Social Media Dress Code
By Nick SeguinIs there a Social Media Dress Code? Should there be? Is it situational? Does it matter? Should it?
I say no. If I’m heading down to a big law firm, a big company or walking into a half-century-old PR firm who buttons up, ya, I pull on the suit and rope on the tie. While I do dress according to my day, I can’t wait to stop. I understand that traditional business is suited up, dressed to the 9s and perhaps a bit more conservative and structured. However, Social Media is about channels of connection, it’s about brand championing, it’s about reaction-engagement-participation. Social Media is about common language communication and time and space shift*.
I contend that dressing Social Media in a suit actually inhibits it. Think about it like this – are you more apt to give a real answer in a focus group observation room with 1 way mirrors and a camera or in a cafe, at your home or somewhere you feel comfortable? Is your conversation and thought process more natural when you’ve ironed your shirt and lint-brushed your trousers or when you’ve pulled on the sweats and are sitting in a more ergonomic chair not worrying about wrinkles and dog hair? The point is, for Social Media to be effective [read: gain valuable insight, true connection, trust and reliance] it needs to be second nature, unobtrusive and comfortable.
To that end, were I heading a large company/department looking to at least explore and hopefully implement a Social Media campaign, I would actually feel more comfortable talking with someone “dressed down”. 1. Social Media is trendy – I expect domain experts and thought leaders to reflect this 2. Successful Social Media implementation is not a toe in the water, it is commitment. As described above, someone consulting on this and coaching my people toward a positive result and experience should fully embrace the realm and “personality”. I’m pretty sure clients/customers would rather be talking to someone “like them” horizontally than a suit from above. As Cone points out, 93% of Americans expect companies to have a Social Media presence. 93% of Americans (all of us consumers of something and clients of someone) do not wear suits.
Again to the time and space shift* – Social Media pieces aren’t used in a conference room or in a board meeting (well, some are getting tweeted out!) but on breaks, on the run, on the road, after hours. Social Media is used/produced around life. If that life happens to be a business professional meeting, then by all means rock the double-breasted. However, just because you’re used to seeing a suit doesn’t mean that your clients and customers want to talk to you in it = your SM campaign doesn’t need to wear one = the thought leaders, domain experts consultants and participants in the field probably won’t be wearing them… at least not all the time.
*(time and space shift is Dave Berkus language)
What do you think? Should big corporate get used to seeing backwards hats, jeans and sneaks when they’re learning about the world of Social Media and how it can and will connect them more intimately with their clients, industry and (the way things are heading) the world?
one.
nick @NickSeguin
Tags: Business Professional, Dave Berkus, Dress Code, Social Media
October 8th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Nick, you raise an interesting question. I guess it depends on who the social media consultant is – typically, creatives and IT folks skew toward business casual (and/or cut off shorts and flipflops). PR folks may tend to be a bit more business than casual. Really though, it probably depends on who the client is and what their expectations are. I’ve found that lately, we’re less likely to “suit up” for clients and more likely to dress the part of being forward-thinking, hip and trendy.
Then again, to your point about the space/time thing, I usually blog and “get my social media on” between the hours of 8 pm and 1 am so my preferred social media dress code is PJs and dog hair.
October 13th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Nick, sorry it took me so long to comment!
Social media is a relaxed and creative community. However, I do feel business is all about perception. We may see loose, comfortable, creative clothes, and someone else may see a baggy lackadaisical mess. Representing a company’s brand is controlling how they are perceived by their consumers which is the deciding factor in business. I wouldn’t want to talk to someone “dressed down” when it comes to certain transactions (banking and investing). These industries constructed their images and have thus shaped their consumers’ expectations. We need to follow these expectations when representing them in social media; unfortunately, we need to follow these expectations when we step into their lair.
Creating the creativity in your social media office is a different story. If a client is stepping into our lair, I don’t feel that the social media company’s office should change their appearance for that day. You dress cool, creative, and comfortable! You know your social medium and you represent your clients in a manner that fulfills consumer expectations.
We can dress as we will in our offices, but I think we’ll be trapped by the expectations of our clients for quite a while longer. As for the social media campaign.. the client has the say, but I strongly encourage looking to the customers’ expectations. Again, if it is something they use in only a professional sense, then it should it be “suit and tie.” However, a “suit and tie” approach should not inherently limit the potential opportunity to learn more about the service, company, and employees. The presentation of the product or service should, ultimately, reflect existing social expectations to some extent.
December 18th, 2008 at 6:29 am
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