What can Social Media do for You?
Yesterday’s post discussed the importance of customer engagement throughout the product development process, using Microsoft as an example. Social media is a valuable tool for engaging consumers in this type of project. Innovation consultant Stefan Lindegaard is a proponent of social media and features a great blog post outlining the various types of social media and how each can be used to further innovation efforts. He also posts links to a large number of additional resources on effective use of social media.
For small companies lacking a single person in charge of social media, this type of guidance can be valuable. According to Lindgaard, advantages to using social media range from business intelligence to training opportunities to marketing and promotional venues. To those who have trouble seeing past the “social” part of social media and the value it can have in business, he points out that “we are still in the very early phases of this intersection of social media tools and open innovation” and challenges leaders to look ahead a couple years.
Lindegaard is so convinced of the connection between social media and open innovation that he has recently created a new network designed specially to meet the needs of innovators. The network, which will include online and in-person opportunities, is intended for corporations with dedicated innovation units and for service providers that can bring real value to the corporate participants. He describes the network as a “learning experience that helps companies develop insights and capabilities on how to use social media in innovation efforts. Participating companies not only get an opportunity to learn and to be inspired on how to use social media in innovation efforts, they also get new channels to promote and brand their corporate innovation efforts.”
Reader Comments
Aminda, you said:
"To those who have trouble seeing past the "social" part of social media and the value it can have in business, he points out that "we are still in the very early phases of this intersection of social media tools and open innovation" and challenges leaders to look ahead a couple years."''
I agree wholeheartedly and cannot believe how many businesses, whether big or small, view social media as a waste of effort. Those businesses who think social media is "stupid" or a "waste of time" are going to be left behind in the very near future.
I guess there is a chance that we're both wrong but I don't think so, when you look at trends such as people asking their social networks to find products/services rather than doing a Google search for them.....
Posted by Andrew Kinsey on August 26, 2011
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