King vs. Clan in Social Medialand

I've been an admirer of the social media head at Ford Motor Company, Scott Monty. Scott (and his team) have done a great job in an arguably short time, getting Ford great product buzz and more importantly, responses from the social media world.

Scott has a lot of fans. A lot of fans. He is written about, talked about, blogged about, and is seen on many panels and heard on many webinars. If you think 'social media' and 'Ford', you think Scott Monty.

A week or so ago I heard Chris Barger speak. Chris is the head of social media at General Motors. Chris presented all the things GM is doing in the social media landscape. A lot of the same things Ford is doing, although Ford has been doing it longer.

But there is a different way Chris says GM is going about spreading the word in the social media landscape, what they call 'Immerse and Disperse'.

The idea is that instead of having one 'rock star' representing your company, you have a group of well-trained, passionate people at a variety of levels and in a variety of departments out there communicating.

The reasoning is twofold: first, many voices can have many different customer conversations, and second, if a person happens to leave the company, the company's social media 'voice' doesn't leave with the person.

I believe Scott helped pave the way for GM to get on board with social media, with the success that he's had in his efforts, yet it's hard to dispute GM's reasoning in their approach.

photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kh-67

Comments

[Gene Brady]

You're spot on with your comments, Jamie, which was exactly the point of the post.

[Jamie Favreau]

I heard Chris's talk as well online and I found it very interesting and taught me a lot. I think the two different approaches are interesting too. I think Scott might have a stronger personal brand then Chris. Due to this we know all about Scott and maybe very little about Chris (until I met him a few months ago.)

[Gene Brady]

And having a good budget to back social media initiatives does help:

"Ford Outpaces Industry with 25% Digital Spend" http://tiny.cc/fipHI

[Gene Brady]

Thanks for the comments, Scott.

I'm not sure you got the point being made, but you are indeed doing a great job for Ford. The 'Fiesta Movement' is just one of many examples where you've helped create "great product buzz and more importantly, responses from the social media world."

You mention that Chris Barger has been at GM a year and a half longer than you, yet I and many other people I know have heard about, read about, and seen you and your name many, many times as Ford's social media guy. The fact that he's been at GM longer helps make the point. Chris's name has not had anywhere near the same visibility or been connected with being the 'voice' of a car company, as you have been with Ford. Two different approaches.

I'm definitely looking forward to both Ford and GM coming fast out of the gates in 2010.

[Scott Monty]

Gene, thanks for your post. A couple of things, if I may. First of all, GM has been doing social media a LOT longer than Ford. They've had a corporate blog since 2004 and Christopher has been there a year and a half longer than I've been at Ford. Second, look at the Fiesta Movement, where we put the power into the hands od enthusiasts to speak on our behalf. *That's* social.

We're actively working on spreading social media activities around the company - and not just to a social media team or to marketing groups. To the whole company. There's no doubt that 2009 was a challenging year for the entire industry; as such, we had to move aggressively and differently at Ford, since we were coming from behind. And clearly it's worked to our benefit.

Stay tuned to see what 2010 brings.

Scott Monty
Global Digital Communications
Ford Motor Company

[Rick]

Clearly a team approach is needed. No company, no matter what the marketing effort, can be wholly dependent on one person. The key is that the organization has a "voice" and POV that is consistent with the goals and marketing efforts of the organization. That way, all conversations are consistent in terms of tone and effort -- no matter who does the "speaking."

[Gene Brady]

So why not get truly social, right?

[Russ]

"The reasoning is twofold: first, many voices can have many different customer conversations, and second, if a person happens to leave the company, the company's social media 'voice' doesn't leave with the person."

This makes a lot of sense. I definitely prefer the Chris Barger method at GM. After all, it is "social" media. The more the merrier.