By the title, you may think that I am going to let you in on some secrets of Twitter – sorry to mislead you – I am not, if you want to learn more about the social site, click here. Today I am going to look into getting buy-in from the higher-ups at your company into utilizing social media, and Twitter in particular to help manage your company’s brand online.

As you probably know, anyone with a computer has a voice and a soap box to hold court on within the realm of social media, blogs and the Internet. While it may seem like common sense to PR and marketing folks, all that is seen above is typically How does this help the bottom line? or How can we monetize this?

It’s tough to do this in social media and, as George Colony mentioned in his blog earlier today, “Social is like sex. It’s fun to talk about and read about, but you can’t truly comprehend unless you do it.”

I think the big problem is that it can be measured, but not in reputation rather than monetary terms. While Twitter may be developing a measuring tool for reputation in the coming months, it is important to PR/social media gurus to make the best of it upholding their brand and making dents where they can. There is an end in site as some companies like

Image: TheFordStory.com

Zappos and Dell have been able to monetize the channel while offering high-level customer support as well.

However in terms of corporate buy-in, a company who probably leads the space is Ford. Yes, that Ford, despite being mired in headlines of bail outs and job cuts, the company is emerging as an elite social company. Their efforts are led by Scott Monty, the head of social media.

Recently, he sold the CEO of the company on holding a 30 minute Twitter session with actual customers & media. This is an excellent win for the merging of PR and social media, but also showed the average Joes of the world that the CEO of the successful member of the Big Three actually cared about them. Here is an excerpt of the transcript of the chat (click here for the full article):

irasocol: #FordCEO when will Sync work with all Blackberries?

ford: @irasocol SYNC works with most bluetooth devices. Scott says to check www.syncmyride.com for more info ^Alan #FordCEO

irasocol: #FordCEO, why not give the Ka to US Mercury dealers, and create buzz. Same car as the FIAT 500 which is supposed to ‘save’ Chrysler.

ford: @irasocol Re the Ka: we’re trying to understand the U.S. market needs for it right now. It’s a REALLY neat car! ^Alan #FordCEO

BradConley: @Ford What part will the Lincoln brand play in the resurgence of FMC?

ford: @BradConley Lincoln is a key luxury brand for us, we have a completely new family of Lincolns now. ^Alan #FordCEO

drivingsales: @Ford if GM & Chrysler get big UAW concessions through BK protection, how will that affect Ford’s agreements? #FordCEO

ford: @drivingsales We continue to work with all of our stakeholders on our plan and we will not be distadvantaged. ^Alan #FordCEO

j_navarra: @Ford are there plans to replace the NA Focus line with the Euro Focus line, or the Fiesta replacing the NA Focus’s place in the lineup?

ford: @j_navarra Yes. Over time, the products will come together around the world on our wonderful platforms. ^Alan #FordCEO

DRients: @Ford Alan, I would like to know what you think the strongest car/truck is in Ford’s fleet? And Why? Thanks! #FordCEO

ford: @DRients Stong cars: the Ka, Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Mustang and Taurus. ^Alan #FordCEO

I think that this form of unfiltered communication that we should all strive for as PR and social media inevitably merge into one.

By the title, you may think that I am going to let you in on some secrets of Twitter – sorry to mislead you – I am not, if you want to learn more about the social site, click here. Today I am going to look into getting buy-in from the higher-ups at your company into utilizing social media, and Twitter in particular to help manage your company’s brand online.

As you probably know, anyone with a computer has a voice and a soap box to hold court on within the realm of social media, blogs and the Internet. While it may seem like common sense to PR and marketing folks, all that is seen above is typically How does this help the bottom line? or How can we monetize this?

It’s tough to do this in social media and, as George Colony mentioned in his blog earlier today, “Social is like sex. It’s fun to talk about and read about, but you can’t truly comprehend unless you do it.”

I think the big problem is that it can be measured, but not in reputation rather than monetary terms. While Twitter may be developing a measuring tool for reputation in the coming months, it is important to PR/social media gurus to make the best of it upholding their brand and making dents where they can. There is an end in site as some companies like

Image: TheFordStory.com

Zappos and Dell have been able to monetize the channel while offering high-level customer support as well.

