With the explosion of social media channels, companies need to think about how they can share social media guidelines and best practices with their employees. Starting this week, we will bring you a series of posts from our own Salesforce Social Playbook. Check back weekly for new entries and let us know your thoughts. To learn more about the goals and development of this playbook, check out our video story.

Over the last couple years we’ve seen a broad shift in Internet usage towards sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

• Customers are learning about new products through social channels 
• They trust their networks and other customers for answers and honest feedback 
• They expect brands to listen and engage with them on social channels 
• They expect you to have a complete picture of their interactions across channels, including social channels 

 Companies who recognize the shift can harness this energy in incredible ways.

• Generate awareness by having a presence on social channels 
• Tap into the knowledge and enthusiasm of your most passionate customers 
• Learn from the conversations taking place on social channels and find opportunities to delight 
• Create a more complete picture of the customer improving satisfaction and unlocking new sales opportunities 

The key to harnessing this power is to find a match between the charateristics of your audience and the behaviors you want to drive. Here are a couple of examples:

CIOs are more likely to be spectators; reading & re-tweeting articles they find interesting. To add value we need to provide Thought Leadership they feel comfortable sharing. To earn their respect we should think about how we share 9 pieces of other people’s content for every one of our own.

Admins are likely to be creators; asking questions, posting ideas, and sharing best practices. The key is to find success events like “completing admin certification” to share their enthusiasm.

Prospects are likely to search google for information and given the choice, they’d rather watch a video than read about a product. They trust their peers, so how can you connect them with people in their network who use Salesforce? Where would you go to get advice on CRM?

How was social changed your behavior as a customer? Can you share an example?

--Learn more about the playbook project and what is to come by watching the video below--