Community Relations 2.0 BY GERALD C. KANE, ROBERT G. FICHMAN, JOHN GALLAUGHER & JOHN GLASER
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usinesses and other institutions have long practiced “community outreach” to nurture cooperative relationships between themselves and the public. Before the Internet, firms had far more time to methodically monitor and respond to community activity. With the rise of social media, that luxury has vanished, leaving a community-management vacuum in dire need of fresh skills, adaptive tactics and a coherent strategy. In fact, in today’s hyperconnected world, a company’s community has few geographical barriers; it comprises all customers and interested parties, not just local neighbors. Based on our research examining social media engagement at more than two dozen firms, we describe the changes wrought by social media platforms and show how your company can make the most of this brave new world.
What’s different about new communities? Information technology-enabled collaborative tools such as social networks, wikis and blogs greatly increase a community’s speed of formation and magnify its impact and reach. New communities come together and disperse quickly and are often led by different peo-
ple at different moments. And mobile interfaces keep groups on the alert, ready to drum up information or break into action. And with social media, we’ve moved beyond the era of stand-alone, static Web pages. Today’s communities actively post and vet information. Users increasingly treat these venues as their first stop in gathering data and forming an opinion. A recent Pew study found that nearly 40 percent of Americans say they have doubted a medical professional’s opinion or diagnosis because it conflicted with information they’d found online. If users put that much faith in what they learn on the Internet, what will they be willing to believe if members of a social media forum start trashing your organization? And are you prepared to handle it when it happens?
The community opportunity To many businesses, online communities look like antagonists, not would-be partners with intersecting interests. But in the health care field, communities like Sermo and PatientsLikeMe may be the seeds of a future in which it’s common practice for diverse constituents to attack shared problems together. Consider the challenges of speed and scale. Medmcmsonline.com/round-up
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