What's with this social media thing?
Bob Crambitt is a public relations professional based out of Cary. He writes a lot for a LinkedIn group I follow and he's made a few great points in the past. His blog post from yesterday was an especially good read for people caught up in the social media buzz.
I think it's essential for anyone attempting to work in communication to understand social media (assuming it's something that can be truly understood). I was wondering about the goals of using social media the other day when I signed up for Klout, which is a Twitter application that measures your Twitter influence. I'm a pretty recreational Twitter-er, so I just did this for fun. Klout told me I have little Twitter influence and that I'm likely new to social media. I found that a little offensive.
Is the only reason for using social media now to exploit it? Is it now more a marketing tool than a social tool? Has social media turned into noise?
The people and organizations who effectively use social media to create influence or advance business interests remember to keep the "social" in social media. It's two-way communication and it augments (rather than mimicking or replacing) other forms of communication. Researchers refer to horizontal communication, which allows users to communicate with each other, not just with an organization's Web site or customer relations department. This is the best way to use social media.
My study on Barack Obama's campaign communication focused on how the campaign used horizontal communication to create a community, something Bob mentioned in his blog post. Obama's Web site provided tools for supporters to meet, host gatherings and find out how to become more involved with the campaign. This gave everyone the opportunity to become a part of the team. By creating a community around an idea, a product or a common interest, you make people feel more a part of something than just a believer in it or consumer of it. When people feel they are a part of your organization, they become an advocate for it and your organization becomes that much more powerful.
I think it's essential for anyone attempting to work in communication to understand social media (assuming it's something that can be truly understood). I was wondering about the goals of using social media the other day when I signed up for Klout, which is a Twitter application that measures your Twitter influence. I'm a pretty recreational Twitter-er, so I just did this for fun. Klout told me I have little Twitter influence and that I'm likely new to social media. I found that a little offensive.
Is the only reason for using social media now to exploit it? Is it now more a marketing tool than a social tool? Has social media turned into noise?
The people and organizations who effectively use social media to create influence or advance business interests remember to keep the "social" in social media. It's two-way communication and it augments (rather than mimicking or replacing) other forms of communication. Researchers refer to horizontal communication, which allows users to communicate with each other, not just with an organization's Web site or customer relations department. This is the best way to use social media.
My study on Barack Obama's campaign communication focused on how the campaign used horizontal communication to create a community, something Bob mentioned in his blog post. Obama's Web site provided tools for supporters to meet, host gatherings and find out how to become more involved with the campaign. This gave everyone the opportunity to become a part of the team. By creating a community around an idea, a product or a common interest, you make people feel more a part of something than just a believer in it or consumer of it. When people feel they are a part of your organization, they become an advocate for it and your organization becomes that much more powerful.
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