So, your business wants to be more “socially calibrated.” You bought the tools, but no one is using them. You have a Twitter account, but no one is responding to tweets. You are confused because when you said, “Let’s do social,” everyone said “YES!” So, what now? You must address corporate culture, which means you need to examine internal behaviors.
Two weeks ago, Kate Niederhoffer spoke on the “Social Psychological Principles of Change” at our Social Business Summit here in Austin. Mainly, bringing about change by promoting positive behaviors, rather than punishing negative ones.
In her presentation, Kate said to start focusing on changing behaviors rather than changing attitudes. As humans, we have an inherent need to belong. We want to be in agreement with the people around us so that they’ll like us and we’ll fit in. As a result, we will agree to ideas that we don’t fully accept. More and more, social psychologists find that people will generally say they support the stated goal in a group setting, i.e., “Let’s do social!” but then actually behave in the opposite way when no one is looking. So, their attitudes end up saying, “YES!” while their behaviors say “no.”
How can you change individual behaviors and, in turn, company culture? Realize that it’s easy to “talk the talk,” but you have to get people to “walk the walk” too.
- Start by exposing people to their anti-social behaviors and show them how to develop new behaviors, possibly through a pilot program.
- Don’t make a list of “no no’s.” I have personally seen companies make this mistake often, most obviously in their social media policies. A list of what not to do exacerbates anxiety and seems to more firmly root people in their old behaviors. If you want engagement, you can begin to encourage interaction by telling people what they can do, rather than what they can’t.
- Introduce a new behavior set, not just new tools. Pair newbies up with those who have been playing in social spaces for a while. I think training is key to success. Once people know what they can do, help them understand how to do it. Fear of the unknown can be a major roadblock.
In reality, this concept is one we’ve been exposed to all our lives. Your mom tells you not to touch the hot stove, and all you can think about is touching the hot stove. Now, as an adult, you tell your employees not to email and all they can think about is emailing. It’s difficult to stop old behaviors and develop new ones, but your business can never be truly social without first addressing culture change.
What are you doing today to facilitate the culture change that a social business demands? If you’ve got the buy-in for “social,” attitudes are already in line. Now it’s time to start addressing the behaviors that feed your corporate culture. Don’t let your social strategy stall because you fail to encourage the right behaviors.
