To download the report, click here (PDF 2.4 MB)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19440167/null
Videos from the event are also available
Here are some key takeaways from the white paper:
- Understand that every company is a media company.Companies can offer a real depth of content from their core knowledge area. A good example is Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Center, the Web’s number one global interactive parenting network.
- It’s no longer a shareholder world; it’s a stakeholder world. Companies must create value that extends beyond earnings.
- Organizations need to remember that going into social networks, they are equal members with everyone else in the network. Companies and brands are not broadcasters, and can’t set up a profile and walk away. It won’t advance reputation – in fact, it may well harm it. Approach the social media space like a real relationship, and be ready to do the hard work that goes into any good relationship.
- Be willing to give up control. One of the hallmarks of the Obama campaign was the willingness to give out logos, digital kits, and tools to give up a sense of ownership.
- Trust and credibility can’t be assumed. Trust is earned one day at a time by listening attentively, responding quickly, saying what you do and doing what you say. Don’t jump into your online engagement efforts with a “we’re here” pronouncement.
- Where social media has gone, mobile is headed. Increased penetration of GPS-enabled smart phones will make location-based targeting a must In the very near-term. We have to find ways to make ourselves relevant to individual consumers at precise points of need and opportunity.
- Here's my favorite: Recognize that we are, and have been, social creatures in our lives long before the arrival of digital technology. So we must avoid thinking of social media as a “thing” or a frightening new phenomenon – it’s really just an extension of who we are.
About the New Media Academic SummitIn June 2009. Edelman convened (for the third time) more than 100 professors of communications, journalism, business and public relations from across North America and Europe to discuss how companies, organizations and media effectively engage their stakeholders through social media. The sessions were led by more than 50 practitioners who guide digital communications strategies within leading organizations – including AstraZeneca, CNN, eBay, Environmental Defense Fund, GE, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Starbucks, The Lance Armstrong Foundation, UPS, and Whirlpool, among others. This NWAS white paper provides best practices and actionable insights into how to engage employees, consumers, investors, regulators and media.
