Communication for Leaders Nr. 1-2017
Being Successful in Social Media Means Breaking the Rules What do companies that outperform in social media do right?
Dr. des. Johannes Paßmann, University of Siegen, Germany. Visiting Researcher at BI Norwegian Business School. E-mail: johannes.passmann@uni-siegen.de
CORE OF GOOD SOCIAL MEDIA PRACTICES
WHAT IT MEANS FOR COMMUNICATORS
Organizations that outperform in social media as measured by the largest number of clicks, likes, shares and retweets usually have a refined concept of sovereignty. This means that they do better not by seeking larger numbers based on today’s widely-used metrics or fads, but rather by being themselves and following their own rules. Social media puts enormous pressure on organizations to develop a voice in the new platforms. However, the dynamics, particularities, and sometimes oddities of ever new platforms pose an enigma to many established communicators. While the evaluation of social media effectiveness might seem clear (social media metrics every-where), their actual purpose can be quite blurry. Furthermore, there is a temptation to copy others’ success for example a campaign that has generated enormous attention or went viral.
Recent research shows that what is at the core of good social media practices is not a number of recipes and not even one or more patterns, but rather a stance or attitude that is conveyed “between the lines” and established through a series of messages over time. This is captured in the concept of sovereignty. Sovereignty means that every aesthetic choice a communicator makes, every message and form, is a choice they make on their own, independent of current rules and best practices on how to communicate. Sovereign social media communication is able to develop and constantly rework its own rules. And this is what organizations need to do if they want to be highly visible.
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Being sovereign or being released from following rules means three things for corporate communicators. 1. It means that an outstanding performance on social media cannot be produced by adapting the ‘hippest forms’ currently on the internet. If car manufacturer Opel tries to adopt the style of the internet phenomenon Grumpy Cat, it might not appear progressive or advanced at all, but rather like a company that wants so badly to be up to date precisely because of its outdated and boring image. That is exactly what can happen when an organization does not produce and follow its own rules. 2. It does not mean that applying current web culture styles is not a good strategy. Quite the contrary, it can appear as a highly sovereign act, as sovereignty does not mean
