Social networking and community engagement technology made easy

The 52^nd Annual Grammys Awards will air in a  couple of days time. Mashable writer, Christina Warren, recently wrote a blog post about how social media has been integrated for this year’s award ceremony. I wanted to highlight some of her interview with Evan Green, Chief Marketing Officer of the Recording Academy, about how the Grammys are embracing social media this year and why that decision was made. Before getting into the actual interview, Warren writes:

“Social media introduces an entire paradigm shift into how the Academy can both connect with music lovers and with how its message is consumed and presented. That said, the Academy is aware that the paradigm shift is happening, not just to the industry, but to our culture as a whole. In order to stay relevant and connected, the Academy would have to embrace this new way of communicating.”

Not all companies have taken advantage of social media, and this is no different for the Grammy’s. For over a year, they have been sticking their toe in to test the waters before going all out.  In Warren’s article she states:

“Evan told me that the Academy established a social media task force in 2008 and did a lot of outreach in 2009, basically assessing the climate, the places where the fans were spending their time, and evaluating the decision to jump in full force. Evan made it very clear that the Academy didn’t want to just haphazardly get involved, if the organization was going to do social media, it was going to do it correctly.”

This is normal. One of the main things we recommend to anyone stepping into social media is finding out where your customers/fans are and assessing what it is they’re talking about by listening.  But what they did after they finally embracing social media has been the major overhaul into actually shifting into social space. Warren continues speaking of the biggest challenges of adopting a social media strategy:

“When I asked Evan what the most challenging aspect of adopting a social media strategy was, he told me that it was making the decision to actually embrace social media at all. He explained that the Academy has always tried to manage and keep very careful control over its message and brand. By embracing social media, that means giving up that control. Because while the Academy can connect directly with fans, fans can also connect back. That means accepting criticism and engaging in a discussion in a public way, something that just isn’t the norm for the Academy.

I was struck by just how common this fear is, not just with older and more established brands, but even with smaller and newer companies. Social media does inherently mean that you are giving up the ability to centrally control the message. However, what is interesting is that the companies that embrace and accept that grain of truth are usually those that are most successful with social media.

After making the decision to fully engage, Grammy.com was completely rebuilt and official presences were made on Twitter (@theGrammys), Facebook and YouTube. Interaction and fan-generated content from these platforms and others all contributed to what has become the centerpiece for the Grammys 2010 campaign: We’re All Fans.”

Let’s look at that again. Warren says she is “struck by just how common this fear is, not just with older and more established brands, but with smaller and newer companies.�

Brands never truly have control over what is being said about them. They may be able to tell you what they want you to hear, but for most organisations, people are going to talk no matter what. It’s inevitable. That is why it’s smart for them to be embracing social media as a means to be a part of that conversation. So how have the fans responded to the Grammy’s social media campaign?

“When I asked Evan about the Academy’s plans for the future, he made it clear that social media is something the RA intends to continue to invest in. Internally the organization has been pleased with the results of the campaign and of the actual consequences of embracing social media. Fears about not being able to control the message seem to be largely assuaged when caution is thrown to the wind and engagement actually takes place.

True engagement is a major component of any successful social media endeavor. If the Recording Academy continues to embrace the shifting realities and engage with fans, the net result just might be that viewers and fans take a more active interest in the Grammy Awards.”

Does any of this sound familiar? Has your organisation been sitting on the fence about social media? If so, what are the concerns?  Or, for those who have embraced social media, how has it affected you? I’m excited to see what comes next. How about you?

posted by Piers Hogarth-Scott in the category Social Media
Tags: facebook, mashable, Social Media, The Grammys, twitter, YouTube