Attaining the groundswell thinking

We all are part of social media in one way or another, it has become a part of our lives. Many companies have realized that, and they shifted their mode of communication to social media. Most of the companies are active on Facebook, Twitter, and they even have their YouTube channels. 

They are aware of the power of groundswell, but it's not enough for them to be mindful of it, they require to handle it well.

Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, in their last chapters of their book "Groundswell winning in a world transformed by social technologies," sums up the whole lessons we have learned throughout the book that can help us get good at attaining groundswell thinking.

The first lesson to remember is that groundswell is about the person to person activity. We should be ready to connect with different people or customers. We should be willing to be involved with our customers by blogging and connecting them through a community sharing ideas and emotions. We never know when people start trusting us and share their perspectives that might help us in growth. (pg. 280)

Second, becoming a good listener. Sometimes marketers don't realize that they are not involving in listening and focus more on talking to their customers. We require to listen to our customers and coworkers as they might have some ideas that we never thought of as we all are learning here. (pg. 280) 

Starbucks social media (how they listen to their customer and respond)

Third, we need to stay patient. 

As technology moves really fast that it gets challenging to keep on its pace. Still, we need to understand that it takes time to get involved in social technology, it's not an instant noodle which we can cook in minutes. As they say, "patience is a virtue" after some time, maybe months or years, we might get a great result.

Fourth, be opportunistic; even a small opportunity can help us connect with many people. We need to understand that even if we feel that the ides is too small, we should give it a try, what is the idea that changes everything.

Dunkin Instagram Post for Covid 19 (they responded to the crisis)

Fifth, be flexible, groundswell is full of surprises. We never know what new even happens, which can affect us, so we need to continually adjust according to the event and learn from the experiences.

Then the sixth lesson is, to be collaborative. We can't go too far on our own, we require others' support and their experiences. Sharing ideas and gain support from others can help us achieve our goal. 

The last lesson is to be humble. We don't want to be on the opposite end of the groundswell as people's power is very strong. It's best to try to become a part of it, being humble will help become influential in the groundswell. 

So, these are the principles of groundswell thinking, which, if you haven't adapted yet, then it's time for you to start. So, what do you think about these principles? Share your views on the comment.