Businesses urged to embrace new media

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City),  Jun 19, 2008  by Heather Caliendo

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Airport security checkpoints can sometimes be confusing and irritating, but the Transportation Security Administration strictly plays by the rules.

However, the agency has taken an unconventional approach in establishing dialogue with customers - blogging.

"Here is a very conservative institution in government that is focused on security putting a blog out there to establish communication," said Jerry Stevenson, director of communications for Buck Consultants. "It's a remarkable example of an organization who has employed the new media tools to do it better."

Blogs, social-networking Web sites, Wikipedia and podcasts are tools of a new media to which businesses are trying to adapt.

Stevenson was invited by the Tulsa International Association Business Communicators on Wednesday afternoon to speak on how businesses can use two-way communication efficiently. He stresses the new media tools can be used effectively to communicate with employees on the inside and the market on the outside.

But Stevenson said many companies are apprehensive to use the new tools and are missing out on its benefits.

"They think it's something that teenagers use that causes dangerous leaks of information that turn into problems for companies," he said. "These tools offer plenty of opportunity to do really important things for companies if they use them in the right way."

Companies struggle for a voice in this new environment, and they struggle with how to use the tools to connect with customers.

Stevenson said the answer is blogging.

"The great thing about blogs is it's like a never-ending focus group," he said. "It's a way to tap into what customers want and how companies can adapt to change and stay ahead of the competition."

Customers respond to blogs because they tend to read more like a conversation - they often don't have jargon-heavy language, he said. Because of the laid-back atmosphere blogs provide, Stevenson said it is imperative companies learn and adapt to that conversational writing style.

Stevenson said companies need to establish boundaries and guidelines for what is appropriate for blogs and Web sites.

"You do have to be careful about putting tools out there in an unstructured way," he said. "If the company isn't doing anything to structure the discussion, that creates a recipe for trouble."

Stevenson said it's just as important that boundaries are set with employees' accounts on social-networking Web sites such as Facebook or MySpace. Several years ago, a Delta Air Lines flight attendant posted a picture of herself on her blog posing suggestively in a Delta plane while wearing her uniform. Delta later fired the attendant. Stevenson said the controversy could have been avoided if Delta had a policy in place.

"Companies need to set expectations and be clear about what the rules are, when you want to avoid other things and when to be candid," he said. "Just to say 'we know these tools are out there, and this is how we see you using these tools.'"

New media distracting workers is a common complaint, but Stevenson said wasting time is not a technology issue; it's a management issue.

"The issue is not how people waste time - it's the wasting time itself," he said. "People can waste time on the telephone, bringing a book to the company - there is a myriad of wasting time; it's not how it's done but why."

He said a progressive company will keep discussions focused on the company to a certain degree while encouraging a balance of business and water cooler talk.

On the Transportation Security Administration blog, visitors express their opinions on how airport security works, or doesn't.

Stevenson said this allows the company to make small changes and learn about clients' needs.

"These tools really help companies adapt and see problems before they turn into serious situations," he said. "Companies have to learn to utilize these tools because they are very much the reality of how communication works."

Copyright 2008 Dolan Media Newswires
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