The
Social Media
Playbook
Look | Listen | Join | Lead

Somewhere along the
way, markets, what we
did together, became
marketing, what we do
to each other.
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! David Weinberger

The 4 C’s of Social Media
Context
Contacts
Communications
Collaboration

The Importance of
Social Media
Social Media is tearing down the walls
that keep us apart and changing the
rules that have kept us from being
human inside our companies.

The Abstract Corporation
Created an US vs. THEM Attitude
We even use war metaphors to make clear
our intent to assault our customers
targets
campaigns
tactics
air cover
capture

The illusion of control
Have you ever played Telephone?

The illusion of control
The Myth of CRM
Have you ever tried to manage a
relationship with your spouse?
Meaningful relationships are based on
love and mutual respect

The illusion of control
Can you really prevent people from
saying bad things about you or your
company?
Not in a free society
The Ostrich CEO or the Ivory Tower

The Revolution is distributed
Change is not only coming its here
When this younger generation enters the
work force, things will really be different
Change happens every day, as 10 years
ago with the advent of the Web, this is the
next chapter

Resistance is Futile
www.startrek.com

tangent - shared meaning
One problem with ‘media’
Power of images, words, and stories to
connect or separate
The solution is conversation, the back
and forth that creates understanding

3 letters

perception

intention

Conversation
Replaces Marketing
We don’t do it to someone, we do it
together, we build understanding
It is messy and difficult to control
This is where we learn from each other

How we learn and develop understanding
Experience Conversation
Media

In the beginning...
Fire is hot Grunts
Meat is good
Caves are shelter
Cave Paintings
=
Sex makes babies Storytelling

In the broadcast era...
Free Trials Sales ++
The Product Support --
Push messages at people through tv, radio and print

In the conversation era...
Relationships Matter
The Experience
Trust
Transparency
Authenticity
Intentions
Create media to connect
with your market and
serve your community

Getting to Work
Look
Listen
Join
Lean

Look
Where are the communities that care
about the same things we do?
Where’s the conversation?
Who’s influential?
What are my employees doing online?

Listen
What are they talking about today?
What do they care about?
What are the words they use to describe us
and the things we care about?

Gut Check
Is the way we talk about the things we do
in alignment with the way others are
talking about the same things?
What are the values we represent, what
should they be?
What needs to be different to participate
instead of to control?

Join
Who do you know that they should know?
What can you contribute?
Where should I invest my time?
How can I help?

Lead
What is your outcome and purpose?
(intention)
Where are you publishing regularly?
What resources do you have to host
conversations?
How can you improve?

Business is Personal
• Start with the presumption of trust
• Make clear your intentions
• Give people a chance
• Provide power for people’s passions
• “Live the life, love the life” (as Jake McKee said earlier)
• Participate in your market’s conversations
• Personal Pronouns are ok!
• Social Media creates opportunities to be found and to
connect
• Trust the conversation

(un)marketing
• Help people buy, don’t sell
• Stop spending marketing dollars only to the point of sale,
invest in getting to the point of satisfaction
• “Customer service is the new marketing” Thor Muller
• “The brands with the best story tellers win” CEO of
iProspect
• Participate in the community, give without expectations of
getting
• 50% of all advertising doesn’t work, more often then not,
the other 50% doesn’t either
• Help people save time, make money, get more done, be
happy, find meaning, connect with others, and find
greater satisfaction

Take risks. Ask big questions.
Don't be afraid to make
mistakes; if you don't make
mistakes, you're not reaching
far enough.
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! David Packard

Chris Heuer
http://www.chrisheuer.com/
chris@socialmediaclub.org