Social Media contributes – On the value of Relational Work

One of the most common forms of invisible work is ‘relational work‘ — all that effort we put into creating, sustaining and transforming relationships. This social, psychological, interpersonal, and emotional work is critical to our ability to contribute to the bottom line in an organization. …

Social Media brings into the light the invisible work that goes into nurturing, supporting, encouraging and facilitating the behavior of others.

Once we see this relational work, we can begin

To see the value of this work,
To see those who do so this work, and
To value those who do this work.

via authenticorganizations.com

This is a great posting! Just had a discussion yesterday with my new manager. Some of my colleagues as Market Segment Managers do not see the value at all in doing Social Media. They doubt, that it contributes to the bottom line.

And yes, it is sometimes difficult to document the ROI, but the ROI s there. I could tell you a bunch of stories, where I developed valuable relationships for my company through Social Media. And we did generate business out of it. It is our job as Social Media evangelists to keep records of these leads.

Guys, business is becoming social, even for complex software products and hardware. People do talk about you. Perhaps not on Twitter or Facebook, but in some special interest forums. You better listen. You better respond. Or a certain moment you will be out of business. Business is already a Social Business.

P.S. And don’t tell my the ROI myth, that a sale is just coming out of one event, one direct mail piece or an e-mail newsletter. Selling is a process. Sales, Marketing and more people and departments do contribute. It is our mistake that we assign a deal (in the pipeline or a won deal) to one unique activity. This is simply not true. And for sure Social Media can contribute to the sales process.