Today if you take a look at the eBay Ink Blog you will see the following story that I amplified below....
Here is what's up! Way back in the last decade, I created a video that made it pretty crystal clear that eBay was the FIRST social marketing platform (http://goo.gl/rZnpm).
Having done this analysis of social media and the marriage of eBay, you can see why today eBay "should" rank #1 But alas, they languished in a paltry 43rd last year. How did a case of the un-tapped potential power of eBay and Social Media become known to the leadership at the head of this corporation? I give you three letters R B H
We have had the opportunity to watch Richard Brewer-Hay (RBH) take a strategy of complacency at eBay and HYPER-DRIVE it to a #1 ranking through his leadership and determination. RBH was listening in to the heartbeat of the people on social sites like Twitter, Facebook and Blogs and tapped into that community as a MEMBER!
He did not come to "lord" over the conversation. He did not attempt to control what was said with his blogging. He simply joined in, made himself part of the community and in-turn used the feedback to further the understanding C-level management on the importance of the social medium.
RBH was socially cool back BEFORE Twitter or Facebook were the media darlings they are today in 2011. This my friends is a lesson to learn, how a company like eBay has leap-frogged such power houses like Google, Amazon and Apple to be ranked #1
No RBH did not and could not make this #1 ranking alone, BUT I do remember when he DID do "social media" ALONE for the entire eBay organization. Back in those days of 2008 & 2009, my buddy was all alone. Cheers to the dude, u gotta love it. Dude, that is MAGIC!
eBay Ranked #1 in Social Media Reputation by Yomego
eBay has taken the number one spot in a new ranking of the the top social media brands, carried out by Yomego. A number of factors were involved in tabulating the list but from what I can tell it was primarily based on overall reach and satisfaction in determining where companies landed in the Top 50. Here is their full breakdown of our company’s efforts:
eBay
eBay tops our social media league table, galloping up from their 2010 Interbrand ranking of 43. The company may appear a surprising winner, but eBay introduced community forums in the late 90s and can rightfully be regarded as one of the pioneers of social interaction. The company takes social media seriously, and has a full time corporate blogger, Richard Brewer-Hay, who has served as its social media voice for over three years.eBay has also embraced social media for internal communications, with an intranet featuring blogs, forums and discussion boards. Each employee reportedly has their own landing page which can be customised. eBay was also among the first to start a social media corporate disclosure program, with earnings, for instance, published via Twitter.
It has also been quick to integrate with the major platforms. Its new social commerce tool, eBay Group Gifts, uses Facebook’s Open Graph to allow users to split the cost of a gift, with each paying their share through PayPal. With over 400k fans on their largest Facebook page, the app has a massive potential audience and could become a future case study in delivering social media ROI.
eBay’s success is also amplified by highlighting the success of others – its users. The ‘eBay Ink Social Media Sellers programme’ showcases eBay sellers who have harnessed social media platforms to greatest effect to boost their sales.
Satisfaction around the eBay brand is remarkably high, driven buy the natural instinct of telling others when you’ve grabbed a bargain. But strict procedures and new technologies are used to quell worries around fraud and disputes to keep advocacy high, drowning out the odd moan. The brand has established a level of trust that means the community largely polices itself, making it easier to focus resources in the right areas.
I’ve always taken lists and rankings with a grain of salt. Too subjective. One person’s favorite, or “Number 1″ is easily another person’s reject. And to try and qualify/quantify something as intangible as reputation or reach or social success always seems a bit too scientific or sterile for something that is essentially based on organic human emotion and connection. But the answer to the question “how do we measure success?” is quite often the key to getting programs off the ground in certain organizations.
I’m sure folks could poke holes in the fact that eBay is ranked #1 overall. But that would be missing the point. The great news coming out of this report isn’t that eBay is listed at the top, it’s that the programs we’ve initiated so far are seen in a public, positive light. eBay is in the business of connecting buyers and sellers and this will go a long way in progressing future programs here internally that are targeted at key services such as customer service and social business. For that, I am extremely grateful.
Cheers,
RBH
No comments:
Post a Comment