Today I observed an organizational tipping point for social media. I was meeting with the Chief Operations Officer of a company I've been working with a few months now and we were at a strategic social media crossroads. He had a key decision to make.
On the one hand they have been very successful doing things the way they've always been done. They don't have to change today. They have controlled everything from customer interactions and sales leads to which employees are permitted to access YouTube and Facebook (which until recently was almost nobody).
On the other hand they can dive fully into social media where the lines of professionalism and personal life are blurry, where trust and authenticity are key, and where sales and marketing involve conversation and earning attention rather than demanding it.
The COO admits that he doesn't fully understand all the implications of social media, but he's smart enough to know that it's something to investigate. That's why they called me a few months ago. Now he's convinced they need to move forward, but the organization doesn't fit with this new stuff. As the fog lifted today he saw clearly that they're at a crossroads. Would they keep on doing what they've always done or take the other path?
The Internal Evangelist Tips It
For a few minutes I wasn't sure which way he was going to decide but then the COO invited the internal social media evangelist into the meeting. The social media evangelist isn't a high ranking manager or director. He's just a well respected guy who works there and knows about social media and has started using it on his own. He's even seen it pay off for him several times. He's been leading by example and taking every opportunity to talk about the need for change when given the chance. He was the difference today. Without him in that meeting, I'm not so sure the COO would have chosen this path.
Why the Internal Evangelist Is Gold
So here's why I'm writing this: almost every organization I know of has at least one social media evangelist right now. In many cases it's not a vice president, director, or even a manager. It's usually someone down in the ranks who sees the opportunity for change and has already started doing small things under the radar. These people are gold.
They're gold because when a CEO, COO, VP, or some other executive type comes to that crossroads, they'll call the internal evangelist in. It's the moment the evangelist has been hoping for and it's exactly what the company needs. It's what the company has really been paying the person for all along and they didn't even know it.
Internal social media evangelists are all over the place.
Becky is one. She even had a blogger take notice of her efforts this week.
Ray is too. He has a social media success story that's becoming legendary within the company (and is quietly empowering and encouraging fellow employees too.)
Chris had one of those crossroads meetings a few months ago. Now the company is enthusiastically doing things they didn't support even six months ago.
If you're the social media evangelist in your company, be encouraged. The day will come when you'll get the call or the email to attend the crossroads meeting. It may be sooner than you think. Be ready. They've never needed you more.