One of the key questions Dachis Group clients face on their journey toward social business transformation is when, if ever, to establish designated social roles in existing business units. This is a serious question as headcount begets expense and expense demands ROI. There is no “one size fits all” approach to designating official social roles, but it can be instructive to review the rationale of experienced brands who have already taken the plunge. To that end, Caroline Dangson and I recently contacted Tom Hoehn, Director of Interactive Marketing and Convergence Media at Kodak, to discuss his recent appointment of a Chief Listener to the Kodak social media team. Below, please find the transcripts from an e-mail interview on the topic.

Dachis Group: Tell us how you became the Director of Interactive Marketing and Convergence Media at Kodak?
Tom Hoehn: I have been involved with Kodak’s digital marketing initiatives since their inception (mid 1990′s). I have lived through the Internet boom, bust, Winter, Web 2.0 and whatever phase we are currently in – it was natural progression for me. As I saw the trends shaping up about four years ago I decided I needed to focus on social media as the next step in my marketing career. In a very entrepreneurial environment I left my high performing team of UX and design professionals and started a new team of one (me). From there the group grew, the next person to join was the heart and soul of social media at Kodak Jenny Cisney (@KodakCB on Twitter), the rest as they say, is history that is still being written.

Dachis Group: What was the impetus for creating the Chief Listener role at Kodak?
Tom Hoehn: Being active in social media for 3-1/2 years we realized that “listening” is the most important aspect of social media for us. I often read about marketers asking for advice about where to start and they are told just “jump in.” That is awful advice. Jump in is about step number 4. You need to listen first, get a sense of the kinds of conversations that are happening about your brand, products, category, etc. and observe the tone of these conversations. Who are the frequent contributors? Determine if you can add value to those conversations. If so, then, jump in. But do so in a very transparent and real way.

Dachis Group: How distributed are listening responsibilities at Kodak (how many people/departments are involved)?
Tom Hoehn: We are operationalizing this as we speak. We are connected to many groups including Support, Corporate Communications, Branding, Legal, and product marketing.

Dachis Group: How did you convince the organization of the need for a Chief Listener?  What proof was required?
Tom Hoehn: As we looked at the numbers we saw opportunity to extend our presence. A corporate website is still important but your customers are finding information in many more places now. As a marketer it is incumbent for us to find those places and offer value-adding insight, help, thanks, etc. The word “Kodak” was used on Twitter 470 millions times in 2009. That is something we cannot ignore. Add YouTube, Facebook, blogs, forums, and more to that mix and you see a picture that you cannot ignore as a marketer.

Dachis Group: How does listening data inform marketing strategy? Business strategy?
Tom Hoehn: Listening informs our business in a very real way. One example is with our pocket video recorder line. We fed insights to the product marketing teams which were incorporated into the next version in a very rapid fashion. When the Kodak Zi8 was released it had image stabilization, an external mic jack, and a flexible USB jack. When it was launched people raved about it because it was exactly what they wanted. We sold every darn one of them we had during the holidays and it is still a strong seller.

Dachis Group: How do you measure the ROI of your listening initiatives?
Tom Hoehn: Every company is looking for the magic answer of social media ROI. We look at it in a couple of ways. People are talking about your brand, products, category, etc. whether you choose to engage or not. It is not about your corporate website anymore. We choose to engage. We also look at how social media connects to other activities, it is not a silo. Earned media + Owned media + Paid media = Scale. Some of the specific measures are Share of Voice and Sentiment.

Dachis Group: Have you standardized on a single tool for listening?  What was your process for doing so?
Tom Hoehn: We started with a variety of simple free tools things like Google alerts, Technorati, TweetDeck/Seesmic and grew into more sophisticated tools like Radian6. The point being is that there are ways for you to get a sense of what is being said about topics you care about without having to invest heavily. If you find there is an actionable critical mass of conversation for your business then scale.

Dachis Group: Can you briefly describe other specialized social roles at Kodak?
Tom Hoehn: They are:

• Director – Sets strategy, Administrative, Evangelist (internal and external)
• Senior Social Media Manager/Chief Blogger – Content! Evangelist, external persona, business and event activation
• Social Media Manager/Europe – Local content, amplify central messaging
• Chief Listener – I think you got this one by now
• Brand Activation – Ensure every event (product launch, tradeshow, partnership) is infused with social media components
• Community Manager – Photo Tips and Project content and community (http://exchange.kodak.com)

Dachis Group: How do you know when you need a Chief [insert social initiative]?
Tom Hoehn: We see a need + articulate the return + make the case = New role. The hurdle is high in this day and age so we have to be buttoned up. No new “Chiefs” on the horizon. The force is strong with the current ones so watch for more great things to come from this team.