Social Media Conundrum #23

I can show you how to use a social platform

but…

I can’t show you how to be social

That’s up to you!

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16 thoughts on “Social Media Conundrum #23”

Perfect! This is going to be an on-going challenge for agencies, consultants and those organizations that think they need to integrate social media into their culture/campaigns/strategies.

And it’s really common sense. I can talk until I am blue in the face about social media, but if you are completely anti-social it’s just a waste of time for both of us.

Beth Harte
Community Manager, MarketingProfs
@bethharte

@Beth I’m the shade past blue right now

Agreed to some extent. I do think you can “learn” how to be social by watching what others do, but ultimately you have to bring yourself into things as well. If you think about it, there are tons of books on how to make friends/be popular/build relationships, etc., and if you practice that stuff, you can learn to be more friendly/social. Best example I can think of is “How to Win Friends and Influence People”– basically, treat people how THEY want to be treated.

The larger question may be, is an agency prepared to teach clients how to be social so they don’t waste their time with these tools…

Just a thought. Would love to hear what others think.

@jason Its a good point. There are other elements and social tools that can be used where your org. is still social but in a more customer centric way rather than in a push-marketing sense…

Hi Marc,

Terrific illustration of a core conundrum. We’ve created a lot of tools to connect people, but they’re still dependent on people.

We always think about the digital natives in terms of technology, but it’s the usage — being intuitively social — that’s really their core strength. For companies (and individuals) that may not have this built into their DNA, the challenge is to learn these skills or be left behind.

Best,
Daria

@daria, agree the tools are great but it to adopt and fold into the company there has to be a greater understanding of the why but maybe even beyond that it goes to understanding what the power of these tools provides, if used correctly?

Platform + Purpose + Desire = Social Media Experience

Perhaps the conundrum is

I can give you the platform…
I can give you purpose…
YOU have to bring the desire…

The platform is the easy part…
I can teach you how to use the tools.

The purpose is a little more skilled…
A communications professional can map out the REASON and BENEFIT to the user.

The desire is the clients responsibility…
If it doesn’t fit into their priorities, they will never use it.

@Cyndee Now that….was one helluva comment. You nailed it!

I don’t know Marc, I do think you can teach folks how to be social. Often times fear of screwing it up keeps them from engaging in the first place. Lack of knowledge of the cultural norms on the various socme platforms causes them to fear true interactivity. But once you guide these folks, they take to it nicely and even surprise you by teaching you a thing or two. At least that has been my experience.
@TomMartin
http://www.Twitter.com/TomMartin

@Tom, my point is I can provide you all the tools and platforms that you need but at some point the onus will fall back on YOU, and a lot of people after they have joined a social net…blink and say..”Now what”?…But you’re right we can teach you the how, but it still comes back to effort.

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