When a book doesn’t go in the direction you think it will, sometimes, it can be a disappointment, but with Barry Libert’s “Social Nation,” the result was an interesting – and informative – read.
The cover reads “How to harness the power of social media to attract customers, motivate employees and grow your business.”
This is not, however, a book for those who want a how-to guide for navigating online platforms such as Facebook or Twitter to achieve business growth.
In the first chapter, Libert makes it clear that his goal is to help readers define and build their own social nations, using the available social media tools.
Libert’s definition of a social nation seems to be a network of personal connections with customers and employees. These connections, stretch well beyond the “add as friend” or “like” button connections seen often online and are meant to evolve –through points of contact beyond just the Internet – to the point where customers and employees have voices in company design and direction, which will enhance their loyalty.
So who should read this book? Libert answers that question in the preface. It’s meant for business leaders and their teams. Specifically, he aims to help them:
- Explore and assess social skills that are critical in the networked marketplace;
- Benefit from seven key rules for building individual nations of friends, fans and followers to help their companies grow; and
- Identify steps for getting started – and outlining pitfalls to avoid.
A key premise behind his approach rests in the fact that the work force is becoming more social, a shift that he attributes to the growing number of women who work. He seems to give a nod, too, to the younger people entering the work force. He suggests that it’s becoming less of a necessity to rigidly separate workers’ personal and professional selves.
It’s an interesting thought, albeit perhaps somewhat impractical for some settings.
Libert does not, however, seem to advocate an informational exchange free-for-all.
Among his seven guiding principles for successful social nation strategies, is a call for letting culture lead the way in an open and honest environment. He counters that call for openness, however, with another principle: Mind your online and offline manners. In other words, folks, don’t throw out decorum and decency in the name of connecting with others, be it online or face-to-face.
Libert is chairman and CEO at Mzinga, a Massachussetts-based company that provides social software, services and analytics to improve business performance. A potentially helpful tool he touches on in the book is Mzinga’s Social Quotient Test, something akin to an IQ test for gauging people’s social skills and determining which of the four basic skills strengths –physical, informational, emotional and social – are at play. There also are eight key character competencies, including adaptor, risk taker, connector or visionary. Each of these skill sets and characteristics have value, but the key is knowing how to apply them in a social nation. Libert also provides some words of caution for each type, too. Adaptors, for instance, can be so keenly aware of alternative approaches that they push to change direction before it’s actually necessary.
The test and other book-related tools are available at
www.socialnationbook.com.
In some parts of the book, Libert switches quickly back and forth between personal connections and online connections, and it can get dizzying. He seems to accept the prevalence of social media, so he does touch on some ways to use it, but he also implores readers not to hide behind it, which is solid advice.
Other helpful tools:
- Libert’s prescriptions for building social intelligence and other important aspects to support the social nation concept;
- An outline of Mzinga’s Social Network Matrix; and
- A quick-hitting list of helpful tools, including blogs, discussion forums and reviews.
He wraps up with the aforementioned pitfalls, which include trying to run a social nation like a traditional business; not investing enough in social initiatives and abandoning them too quickly, and underestimating the power of a social nation.
There’s a lot of ground covered in this book. In a few places, it got a little thick, and some of pictures and graphics were dated or distracting. Still, I’d recommend this book to those who recognize that social media is a necessity but are concerned that it will hurt personal service or face-to-face communication. Libert believes companies can have both – and his social nation concept might be just what’s needed.
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