Christer Holloman, author of The Social Media MBA is, by his own admission, no social media expert. So how has he ended up so damn good at it? Victoria Clarke reports
You can find Christer Holloman, former head of digital product development at News International for The Times and The Sunday Times on LinkedIn. He’s also on Wikipedia. He blogs for Sky News, has reviews for his latest book on Amazon and has lent his wisdom to countless editorial features and business events around the globe. He’s also chairman of First Tuesday UK – a network for high-growth tech SMEs, their investors and related service providers.
Having left The Times, Holloman is now dedicating his time to writing his second book, while entertaining consulting and speaking assignments on digital and social media projects’. In other words – and in the nicest possible way – this guy gets around quite a bit.
However, despite Holloman’s seeming ability to get ‘everywhere’, he’s not your typical marketing hotshot. He’s refreshingly understated and one of the least pretentious so-called ‘experts’ I’ve ever met. He, of course, protests against the ‘expert’ title when I mention it.
“No one can claim to be a social media expert,” he states, reasoning the channel is too new and fast-moving for anyone to be able to claim they’re some kind of guru in it.
In fact, Holloman goes one step further when he questions the very essence of the term ‘social media’. He suggests at the moment people refer to it as ‘social media’ but in the future, it will become so ingrained with our everyday communications, there will be no need to have a distinct term for it. It’s this shift, he says, that businesses need to get their head around if they’re to ride the digital wave and truly leverage the plethora of social channels out there.
Go-getter spirit
So how did Holloman end up so social media savvy? His rise as a respected thought leader came about a couple of years ago while working at The Digital Property Group (TDPG). Knowing he owned a Twitter account, his then boss asked him to put together a social media strategy for the business. Holloman reveals that despite his confident response at the time, it belied the reality that he actually had no idea where to start. On his quest for research, he explains he struggled to find resources that provided strategic rather than tactical guidance, as well as those that focused on UK and European markets, as oppose to those in the US. Identifying this gap in the market, he set out on a collaborative journey, recruiting peers and experienced marketers along the way, to put together The Social Media MBA. The title of the book is a nod towards the fact it goes beyond basic tactical advice but it also includes best-in-class social media case studies for a down-to-earth approach. It’s not the first book Holloman has written and a sequel is already hot on the trail.
Such literary projects are just one example of Holloman’s entrepreneurial ‘go-getter’ spirit, which extends to challenges such as hiking up Everest and playing polo in Argentina. In fact, he cites this kind of attitude as being one of the fail-safe ways business brands can become successful in the world of social media. He highlights B2B brands traditionally develop a new product or service ahead of a high-profile launch to the masses. However, when a business is thinking about a new social media campaign, it’s much better to start small, “try things under the radar” and roll out soft launches – this way the activity risk remains low. He says, “It’s better to try something small and then say to your CEO that you did things on a shoestring budget, it gained this traction, and this was the outcome. Then present that as part of your business case for bigger investment.”
He reiterates the importance of leveraging campaign iterations and getting audience feedback along the way, and cites an example from The Times when it launched its paywall back in 2010. When it first launched, the business took a firm stance with its strategy and it was subsequently very controversial. But over the last two years the brand’s language has changed and it now communicates its paywall strategy
as ‘evolving’.
Social sense
Holloman has much to say on how B2B organisations can make better use of the powers of social media. When asked about the role marketers must play in the world of social business, he repeatedly refers to the ideal situation as that of ‘hub and spoke’. Marketers need to establish themselves as the hub of social media activity where others within the organisation can go to for thought leadership and advice. But marketers also need to empower those around them so that other departments can take ownership of social media activity. That way it becomes ingrained within a business’ DNA, stops being a box-ticking exercise and ultimately helps supports its case for investment at board level.
Holloman also says marketers need to rethink their social media approach with regards to benchmarking. What’s the point of benchmarking against your direct competitors, he questions, if they’re also facing the same challenges as you? It’s much better to benchmark against successful brands regardless if they sit outside your vertical or sector. He says, “Taking The Times, its competitors are not the other newspapers. They are the brands taking people away from reading newspapers, such as online gaming, Spotify etc. So they’re the brands it should be benchmarking against.”
The key to Holloman’s business success is ultimately a result of him identifying new opportunities. In particular, his enterprising approach to digital challenges is both engaging and infectious. He’s got the social bug and he’s not afraid to share it.
Holloman’s top tips for smart social media
1. Create a ‘Social media centre of excellence’. Invite one representative from each department that use social for business (e.g. customer service, HR, product development, etc). Use this forum to develop and evolve your corporate social media strategy.
2. Empower all employees to get social. Define the framework (rules and tools), get staff trained up and think of ways to keep them interested until it becomes integral.
3. Make ROI your friend. Throughout history, marketers have been accused for not being able to prove their ROI. With social media you have never had a better chance to prove them wrong, so make sure you do it.
Chris Holloman will be guest speaking at B2B Marketing’s Marketing Leaders Forum on 20 September, where he will further discuss issues highlighted in his latest book.
