GM and social media - a new day and a "new GM"

Connie Burke, Communications Manager of Social Media at GM, gave a good interview in CIO Zone and explained something of GM's commitment to social media and the impact it's having on staff and customers.

In a nutshell my take was that there were two main themes, one about monitoring, and one about reaching out to help people and place GM in a favourable front-of-mind when it came to a purchasing decision. That "meeting people" aspect wasn't focused on just those interested in an immediate transaction but in building the relationship in advance. Social media is allowing an "amazing exponential growth of meeting people," said Connie.

Regarding social media at GM other than sales & marketing Connie said that "some months ago", their customer service dept began scouring Twitter, Facebook and some targeted blogs to look for questions, concerns, etc.

In fact, we have at least 6 reps dedicated to doing just that (you can follow them on Twitter: @GMCustomerSvc).

While not every issue can be solved, I believe they are moving the needle and making every effort to ensure that our customers are in the GM family for life.

She described this social media activity as "most certainly a new day and a 'new GM' in many respects, and the power of social media is recognized by senior leaders".

For example you can follow the president of North America, Mark Reuss, on Twitter: @GMDudeinNA

Connie also said that their various brand Facebook fan pages are also another good source to go to with common issues or questions since "We monitor that very closely".

Probably nothing earth-shattering here but a good example of grass roots and also deep corporate engagement with social business.

By the way Connie describes herself in her Twitter bio as "Proud GMer, Part-time Chicagoan, Mom of two fabulous chefs, Travel junkie, Fitness expert, Just kidding, I'm lazy and full of excuses." That's giving things a human face!