Comments on: Doing a Social Media 180 http://www.samerforzley.com/2010/01/06/doing-the-social-media-180/ Talking about markeing things, food things, social media things, and things Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:41:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Anna Barcelos http://www.samerforzley.com/2010/01/06/doing-the-social-media-180/comment-page-1/#comment-91 Anna Barcelos Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:04:16 +0000 http://www.samerforzley.com/?p=253#comment-91 I liked our exchange today Samer because it really made me think. You had an excellent point about a well-known social media person at a brand potentially leaving the company and going to another brand. How would the world now view that same person and new brand they're representing? Would people say, "He/she was great at the last company and really enriched the brand, let's see what they can do for this one?" or "I don't know if I can easily accept the fact that this person who represented Brand A is now representing Brand B, especially if it's a competitor." So I thought about it by going back to "life before social media." People leave companies all the time as I said. Some cannot work for competitors due to non-compete agreements they signed with the companies. Others cannot disclose "company secrets" with non-disclosure agreements. How does it work now that social media is in the mix? Well the major difference is you're out in the open being seen and heard by all. More than ever people can get to know you, how you engage/interact with people and what you say about your company or in general. This creates a certain perception and bam, you're that brand. We see and even interact with people from Dell, Kodak, Comcast and other brands on social networks and at the end of the day they are people (who represent these companies) like us. One thing we both agreed on strongly was that if you're a new person at a new brand, you have to earn trust for yourself and the brand. A case in point is, I started a position at a company six months ago and didn't just walk into this position easily. It was a newly created position for me in a traditional, conservative environment. No one knew who I was and what I did. It's a continuouos education process, tough at times, but like anything you have to persevere and prove yourself to earn respect. In the end, it really is a personal decision. Unfortunately, I do not know any folks who formerly represented a prominent brand and went to a new one but would love to get their point of view. Let's hope we do. You are right. This all gets forgotten in the end (Tiger who? ha). Thanks for blogging about this point. It's a great one. I liked our exchange today Samer because it really made me think. You had an excellent point about a well-known social media person at a brand potentially leaving the company and going to another brand. How would the world now view that same person and new brand they’re representing? Would people say, “He/she was great at the last company and really enriched the brand, let’s see what they can do for this one?” or “I don’t know if I can easily accept the fact that this person who represented Brand A is now representing Brand B, especially if it’s a competitor.”

So I thought about it by going back to “life before social media.” People leave companies all the time as I said. Some cannot work for competitors due to non-compete agreements they signed with the companies. Others cannot disclose “company secrets” with non-disclosure agreements. How does it work now that social media is in the mix? Well the major difference is you’re out in the open being seen and heard by all. More than ever people can get to know you, how you engage/interact with people and what you say about your company or in general. This creates a certain perception and bam, you’re that brand. We see and even interact with people from Dell, Kodak, Comcast and other brands on social networks and at the end of the day they are people (who represent these companies) like us.

One thing we both agreed on strongly was that if you’re a new person at a new brand, you have to earn trust for yourself and the brand. A case in point is, I started a position at a company six months ago and didn’t just walk into this position easily. It was a newly created position for me in a traditional, conservative environment. No one knew who I was and what I did. It’s a continuouos education process, tough at times, but like anything you have to persevere and prove yourself to earn respect.

In the end, it really is a personal decision. Unfortunately, I do not know any folks who formerly represented a prominent brand and went to a new one but would love to get their point of view. Let’s hope we do.

You are right. This all gets forgotten in the end (Tiger who? ha).

Thanks for blogging about this point. It’s a great one.

]]>