No one will dispute that there are huge differences between the way a large enterprise business operates versus that of a SMB (small or medium business). All of the cliche's about a large, plodding, politically motivated behemoth or a small, naive, financially handcuffed operation exist for a reason. They all contain a grain of truth to varying degrees. Yet, for all of their differences they share the same basic strategies when it comes to leveraging various mediums for the most part, just at different scales. And that's how it should be.
However, when I work with these organizations on social media engagements their viewpoints are shockingly divergent. And frankly, it is many of the social media experts and conferences out there that are creating/reinforcing them. Let's examine just a few of them.
Differences:
- Philosophical
- Enterprise - Social Media is just a tool. All of this talk about making friends and 'being social' is a bit ridiculous, if it'll make me money that's great but someone needs to demonstrate that in hard terms first. All I care about is whether or not I can leverage it for {insert individual department function here}, but I want to own it for the whole organization in case it becomes really important.
- SMB - Social Media is more than just a tool. It's a kinder/gentler new way of doing business. If you just focus on relationships first the business will follow. All of the best conference speakers told me so.
- Execution
- Enterprise - I can't do anything yet, we need to really analyze this thing to death (from a single departments perspective) and come up with a plan first. Mainly I need that plan to figure out a way to put low level people out there on social media and minimize the risk in doing so. I mean, have you seen some of these companies getting eaten alive by social media? *shudder*
- SMB - I read this article about social media so I went and created an account on the various sites. I've been talking to some people on Twitter and I went to a conference the other day. The only way to "get" social media is to simply do it, so that's what I'm doing. I'm not really sure about how I'll leverage it strategically but I'm certainly "being social".
The reality however is that they could learn a lot from each others situations. On the enterprise side philosophically there needs to be a holistic approach and viewpoint not simply a focus at the individual function (departmental) level. They need a top-down strategy. The SMB does this organically for the most part, nothing happens in these organizations without everyone else either knowing about it or being involved in it. Everyone tends to wear a lot of hats in these organizations by default. Many folks will argue that a grass roots movement within the enterprise is the way to go. I'd be happy to demonstrate to them ad infinitum why they are wrong, but suffice it to say that a grass roots groundswell is fine for getting the attention of management but it then needs to be ripped out at the roots once the organization is serious about moving forward with social media. On the SMB side, they should tone down some of the kum-ba-ya social media rhetoric. There's nothing wrong with much of it, it just needs to be balanced out with reasonable business objectives and that seems to be getting lost in the process.
At the executional level, the enterprise and SMB should find a nice comfy spot and meet in the middle. Diving into social media half-cocked is certainly not recommended, yet neither is going into analysis paralysis. It *is* possible to actually have a plan of attack that includes the fact that there are areas of social media you will dabble in without having hard justification. That is different than saying you don't need to think through certain guidelines about avoiding certain risks and exposures.
I'll concede the fact that there are very few places currently for an enterprise to turn to for a model on how to build an integrated social enterprise. It's incredibly complex, and it can't be done without significant buy-in from the top. So I understand why the departments would simply use their own segmented budgets to try and drive their own initiatives. What is the political benefit of getting involved in something you aren't going to own and that you may have to comply with later on, right? On the SMB side it's certainly understandable that the initial appeal of social media may be its perceived low cost of entry, which drives a lot of how social media evolves and is perceived in these organizations.
I get it. I do. But enterprises that can take a page out of the SMB book and simply try and do what's best for the organization as a whole vs. the individual or department will ultimately be far more successful. So if you must look at it from a selfish perspective, just consider it good job protection, or you can try and be the person who will oversee social media for the entire organization if you like. And SMB's who look to the enterprise for inspiration may find that a tighter focus on business objectives *via* those fuzzy relationships they've been creating will lead them to greater success. Serendipity will only get you so far, you still need focus and a destination.
Enterprises aren't just cold, calculating machines. SMB's aren't just warm, fuzzy, double rainbows. They both contain warm bodies who care and are trying to do a good job and contribute to a successful business. They just have different challenges, opportunities, and motivators. There is one thing however that neither party is, and that's stupid. There is a lot they can learn from one another, particularly when it comes to social media. And I'm hopeful that will occur sooner rather than later.
