Giving a presentation today about new/social media to a couple of nonprofit groups in Oklahoma. During the presentation we dive into the ‘should I be doing social media’ question.
Well, that’s a question solely answered by your business objectives. Let’s think about social media in the context of organizations using it to spread their message. You’ve first got to approach the question from the standpoint of what’s my business objective?
Once you know the objective, find out where the dialog happens. Use every resource from the Internet, to employees, to random folks and find where the conversation is happening.
Now that you know the business objectives and where the dialog is, you must listen to the conversations. Think about it… you can’t roll up on a group of people standing on the street and just start spouting your messages. You’ve got to know what the group is talking about and how they are talking about it.
Find out who the opinion leaders are in the conversation. They can help you move your messages and give some ‘street cred’ to you.
Remember to only communicate when relevant. If you tell me how to bake a cake when I’m talking about building a Web site, I’m gonna get annoyed and cancel your communication. Keep doing it and I may turn on you and try to get others to follow my task of silencing the Betty Crocker.
Wrapped up in a list (all about the list – baby):
- What is your business objective?
- Where is the dialog happening?
- Listen to the conversation
- Find the opinion leaders
- Comment only when relevant
So should you do social media? I hope so. Find a business reason to do it. If you can’t find one, don’t even try. If you’re looking for a reason, social media can help multiply your message to millions instead of the thousands you reach by traditional media.
P.S. I love Betty Crocker. Mmmmm, goodness from the kitchen!