However in terms of corporate buy-in, a company who probably leads the space is Ford. Yes, that Ford, despite being mired in headlines of bail outs and job cuts, the company is emerging as an elite social company. Their efforts are led by Scott Monty, the head of social media.

Recently, he sold the CEO of the company on holding a 30 minute Twitter session with actual customers & media. This is an excellent win for the merging of PR and social media, but also showed the average Joes of the world that the CEO of the successful member of the Big Three actually cared about them. Here is an excerpt of the transcript of the chat (click here for the full article):

irasocol: #FordCEO when will Sync work with all Blackberries?

ford: @irasocol SYNC works with most bluetooth devices. Scott says to check www.syncmyride.com for more info ^Alan #FordCEO

irasocol: #FordCEO, why not give the Ka to US Mercury dealers, and create buzz. Same car as the FIAT 500 which is supposed to ‘save’ Chrysler.

ford: @irasocol Re the Ka: we’re trying to understand the U.S. market needs for it right now. It’s a REALLY neat car! ^Alan #FordCEO

BradConley: @Ford What part will the Lincoln brand play in the resurgence of FMC?

ford: @BradConley Lincoln is a key luxury brand for us, we have a completely new family of Lincolns now. ^Alan #FordCEO

drivingsales: @Ford if GM & Chrysler get big UAW concessions through BK protection, how will that affect Ford’s agreements? #FordCEO

ford: @drivingsales We continue to work with all of our stakeholders on our plan and we will not be distadvantaged. ^Alan #FordCEO

j_navarra: @Ford are there plans to replace the NA Focus line with the Euro Focus line, or the Fiesta replacing the NA Focus’s place in the lineup?

ford: @j_navarra Yes. Over time, the products will come together around the world on our wonderful platforms. ^Alan #FordCEO

DRients: @Ford Alan, I would like to know what you think the strongest car/truck is in Ford’s fleet? And Why? Thanks! #FordCEO

ford: @DRients Stong cars: the Ka, Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Mustang and Taurus. ^Alan #FordCEO

I think that this form of unfiltered communication that we should all strive for as PR and social media inevitably merge into one.

By the title, you may think that I am going to let you in on some secrets of Twitter – sorry to mislead you – I am not, if you want to learn more about the social site, click here. Today I am going to look into getting buy-in from the higher-ups at your company into utilizing social media, and Twitter in particular to help manage your company’s brand online.

As you probably know, anyone with a computer has a voice and a soap box to hold court on within the realm of social media, blogs and the Internet. While it may seem like common sense to PR and marketing folks, all that is seen above is typically How does this help the bottom line? or How can we monetize this?

It’s tough to do this in social media and, as George Colony mentioned in his blog earlier today, “Social is like sex. It’s fun to talk about and read about, but you can’t truly comprehend unless you do it.”

I think the big problem is that it can be measured, but not in reputation rather than monetary terms. While Twitter may be developing a measuring tool for reputation in the coming months, it is important to PR/social media gurus to make the best of it upholding their brand and making dents where they can. There is an end in site as some companies like

Image: TheFordStory.com

Zappos and Dell have been able to monetize the channel while offering high-level customer support as well.

However in terms of corporate buy-in, a company who probably leads the space is Ford. Yes, that Ford, despite being mired in headlines of bail outs and job cuts, the company is emerging as an elite social company. Their efforts are led by Scott Monty, the head of social media.

Recently, he sold the CEO of the company on holding a 30 minute Twitter session with actual customers & media. This is an excellent win for the merging of PR and social media, but also showed the average Joes of the world that the CEO of the successful member of the Big Three actually cared about them. Here is an excerpt of the transcript of the chat (click here for the full article):

irasocol: #FordCEO when will Sync work with all Blackberries?

ford: @irasocol SYNC works with most bluetooth devices. Scott says to check www.syncmyride.com for more info ^Alan #FordCEO

irasocol: #FordCEO, why not give the Ka to US Mercury dealers, and create buzz. Same car as the FIAT 500 which is supposed to ‘save’ Chrysler.

ford: @irasocol Re the Ka: we’re trying to understand the U.S. market needs for it right now. It’s a REALLY neat car! ^Alan #FordCEO

