We’ve just made available a new Executive Briefing e-book that pragmatically introduces the idea of social networking for businesses and associations. Interested in introducing social networking to the exec staff at your organization? Included are answers to the common questions of:

  • What is social networking?
  • Why does this matter? Isn’t “social networking” just for high school kids?
  • How can my organization get closer to customers or members using social networking?

Excerpt: Why should our organization care about social networking?

“Customers have lost trust in traditional sales, marketing and service (the three areas commonly referred to as “CRM,” or Customer Relationship Management). According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, “the most credible source of information about a company is now ‘a person like me,’ which has risen dramatically to surpass doctors and academic experts for the first time.” The survey relates that in the U.S., trust in “a person like me” increased from 20% in 2003 to 68% today.

The connections enabled by social networks are the glue that put the humanity back into business to solve the trust problem. In other words, the organizations that will win are the ones that most easily enable individuals to build relationships and communities with people they trust.”