Business has changed. This new era (we call it The Now Revolution) is characterized by speed, by new expectations and demands from customers, and by dynamic and ever-shifting systems and tools. This is a new era of open communication and reciprocal and real-time online participation.

This is a change that isn’t really about the technology of social media, but about how businesses need to adapt in the face of consumers’ embrace of it.

Just as other communication revolutions necessitated that we rethink our business from the inside out, the Now Revolution does as well. From culture to people to process, we can reengineer how we operate to make this the most incredible opportunity time in business history.

There are seven keys to making the Now Revolution work for you.

1. New Bedrock
Deeply shared values and invested individuals make up a company culture that can and will embrace speed, nimbleness, and decentralized decision making. Your healthy culture will share an optimism and open dialogue that embraces independence and a free flow of ideas, feedback, and input from all areas of the company.

2. Talent You Can Trust
The Now Revolution is about people, not logos. You won’t just rely on official spokespeople to steward your brand; rather you’ll bring aboard (and work hard to retain) people throughout the company that can build and nurture your community. Social media is not just a job, but also a skill.

3. Organized Armies
The organizational models that emerge in your real-time business will distribute decision making and authority throughout the company. You’ll find ways to reduce friction and procedural bottlenecks in favor of faster, more fluid communication within and among the ranks, potentially using internal social media to do so.

4. The New Telephone
Just like you’ve put a phone on everyone’s desk in your company, you’ll incorporate social media listening capabilities into your work to power your day- to-day business. As you’ve adopted systems to manage your e-mail, your web analytics, or your customer relationship management, you’ll now adopt systems that help you hear the important conversations that are happening online.

5. Response-Ability
The Humanization Highway will guide your social media journey, and you’ll start talking to your customers in ways you never have before. What starts as reacting and responding will give way to contribution and participation, even your own storytelling. Not only will you be part of the conversations that others have started, but you’ll start your own.

6. Fire Extinguishers
Preparedness is part of what will define your company’s success. As much as crisis is something you work to prevent, you’ll have a plan for its possibility. Because social media is always on and always moving, the plan
you develop will not only define urgency and crisis in your own context, but give your employees all of the guidance needed to create an immediate and informed response.

7. Calculators
Keeping score matters. Knowing what information you have available will help you determine what you can easily measure or what new tracking methods or systems you might need to put in place. You’ll also evaluate what your investment will be in social media, from hard costs like technology to soft costs like staff time.

Armed with both your goals and that data, you’ll select straightforward, clear metrics that will show you whether you’re making progress toward your objectives.

Possibility Awaits

You are experiencing history. The next generation of human and business connectivity is here.

The social web amplifies even the quietest voices, provides ways to connect unbound by time and geography, and creates urgency and opportunity at every turn. The technology is new. But the central philosophies of social media—conversation and connection—are familiar indeed. Social media enables big companies to act small again, and it allows small companies to engage with their customers in new and exciting ways.

But success isn’t about ‘‘being on Twitter’’ or mastering any other particular social tool. Instead, success accrues to businesses that are present, agile, responsive, and prepared. The companies that tame the Now Revolution see that this isn’t really a technology trend at all, but rather a trend of humanization that makes your people as much the star of your show as your products have been historically.

The Now Revolution means that almost any business can be a superstar, including yours. Are you ready to take the stage?

Jay Baer

#optsum Workshop Details

* Date: September 12,2011
* Time: 8:30 am- 10:00 am
* Room: Solana H
* Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Social Media Speaker

Jay  is a tequila-loving, hype-free social media strategist that helps major corporations and their agencies harness the awesome power of the social Web. A founder of 5 digital marketing companies, he’s worked with more than 700 brands since 1994, including 25 of the Fortune 1000. His blog – Convince & Convert – was named one of the world’s top 3 social media blogs, and he’s the co-author of The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social.

Learn the “7 Shifts To Make Businesses Faster, Smarter & More Social” directly from the author. widely recognized as among the best and most engaging marketing speaker in the U.S., Jay Baer will present the principles of The NOW Revolution  and teach you about the changes you need to make.

Social Media Speaker

Jay  is a tequila-loving, hype-free social media strategist that helps major corporations and their agencies harness the awesome power of the social Web. A founder of 5 digital marketing companies, he’s worked with more than 700 brands since 1994, including 25 of the Fortune 1000. His blog – Convince & Convert – was named one of the world’s top 3 social media blogs, and he’s the co-author of The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social.

Learn the “7 Shifts To Make Businesses Faster, Smarter & More Social” directly from the authors. widely recognized as among the best and most engaging marketing speaker in the U.S., Jay Baer will present the principles of The NOW Revolution  and teach you about the changes you need to make.