BradConley: @Ford What part will the Lincoln brand play in the resurgence of FMC?

ford: @BradConley Lincoln is a key luxury brand for us, we have a completely new family of Lincolns now. ^Alan #FordCEO

drivingsales: @Ford if GM & Chrysler get big UAW concessions through BK protection, how will that affect Ford’s agreements? #FordCEO

ford: @drivingsales We continue to work with all of our stakeholders on our plan and we will not be distadvantaged. ^Alan #FordCEO

j_navarra: @Ford are there plans to replace the NA Focus line with the Euro Focus line, or the Fiesta replacing the NA Focus’s place in the lineup?

ford: @j_navarra Yes. Over time, the products will come together around the world on our wonderful platforms. ^Alan #FordCEO

DRients: @Ford Alan, I would like to know what you think the strongest car/truck is in Ford’s fleet? And Why? Thanks! #FordCEO

ford: @DRients Stong cars: the Ka, Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Mustang and Taurus. ^Alan #FordCEO

I think that this form of unfiltered communication that we should all strive for as PR and social media inevitably merge into one.

By the title, you may think that I am going to let you in on some secrets of Twitter – sorry to mislead you – I am not, if you want to learn more about the social site, click here. Today I am going to look into getting buy-in from the higher-ups at your company into utilizing social media, and Twitter in particular to help manage your company’s brand online.

As you probably know, anyone with a computer has a voice and a soap box to hold court on within the realm of social media, blogs and the Internet. While it may seem like common sense to PR and marketing folks, all that is seen above is typically How does this help the bottom line? or How can we monetize this?

It’s tough to do this in social media and, as George Colony mentioned in his blog earlier today, “Social is like sex. It’s fun to talk about and read about, but you can’t truly comprehend unless you do it.”

I think the big problem is that it can be measured, but not in reputation rather than monetary terms. While Twitter may be developing a measuring tool for reputation in the coming months, it is important to PR/social media gurus to make the best of it upholding their brand and making dents where they can. There is an end in site as some companies like

Image: TheFordStory.com

Zappos and Dell have been able to monetize the channel while offering high-level customer support as well.

However in terms of corporate buy-in, a company who probably leads the space is Ford. Yes, that Ford, despite being mired in headlines of bail outs and job cuts, the company is emerging as an elite social company. Their efforts are led by Scott Monty, the head of social media.

Recently, he sold the CEO of the company on holding a 30 minute Twitter session with actual customers & media. This is an excellent win for the merging of PR and social media, but also showed the average Joes of the world that the CEO of the successful member of the Big Three actually cared about them. Here is an excerpt of the transcript of the chat (click here for the full article):

irasocol: #FordCEO when will Sync work with all Blackberries?

ford: @irasocol SYNC works with most bluetooth devices. Scott says to check www.syncmyride.com for more info ^Alan #FordCEO

irasocol: #FordCEO, why not give the Ka to US Mercury dealers, and create buzz. Same car as the FIAT 500 which is supposed to ‘save’ Chrysler.

ford: @irasocol Re the Ka: we’re trying to understand the U.S. market needs for it right now. It’s a REALLY neat car! ^Alan #FordCEO

BradConley: @Ford What part will the Lincoln brand play in the resurgence of FMC?

ford: @BradConley Lincoln is a key luxury brand for us, we have a completely new family of Lincolns now. ^Alan #FordCEO

drivingsales: @Ford if GM & Chrysler get big UAW concessions through BK protection, how will that affect Ford’s agreements? #FordCEO

ford: @drivingsales We continue to work with all of our stakeholders on our plan and we will not be distadvantaged. ^Alan #FordCEO

j_navarra: @Ford are there plans to replace the NA Focus line with the Euro Focus line, or the Fiesta replacing the NA Focus’s place in the lineup?

ford: @j_navarra Yes. Over time, the products will come together around the world on our wonderful platforms. ^Alan #FordCEO

DRients: @Ford Alan, I would like to know what you think the strongest car/truck is in Ford’s fleet? And Why? Thanks! #FordCEO

ford: @DRients Stong cars: the Ka, Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Mustang and Taurus. ^Alan #FordCEO

I think that this form of unfiltered communication that we should all strive for as PR and social media inevitably merge into one.