For many companies and executives, the hardest thing to swallow about blogging or any form of social media is the unpredictability. The fear is that you might be opening a pandora's box. What will spur negative feedback? What will spark a controversy? Prompt a lawsuit? What if... you get no response at all?
Experimenting with blogs and wikis and online communities often means stepping outside your comfort zone. Luckily, there are more and more examples we can point to as proof that major brands know how to play in this space. Here are 35 mini case studies.
The ROI of using social media as part of marketing or PR is hard to quantify. But it's tangible and it's real. Like many others, I call it Return on Influence.
All by way of saying that I decided to step out of my comfort zone recently and take a painting class. I have no artistic talent whatsoever. I can barely draw more than a stick figure. So I figured... what the heck. I have nothing to lose.
The workshop was a blast! Here's the result: an acrylic painting of my garden. And yes it makes a nice screensaver.
Useful Link
Great post by Meg Hyatt on Painting Outside the Lines: Highly Under-Rated
Previous Comments
Aaron said on August 17, 2008 at 11:22 PM
Thanks for sharing my Mashable post. In a follow-up post on my own blog, I added a couple of videos discussing corporate use of social media that your readers might be interested in:
http://disruptology.com/2008/07/24/bonus-videos-corporate-social-media-in-action/
Headlines from Floyd said on August 18, 2008 at 02:32 PM
Debbie: I like the Return on Influence. I haven’t heard that before. Ultimately, you don’t know until you try (like your painting class)
Roger Pynn said on August 21, 2008 at 11:24 AM
Actually, Debbie, I loved your painting. And although as an established blogger you can get away with it, I’ve cautioned on our blog that CEOs avoid self-deprecation and opt instead for credibility-building. Humor’s a tough gig for most of us.
Fairings said on September 3, 2008 at 02:11 AM
I agree, a lot of people get stuck in the box. Stepping out of the box involves open minds, new ideas, and taking some forms of risk which can yield great success.
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