Can you make an organization Listen?

One of the first rules of digital communication is to not do so when you are in an agitated state, but sometimes it cannot be helped. This post will have a more serious tone than my others (well, ok, I'll stick in a Dilbert strip).



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The Situation (no, not that one)

I work with an organization, the Historical Society of Early American Decoration (HSEAD) that has a purported goal of increasing membership, enrollment in classes, or at the very least, improved public awareness of the organization. While this would seem a natural for social media, the current demographics place our members in the segments least likely to use these tools; unfortunately, our target market for new members will likely be using them as a matter of course.

What is most frustrating, and making me consider ending my relationship with this group, is that while they could benefit from the ideas in The Groundswell, the first step may need to be beating them over the head with a hardcover edition of the book.

So, how do you get them to recognize the importance of social media and explore ways of leveraging it for your organization? You can start with the basics.

 

Listening

In Chapter 5 of The Groundswell, Li and Bernoff address Listening, something they acknowledge is "the most neglected skill in business", but the groundswell makes it easy.

A brief, telling example. HSEAD has a narrow focus, and strict adherence to terminology. In other words, we "tell", but we don't listen. The general public is likely to refer to much of what we do as "tole painting", however, that term is technically incorrect, and HSEAD members will get quite huffy if you use it in their presence, as they consider it quite inferior.

But that is not what our potential "customers" think. I performed the following two Google Searches:

"Free Tole Painting Patterns" :135,000 hits (with a high percentage of relevant links)

"Free Country Painting Patterns": 29,4000,4000 hits  (high number, but almost none of them were what HSEAD means by "country painting")

(Note that including "Free" was done to determine if there was something of value provided to spur engagement).

When suggesting that HSEAD should  provide some "free" content, it was rejected out of fear that people won't join if they get things "for free". (Note: HSEAD could post a free pattern every week, and would not exhaust their archive within my lifetime). Video? Then "they" won't sign up for "our" classes.

This is an example of what Li and Bernoff call "the no more being stupid factor" (p. 97). A potential market is rejecting these stubborn ideas.

Free video? Sure, but likely engages many users, and for commercial operations, sells books, supplies and yes, classes. Here's one from Global Art Supply:

Where do you go to Listen?

HSEAD does not even know who their potential customers/members are. Our other attempts at outreach have been in traditional areas where we see what appear to be obvious links. However, through our  Facebook page, I am seeing something resonate with people who do not fit our obvious market.

 

Would you have expected to see the following in regard to "Early American Decoration"?

 

By networking with my new Japanese "friends", I have discovered a sub-culture of western-style decorative painting in Japan - a market we were not aware of, let alone tapped!

While our Facebook page has been slow to get going, every day with a new "like" is a cause for celebration; here are some of the Facebook Insights (large views):

 

Interesting to see demographics; active membership in organization by males is probably less than 2% - but higher on Facebook.

 

 

Do you want to energize the groundswell?

We are now  going to jump a bit here, across two chapters, to Chapter 7, where Li and Bernoff outline the steps for "Energizing the Groundswell". Again, for HSEAD, the first step is most critical:  Do you want to energize the groundswell?

This question does not have the obvious answer, since it requires some organization soul-searching.

I feel as though I am the social media evangelist in the organization, but am not sure how committed the organization is (Ok, I don't think they are committed at all). And a big part of it is that for the most part, they don't use social media. In my case, it may be a generational issue, but as seen in the following from from John Taylor's blog: You Can’t Understand Social Media if You Don’t Participate; it can happen at much higher levels:

"I was talking with a friend of mine who works in Corporate Communications at a big company and she mentioned how her team had embraced social media. ... So did she start a blog? Join Twitter? Was she posting to her company’s Facebook page? Contributing to their online forums?

Nope. She’s got her team doing all of that. She supervises."

Sure, HSEAD knows that "we have to have a website", but it is a static website - no comments, no blogging, no video - no welcome! At first, they did not even show pictures on the home page - much less any of the people who create the work!

Our Home Page

Our Landing Page

Will Listening to the groundswell change HSEAD?

There are some additional cultural and organization issues to deal with if we want to immerse ourselves in the Groundswell:

Letting go of control, a fear that people won't join if they get things "for free". (Note: HSEAD could post a free pattern every week, and would not have drained their archive within my lifetime). Video? Then "they" won't sign up for "our" classes.

The organization needs to clearly define itself - a technical/how-to group? Social? A visual experience? Offering validation (through judging work) may connect with those who look for this same validation in their use of social media.

Will it change HSEAD? I sure hope so.