’t be like that. When businesses enter these environments, they must find creative ways to keep their authenticity, while communicating their message. Amazon has tried to do this with reviews, but when people sniff out the fact that some reviews are sponsored, they disappear.

4. Go to where the people are – Some businesses are exploring the idea of creating their own social network or virtual environment. I recommend that while this might be an effective longer term strategy, a first step is to figure out how they might leverage existing networks. Some companies for instance use YouTube to distribute entertaining ads, hoping they’ll go viral for free distribution. Others are beginning to create groups on Facebook where consumers can join to get information and updates.

Expect that these sites will continue to expand as virtual environments continue to develop, GPS continues to expand and mobile devices contain more sensing capabilities, such as weather, mood or task. It is not difficult to see how social networking becomes the center of virtually all communications and life sharing.

I hope that gives you some ideas.

By: Lori-Ann

Lori-Ann — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:04:46 +0000

Steve – you are so right, research and knowledge are my best offense and defense. Thanks for your insight.