Death to internal marketing

Four types of social media participation

kevinkeohane — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:07:32 +0000

LONDON – Although there are several models out there, it’s easy to observe clear typologies of social media participants – and a person can fit in any category at any given time:

1. Creators – Those who generate content – ideally quality content, which is harder to find.

2. Commenters – Those who comment on content created or shared by others.

3. Sharers – Those who share content generated by others,

4. Connectors – or integrators – those who take created, commented and/or shared content and turn it into something new; a hybrid of 1,2, and 3.

For my purposes, its the 4s who add the most value, although the whole mix can only function if all the roles are covered…

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Authority? Ha!

kevinkeohane — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:17:15 +0000

Technorati tracks 1,288,608 blogs. Mine clocks in at 48,973. Which makes a “Top 50k” blog the top 4% (3.8% to be exact). And apparently a 95 Authority score isn’t too shabby, although the Top 100 blogs exceed 700.

2nd year running the No Shit Sherlock award goes to …

kevinkeohane — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:48:30 +0000

I’m not even going to name names…

o 96% of intranets have communication information such as news and policies.
o 86% have company information such as organizational charts, company vision, values, etc.
o 82% have employee directories.
o 81% feature standards and compliance information.
o 70% have HR applications.

…. gee, thanks for the cutting-edge insights.

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Tired but true …

kevinkeohane — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:25:51 +0000

LONDON – Inc Magazine has a good little online article about the well-documented fact that cash compensation is not always the best motivator. Not news but a handy little reminder for all of us.

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People are not your greatest asset

kevinkeohane — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:15:49 +0000

LONDON – At least that’s what this article in HBR states. And they are right (yes it was a deliberately provocative headline, but it worked). The point they make is that

It’s how you empower your people. Think about it. What is the primary purpose of a business organization? To assemble a group of people, who previously may have had no association, and empower them to accomplish productive work toward the organization’s objectives. More effective empowerment typically equals more productive work.

Yep. Empowerment. Erm, engagement.

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Another corker from Jim Clifton at Gallup

kevinkeohane — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:14:25 +0000

LONDON – I tend to refer to Gallup Management Journal a fair bit to find data and thinking that supports advice I give to clients and to inform my thinking about the world of Brand & Talent.

In his post “Good to Great? Or Lousy to Good?” he makes a brilliant point about organisations who hit the numbers through selling (and losing) customers based on price alone.

Company leaders talk a good game about growth at state-of-the-company speeches. But then they go right back to their offices and continue okaying new contract lows to hold customers or win replacement business. They do this largely because Wall Street has not really caught onto the deep implications of organic growth and how to spot it, even though it remains the best single metric to predict sustainable growth, sustainable profit, and share growth. If someone said to me, “In your 30 years of studying customer data, what is the indicator or single metric that is the key to buying or selling stock?” My answer would be, “Same-customer sales.“

Have a look here…

And … note this article is more than 5 years old.

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Thought-provoking ideas from Jim Clifton at Gallup

kevinkeohane — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:05:44 +0000

LONDON – In his upcoming book, The War For Good Jobs, Gallup Chief Jim Clifton makes the interesting proposition that it is the creation of good jobs, more than politics and military force, that will drive socio-economic change and global stability.

The demands of leadership have changed. The highest levels of leadership require mastery of a new task: job creation. Traditional leadership through politics, military force, religion, or personal values won’t work in the future like it has in the past. The nuances of personal values will be anchored in how they affect almighty jobs more than in Almighty God — or anything else. Human rights, stem cell research, gay rights, women in the global workplace — what will matter about these issues will be how they affect job growth more than how they affect family, political, and religious values.

I think he’s not far off and it makes interesting reading … have a gander here.

“Brand and Talent” – a term that is here to stay

kevinkeohane — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:02:15 +0000

CLERKENWELL – About 5 years ago I proposed a new name for the “people” or “employee engagement” and “employer brand” bank of capabilities at my then-agency based on the working title of a 55- Minute Guide I was writing.

“Brand and Talent” as a phrase (in this space) was born.

But My God the resistance I encountered!

Subsequently trying to get the label to stick as a global practice area took influencing – “No one knows what you’re talking about” was a common theme. But with some robust executive support we prevailed.

Interesting how a quick Google search reveals the term is now entering common trade industry usage, with Deloitte, RPC and many employer brand and engagement pros adopting it, all starting to use it to describe the employee relationship communication arena. The links have long been there, the ideas aren’t new, but having done a pretty exhaustive search I am reasonably certain that it’s a phrase that wasn’t (used in this context) before 2004.

What’s in a word? With the employer brand and employee engagement industry surprisingly bouyant, but all too often grasping for a new way of talking about themselves and what they do, you will be seeing it a lot more. It’s here to stay. And it’s about time.

PUTTING THE “E” IN BRANDPIE

kevinkeohane — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:43:49 +0000

LONDON – This week I join former WPP colleagues at BrandPie to build their brand engagement and employer branding business. But first … I’m off to Zagreb to address their National PR Association Conference about the new employer reputation management landscape, the role of 21st century PR, and the opportunities and pitfalls social media present… Please wish me luck!

Social Communication and social media

kevinkeohane — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:34:21 +0000

LONDON - Recently, I’ve had cause to ponder the nature of participation in social media groups, particularly those in the employee communications space. There are plenty to go around, and that’s a good thing.

The point is, you don’t have to go to a party you’ve been invited to. You don’t have to like the host. You can leave when you want if you aren’t having a good time. The choice is yours, and relative norms of social intercourse apply. If you’re invited to a boxing match, don’t get offended if someone gets punched in the face.