Dec 21 2008
Don’t Rush Into Social Media
by Mack Collier
Social Media continues to be the pretty girl at the ball that everyone
wants to go dancin’ with. But even IF your business can benefit from
using social media, make sure you ease into these waters slowly.
More than ever, I am hearing from, and stories of, companies that are asking to ‘get us started with social media’. The obvious response is ‘well how do you know that you should be using social media?’ Which usually leads to the inevitable ‘because everyone is talking about it!’ response.
Figure out what everyone is talking about for yourself. Start NOW familiarizing yourself with these tools. Start reading blogs, here’s a selection of some of the top social media and blogging blogs. Read Jennifer’s amazing tutorial on getting started with Twitter. Poke (get it?) around on Facebook and see how the members use the site. Use Google Blog Search to get an idea what bloggers are currently saying about your business, and industry.
The point is, don’t think that social media is something that you need to immediately rush into. As a social media consultant, I do indeed believe you should begin to familiarize yourself with these sites and tools, and begin to understand how customers are using them. But do so at your own pace. If you can only invest 15 mins a day in reading blogs or scanning Twitter, go with that. As you start using Twitter, you might decide that your customers aren’t there, and that you don’t get enough value from using the service to stay. Or you may discover that Facebook has dozens of active groups devoted to your industry, where customers are already discussing you and your competitors.
The key is to start learning. The wonderful thing about social media is that it gives everyone, even businesses, the chance to find and share their voice. I would much rather have you start using social media because you love the space and understand its potential, rather than thinking you ‘have’ to.
