Stakeholders and Social Media (Part II): Who Else Can We Be Speaking With?

You’re used to talking to employees, customers, and community leaders. What about ex-employees or the mothers of customers?

Last week, part one explored how social media is not merely altering the influence that accrues to traditional stakeholder groups, but the very definition of those groups itself. Focusing on customers, we examined how existing stakeholder identities are blurring into one another.  This week, we look at a related trend, the emergence of new groups as significant stakeholders worthy of communication.

Who is a key stakeholder today? The short answer is…virtually anybody. Marketers have long crafted paid and unpaid communications to address parents, spouses, and others deemed capable of influencing a consumer’s purchase decision. Now with social media coming into the mix, companies are stretching the range of people they can connect with, given their scarce resources. Lego has dedicated a portion of its website to parents, offering product guidelines, message boards, and articles about child development.   The US Navy has an innovative website, navyformoms.com, aimed at “mothers of kids in the U.S. Navy and…Moms who have questions about Navy life for their kids.” The site offers community features that allow moms to share photos and videos of their kids, chat with other Navy moms, and participate in affinity groups, such as “Boot Camp Moms” and “Moms of Officers.” There are also groups for other people close to Navy personnel, including “proud Navy Dads” and “Girlfriends, Fiances, and Wives of Sailors.”

Automaker GM has a website, GMfamilyfirst.com, that allows employees and their families to take advantage of special discounts on cars. Although the site does not contain blogs or other common community features, it does offer tools to help family members shop and also GM discount greeting cards to “Let your family know you want to share your employee discount with them.” And what about new and prospective hires? One forthcoming book on the emerging practice of “onboarding” new employees urges companies to not merely address the social needs of people new to a company, but offer resources that speak to spouses and family members, helping them find jobs and acclimate to new communities.

Although the concept of tapping into ex-employees isn’t new, social media is fostering new interest in cultivation of university-style alumni network. The global re-insurance company Swiss Re became the first in its industry to start an alumni network and as of March 2010 had nearly 1,400 members. As the company explains on its portal,  alumni “have the opportunity to renew old friendships, establish new ones, expand your professional network, and have access to events, news, and exciting career prospects,” while the firm sees benefits in recruiting, business development and global branding.

Just as we should help clients focus on re-imagining the identities of existing stakeholders inways that add value, so, too, should we help clients identify new groups as key stakeholders. This tactic is still in its infancy; so much room still exists for real creativity. Could colleges do more to target the parents of prospective students? Could a cosmetics company spend time speaking in provocative ways to the boyfriends of customers? Maybe, maybe not. One thing is certain: The possibilities are endless, and it behooves our industry to take the lead, before others do.