Who’s Reading Anyway? » 10 ways to convince your boss to go ’social media’

10 ways to convince your boss to go ’social media’

Posted on October 21, 2008 by Tom

Most common problem is that the bigger the corporation, the less time your boss has to evaluate the use of social media. The boss counts on his employees to be his ‘early adopters’, to tell him what he could do. And depending whether your boss is savvy enough to know what ’social media’ or whether he’s totally clueless about it, I give you 10 ways to convince him.

But before I start, first of all YOU have to be convinced it’s usefull to use social media for your company. If it’s not usefull, than you’re just doing it for yourself. Read articles like How to use Twitter for marketing, Social Media for Business, Facebook for Business,… there’s plenty of content about the use of social media for your business.

How to convince him?
1.   Start on your own. Especially when he’s not too savvy about the whole internet thing. Start on your own and start building small. When you present your idea to your boss, you’ll have something more to show than just an idea.
2.   Define clear goals. This should be a given for about everything you do in business and in life. What do you want to achieve? Where do you see this project in 6 months, a year, 3 years?
3.   Keep the company’s mission statement in mind. Respect what your company physically stands for and present it in the best way you can online.
4.   Be honest. Especially when you do anything customer related. There’s a fine line between sharing information and sharing infomercials. Most people know the difference by know. Remember that social media is about adding value. If you just want to brag about your company and neglect problems or if you won’t deal with them, it’ll come back to you. With a vengance.
5.   Describe what you do. Try to describe your goals and how you want to reach them using social media. If Twitter is your thing, than describe clearly what Twitter is and what it can do for the company. Try to keep it short too, no need for a 25 page Powerpoint about it.
6.   Stress its simplicity. Basically social media are simple tools on their own. Focus on this, it’ll give your boss the feeling like he could grasp it if he just takes a few minutes. If it’s something he thinks he can understand, he’ll make less a problem of it.
7.   You’re doing it on your own time. Especially when you’re just starting. If you really want to convince your boss, convince him it doesn’t cost him anything.
8.   Give input. If he remotely interested in something, give him information. He’ll feel more at ease when he thinks he’s got an ‘expert’ at his disposal. Share information, even if he doesn’t ask for it. If you come across an interesting post… by all means… share it.
9.   Communicate your short term successes. This is important if you want to do this on company-time. You have to convince your boss he gains something by letting you spend more time with it.
10. Give pointers. If he’s interested and he tries some stuff out himself. Give pointers, he’ll appreciate it, you’re his ‘expert’.