How Are You Using Social Media?
Using social media is like using any tool that you have at your disposal.
You have to actually to…
- create a plan
- have knowledge of the tools
- create something of value
- build something meaningful to someone else.
Otherwise, you have not created anything of any significance.
If you are talking and no one is listening, that is called noise.
With social media, your tool is information and communication. You are working to get people to take notice. Your goal is to become meaningful within the media.
You are looking to communicate with people who are interested in the information that you are promoting.
Does your communication make people:
- think
- laugh
- reflect
- move to action
- want to share it
- comment on it
- engage in conversation?
If you are just:
- building followers on Twitter
- picking up friends on Facebook
- posting to bookmarking sites
- commenting on blogs
and so on without a clear goal toward building a relationship, you are just wasting time and effort. Basically this type of non-productive communication makes a mess and is not an effective or proper use of social media.
Just call it advertising, not social media marketing.
Social media is a tool like a hammer. You can build a castle, or you can build a dog house.
What are you building with your efforts within the social media space? A mess, or a masterpiece?
Or, in social media terms, are you creating relationships that can last a lifetime and credibility in the marketplace?
You are known by your content and context. It is up to you to create, communicate and converse.
Until next time…
Filed in Social Media For Business by David Bullock
Comments on How Are You Using Social Media? »
David,
as always so much powerful information in a few words from you.
Andrew (Australia)
Hi,
very nicely put.
I was however, expecting a hint on what IS the right way to use media.
Of course you need to plan and stick to it, make relationships that lasts over the first sale you make, connect with your followers and give them the answers to questions they didn't even know they had. The real key, in my opinion, here is to know how to do it right.
This is what I'm looking for.
Matic
Good but obvious questions. Do you mean for an individual? Or for a brand? Or both. As someone who both uses it for myself and for a number of significant brands, this is, in fact, the approach, but perhaps this conversation needs to go another step. Showed up here based on @jonathanfields. If you want to gather big examples, that would be great. I use it to launch new products, gather communities for brands, learn from my customers, stimulate crowdsourcing, start conversations, discover people from whom I can learn, search for people who'll disagree with me, and discover great examples of creativity in the age of social media. That's what I'm trying to do with it.
@ Andrew Just me thinking about how to get my simple mind around this thing called social media. Looks like the world likes complex ideas for simple things.
@Matic – Hmmm… "the right way to use social media"
Well let's look at that question. As an engineer, the right way to do anything is the way that gets the job done with the least amount of cost, effort and time.
If you are "doing/using" social media (platforms) and your aim is not being achieved, then you are not doing it right.
How do you know if you are doing right… your metrics and ouotcomes will tell you what is happening with the effectiveness of your communication. No metrics or poor analysis of the metrics will not provide the feedback that is necessary for a right or wrong determination.
This does not mean that you are on every platform. It means you are on the platforms that gets you the exposure to the conversations that are valuable to your aims. If that aim is to connect with your 4th grade classmates, facebook might be the right place for you. If you are looking to crowdsource, then twitter might be the right place for you. If your audience is not engaged in the conversation or you haven't crafted an engaging conversation then you might not want to be using a media that is looking for engagement. What I am seeing is alot of "hand waving" as to what "social media" is all about. This is a hyper fast form of communication where the reach is vast and fast. Much like the advent of the telephone. It is a tool for communication that happens to be accessible by millions at the same time. And, those millions have the option to provide feedback.
The right way to use social media is the way the works to connect you with the people that bring value and support to the conversation that you are in or creating in the marketplace. Everything or anything else is noise.
@edwardboches Just stopped by your blog. Looks like you have jumped in head first. You are using social media and not "playing" with it. Your comment and blog speak to that idea.
Plenty of examples of using social media "the right way".
Zappos – Customer Service Model
Comcast – Customer Listening Model
2008 Presidential Campaign – Media Amplification Model
Ford Motor Co. – Product Launch Model
The idea of becoming meaningful, credible and relevant are the key factors. Those factors are not handled within social media. Those qualities are attributed to the content that is stored within the social media space.
What I was getting at with the post is the folks seem want to make social media do something that it can't.
Social Media can not be creative – it is a creative outlet and a space for creativity.
Social Media in and of itself is not interesting – it is a conduit for interest and container for interesting conversations around interesting and though provoking content.
What is am seeing is a copying of tactics without an understanding of strategy.
No story. Just messages.
What I am seeing is the idea that social media is a "thing".
For me, social media is an extension of communication.
Thanks for your comment as you made me think a bit…