Top 10 tips to get senior management buy-in for social media. A presentation delivered at the Future Digital Strategies Summit in London in November 2011.

1. STUART BRUCE
Corporate communications, public
relations, public affairs and social media
Strategic counsel, training and mentoring
How I see it…
10 steps to securing
management buy-in
for social media
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

2. 1 Assess and plan
Internal and external audits
Create business case
Set goals
Secure resources
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

3. 2 Identify your allies
Company wide, not just marketing
You need legal, corporate comms, HR etc
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

4. 3 Show relevant success stories
More than just Dell
Issues and challenges
Industry and sector
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

5. 4 See what you competitors are doing
They are benefiting and you aren’t
You can benefit and they aren’t
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

6. 5 Create social media governance
Know the rules and regulations
Create social media policies
Provide training, education and mentoring
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

7. 6 Identify the risks of NOT doing it
Your customers and employees are already doing it
… without you
If you don’t have a voice you can’t respond
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

8. 7 Set objectives and KPIs
Big picture for c-suite
Relevant for audience
Don’t pretend it’s ROI
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

9. 8 Make it boring
Don’t over hype it
Boring is safe
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

10. 9 Get the right advice
Watching a lot of sport doesn’t make you an expert
Experience and credentials
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

11. 10
Think big
Start small
Act fast
If you only do one
thing, introduce
social media
governance
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

12. Stuart Bruce professional biograpy
Stuart Bruce is an award-winning independent communications consultant specialising in online corporate
communications, public affairs, social media and digital PR. His consultancy works both directly with clients and through
their agencies to provide strategic counsel, training and mentoring.
He is listed in the PRWeek Power Book of the UK’s top 1% of most influential public relations people. He was previously
the managing director of Wolfstar, a public relations consultancy that he co-founded in 2007 and led to become a
PRWeek Top 150 Consultancy and Top 40 Digital Consultancy working internationally for clients such as Sony
Ericsson, PayPal, Unilever, HSBC, Labour Party, GlaxoSmithKline, Ministry of Defence and Discovery Channel. Stuart’s
public relations industry award wins include winning the CIPR President’s Grand Prix for Best Small Consultancy less
than two years after starting Wolfstar and the CIPR President’s Grand Prix for Best Social Media Campaign.
Stuart has also advised two senior UK government cabinet ministers as director of strategy and communications for Andy
Burnham MP’s Labour Party leadership campaign in 2010, and the same role for Alan Johnson MP in the deputy
leadership elections.
In 2011 Stuart worked with the United Nations in New York to lead the world’s first international research programme
examining how FT Global 500 companies use social media as part of their CSR activity. He has extensive experience of
both traditional corporate communications and social media including strategy development, campaign management and
implementation, measurement and evaluation, as well as crisis communications and issues management.
Stuart is a frequent conference speaker and media commentator on corporate communications, public relations, social
media and politics. Stuart’s media appearances include the BBC, Financial Times, The
Guardian, Campaign, PRWeek, Communicate, CorpComms, London Evening Standard and Sky News. Conferences he
has spoken at include The Economist, CIPR, PRCA, CIM, PRWeek, ad:tech. Social Media Week, Communicate, Don’t
Panic, Social Media in Business and the Future Social Strategies Summit. He is also a regular judge of public relations
industry awards including the annual CIPR and PRCA awards.
Stuart has been responsible for online public relations campaigns since the mid-90s and in 2003 started one of the
world’s first PR blogs and his A PR Guy’s Musings blog is still one of the world’s highest ranked PR blogs.
@stuartbruce | consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu | blog www.stuartbruce.biz

13. STUART BRUCE
Corporate communications, public affairs, public relations and
social media
Strategic counsel, training and mentoring
Consultancy www.stuartbruce.eu
Blog www.stuartbruce.biz
Twitter stuartbruce
Email stuart@stuartbruce.eu
Phone +44 (0)20 3239 1093