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Over the last few weeks, I’ve read more than a few white papers, listened and watched webinars, and read a book on how to better use social media. I’ve been told on more than a few occasions that you need to have a plan and you should understand what you are getting into when it comes to our friendly neighborhood Twitter or Facebook account.
While I agree that, in business, you should have a plan (you have a strategy for everything else right?), when it comes to our own individual social media accounts, is it necessary to map this out? When I first started using Twitter, I didn’t sit up at night and say, “I want 200 followers by the end of this month.” I signed on, jumped in, and started talking. The same went for Facebook. I found co-workers, friends, and family to follow. No plan, no scheme, no a-ha moment.
When using social media, I’m a firm believer in common sense. Case in point, the young gal who tweeted that she was going to start at Kelly Cutrone’s People’s Revolution. I’m all for getting excited about a new gig, but when you pop off that you will be “part of the cast,” that’s not using your head. It doesn’t take that much thought to use social media, believe me.
We all (hopefully) think before we act. The same should be done when it comes to Tweeting and posting on Facebook. Do we really need a handbook for this? I know some of you out there will argue that, yes, a handbook is needed because there are so many that don’t get it when it comes to social media.
Remember when you took that internship in college… they didn’t hand you something to tell you how to answer a phone or deal with clients and the media. We learned by watching and being a sponge.
It’s becoming my belief more each day that if we stop for a moment and come to our senses, we’ll see through the smoke and have clarity.
So, let me ask you folks…do we need a social media handbook or is it really common sense? Share your thoughts.
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Comments
03.08.10
Jason - Great post! I totally agree that common sense seems like the most logical MO when using social media. However, we have seen time and again that this isn't always the case. (And if it were common sense for everyone, wouldn't they already be doing it the "right" way?)
For someone who has always used the internet as a traditional medium (by not building relationships, but rather promoting themselves or their product through repetitive one-way messages), it may seem to be common sense to use social media in the same way. These people just don't seem to "get" it yet.
So although many entities seem to be really embracing social media as the conversational, relationship-building tool that it is, I don't think we're quite there. Until the business world undergoes a collective paradigm-shift (which I do believe--and hope!--is slowly happening), I don't think we will be able to rely solely on common sense.
03.08.10
Emily,
So glad you commented. My lament comes from the fact that so many smart people don't use common sense with social media. Your last sentence sums up what I believe. A shift is happening, but needs to be pushed more. There are still companies that say they aren't interested or dive in and don't engage. That's not just bad common sense, it's bad business sense as well.
My thanks for taking the time to read and comment!
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