MOTIVATION MONDAY:
Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way (Part 2)
Followers – What Organizations Can Learn From Social Media

Organizational leaders take note. While you have been focusing a disproportionate amount of energy and resources on finding and building better leaders, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram have transformed “The Power of the Follower.” These social giants have learned how to engage with a click, a view, and, ultimately, a “sale” by studying followers so well that they can pinpoint not only specific follower analytics but more importantly, their economic value.

How does your organization measure up to these standards? Do your leaders value (or even understand) your followers? What has social media learned about followers that can help build stronger organizations?

1. Social Media is always seeking feedback. Mark Zuckerberg nailed this one with Facebook’s “Like.” This is the simplest, most direct form of feedback. Successful organizations provide their followers a simple, structured way to give their leaders feedback.

2. Social Media understands “engagement.” The days of trying to shove content down the throats of viewers was changed by Seth Godin and permission marketing. The goal is to engage our followers through meaningful content that links with a cause or interest (either global or self) that causes followers to want to follow.

3. Social Media has learned “quality” counts. Initially, the metric of “how many” followers was the holy grail. Today, as social media understanding and sophistication have grown, followers who believe in and take a desired action have become imminently more valuable. Building trust with your team fosters courage and openness that enhances quality and builds passion for the organization’s “cause.”

4. Social Media promotes influence. Retweeting, sharing, and reblogging empower followers to become curators of social content, and by extension, turning them into influencers. Organizational followers are valuable resources. They, more so than many leaders, frame the future. Leaders who tap into the influencing drive of their followers amplify organizational success.

Ultimately, followers who connect with their leaders become “organizational brand champions.” Using strategies refined in the social media world will build your following to drive success.