Fear and Lacking in Social Media
Today I attended a Fairfield County Public Relations Association gig with David Meerman Scott (@dmscott), author of “The New Rules of Marketing & PR” as presenter. Good guy, good gig, good time. And now I have a new rule myself: always attend a good event on a Monday morning. Mondays are the armpit of the week so you might as well throw it to the wolves and see if you can’t fill in that time with something interesting.
For this not-so-armpit-like Monday I drove down to the Bank Street Event space in Stamford, CT to see David speak. David gets paid to tell us stuff that we don’t already know. A daunting job. One I have just started dipping my toe into this year with speaking gigs lined up for businesses, not-for-profits and women’s conferences. I’m always intrigued with what makes a good speaker. I’m smalltime (only about 5-6 local events under my belt), but I’m looking to kick up my game a few hundred notches. I was intrigued with David’s talk because it was packed with good examples and highly useful stuff. And thank bejeesus that it was. I’m so tired of winded speakers who can’t illustrate how to apply the knowledge they’re sharing. But, most importantly, he helped me expand my thoughts on concepts I am already pondering regarding the rules of engagement with audiences.
1) FEAR. The United States Air Force is on Twitter via a team of 12 people at their public affairs office. They share “news, images, video about our Airmen around the world.” They do not see Twitter or Facebook as a security breach and, according to DMS, encourage airmen to engage in online communities. So why does XYZ Insurance Group block their employees from these platforms? DMS likens this to preventing water cooler chats or smoke breaks. I think it’s worse than that. The less you become a part of online communities and learn how they are shaping and shifting, the more you are going to be left behind. Let your employees play in this space so you can tap into their knowledge about what happens out there. You will be better able to interact with audiences and respond to conversations. Eventually you’ll find a few folks who will want to be evangelists in those spaces and you can then start applying what works for your organization in those environments in a bigger, more scalable way.
You may be thinking, “well, what about the liability? What if someone says something bad? How can I control it?” In other words, “what about the rules?!” As I’m writing this, Guy Kawasaki just Twittered an article (ala Alltop) by Clint Boulton, “Does Facebook Use in the Office Lead to Social Notworking?” The article is based on interviews that Nucleus Research conducted with a sample of 237 office workers and, I think, provides a very one-dimensional view of the topic. Clint talks about numbers and how the folks at Nucleus “finds that corporate workers lose nearly 1.5 percent in office productivity by using Facebook at work.” The rest of the article list numbers and stats that relate to usage and how users can’t find “a clear business reason” for using Facebook. Frankly, I would have been more intrigued with questions like, “so, Bob, how many bathroom breaks do you average per day?”
The notion that Facebooking and Twittering and Digging and all the rest will waste everyone’s time is true and false. It can be a time suck if you let it. Just like any type of outreach, you need to focus your time. But, the rules of engagement cannot be all business - these are social settings. Play, make mistakes and relax. You are building relationships and learning from other people and that takes time and effort. I think it is a liability to not play in online communities, whether you’re a recognizable name or bathroom hog Bob. People will talk about you but if you’re not there, how can you respond? Also, this stuff is not going away. The more you blow it off, the more it will bite you in the ass. You can’t hide so give in and learn.
Our fear is focused in all the wrong directions. You should fear getting left in the dust by your competition who has better relationships with your customers. Fear alienating your audiences who want to have experiences with you in a variety of environments, not just the ones you dictate. Fear NOT doing anything, versus doing something. Make mistakes. Let your lawyers scream and roll their eyes. Then, get your company together and talk about a strategy about engaging in online communities. Put some parameters around how they should engage online as a representative of your company, then let them go. If something bad happens, respond, fix it and learn. Repeat. If something good happens, respond, share it and learn. Repeat.
2) LACKING. As far as I can see, we are not lacking skills, motivation or intelligence. But, according to DMS, we lack comprehension. Based on the continuance of yellow book ads (used primarily in power outtages, noted by DMS) and other traditional channels and processes such as press releases, the mindshift of engagement is still lacking. If the revenue doesn’t bury the cost of a trade show, put that money into video content. If a postcard doesn’t generate any new leads, stop sending it and start an online campaign (but please make it interesting). I, personally, believe that print is not dead. All media will survive in some way, shape or form because each provides a different experience. I subscribe to the Brian Reich (@brianreich) camp on this one. A former strategist for Al Gore, Brian has a rule book too - Media Rules! Mastering Today’s Technology to Connect With and Keep Your Audience. He doesn’t advocate abandment of the “old” to replace the “new.”В He argues that upcoming generations are wired - literally, that their brains are biologically rejiggered - to think and act in several capacities at once. One channel or one way of interacting does not align with how they do things. (Now, if only we can get them to like Twitter).
The point is that we are not lacking anything except an open mind. The old rules are keeping us hostage but we are the ones making all the rules, so what is stopping us?
3) I don’t have a “3″ but somehow I feel the need to include a third item due to that “rule of three” bogusness where you should only have odd numbers because people can only process 3 or 5 things at a time and having just 2 things leaves you hanging. But, since we’re talking about new rules I say - screw the old rules! If you’re wigged out by not having a third real thought versus this ramblingness, too bad.
Rules schmules.
Written by: Suzi Craig
Email the author: suzi@fathom.net
Good post, Suzi - and thanks for the shout out.
If I could suggest a #3, it would be patience. The changes that are needed, in how we think, in how we operate and communicate, etc. will take time. We have to be patient as the world changes and we learn how to adapt.
Wow - you were paying attention early on a Monday morning! Thanks for writing up your thoughts here.
Good luck with your speaking. Keep improving. There is nothing more rewarding than holding an audience in the palm of your hand.
Here are my Top ten tips for incredibly successful public speaking
http://www.webinknow.com/2009/03/top-ten-tips-for-incredibly-successful-public-speaking.html
Thanks fellas!
Brian - Patience is a top virtue in moving forward, that’s for sure, especially since we are all hooked on the quick fix. It’s like when you’re a kid and you spin yourself around and around to get dizzy and but the unwinding to get undizzy always takes longer.
David - thanks for speaking tips. Like anything, it is a skill that requires refining and practice. And more practice and refining. Luckily, this is a hot topic so I’ve got a lot of opportunity up my game.
Great post Suzi, I don’t think it could be better said.
Post a Comment