Vision - March 2009 - (Page 13) with the same router himself, Eliason reached out and walked her through each step. “Not only has she become dedicated to Comcast,” he admits, “but we actually became friends.” Be Heard Eliason says it’s important to understand the language of each community. A company can’t simply join the fray and expect to operate as they always have; they need to study the style of communication and offer service in an unobtrusive way. Essentially, businesses should be available, but not overwhelming. For Comcast, using personal photos of each team member and having different IDs on Twitter and other sites have proven to be successful ways of personalizing the experience. Someone with a question may end up chatting with Frank, George, Scott, Bill or Bonnie on a first name basis. YouTube.com is another platform that has become wildly successful for individuals seeking their 15 minutes of fame and businesses hoping to create buzz around products and services. “Popular company videos can get millions and millions of views,” says Aaron Zamost, spokesperson for Google, which operates the online video site. “Advertisers like YouTube because it presents them with tons of opportunities that don’t exist anywhere else” says Zamost, like millions of users watching, sharing and engaging with hundreds of millions of videos every day. “Marketers www.ce.org Peer-to-Peer Pressure Is social networking the right choice? Joining a social network is not as easy as simply logging in. That’s why Billy Bicket, co-director and community architect of NetSquared in San Francisco, an umbrella group for the nonprofit TechSoup Global, created a list of five questions every corporate communications department should be asking first. 1. Which social networks are most appropriate for my business? 2. Once I’ve researched what networks are available, which ones should I join? 3. Why am I joining these networks? Am I trying to gain new customers? To retain existing customers? To increase business intelligence? To identify potential new employees? 4. What happens if we’re successful? Who’s going to manage the day-to-day engagement with social network members who engage me? How much time must I dedicate to these communications? How much is too much? How much is too little? 5. What’s my position in the network? Am I an expert advisor or advertiser? How can I position myself most honestly and effectively? March/April 2009 13 http://www.YouTube.com http://www.ce.org
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