When you think about it, social media is still a relatively new way to connect with people, yet it’s been widely adopted by individuals and brands. (Of course, Tom Standage contends it’s 2,000 years old, but that’s the process, not the channels.)
Most of us have had to muddle our way through – figuring things out on the fly, attending conferences and events and testing and adapting to see what works.
In many respects social media is very much like our more traditional means of communications – based on relationships, being who you say you are and coming through on commitments. In other words, trust.
The difference is speed, boundaries and the potential for amplification. And really when you get right down to it, social media is a lot about distribution.
And let’s not forget it’s a great platform for showing bad judgment as many brands have done – and no doubt will continue.
So is your organization equipped to strategically manage your social platforms or do you need some guidance and direction?
Here are 10 questions to help you decide:
- What do you want to achieve by utilizing social media channels?
- Do your customers trust and actually like you – as in the old fashioned definition of liking someone enough to spend time with your brand in public?
- What platforms do your customers use and would they feel comfortable interacting with you there?
- Is your organization open or closed – top-down or flat?
- Have you developed a strategy that integrates social with your traditional marcomm tools?
- If everyone’s a spokesperson – and they are – do you have plain English policies in place to help people figure out what’s appropriate and what’s not?
- Are you using social strictly for publicity or do you want it to drive business results and encourage enterprise-wide innovation and collaboration?
- Who’s managing your social media properties?
- Do you have the resources and talent to be entertaining, informative, helpful and consistent?
- And speaking of consistency, who’s training your leadership and staff?
Answer honestly and you’ll have a pretty good idea of whether or not you’re ready to embrace social media in a strategic way and the type of help you might need. It could be participating in conferences, workshops and webinars, more formalized classes, or a custom training program that’s tailored to your organization and needs.
Like pretty much everything else, it’s about goals, fit, timing and commitment to see it through.
A great side benefit is that the right training mix will help you bridge the generation gap between Boomers/GenXers and Millennials in your organization. It can foster a fresh and more collaborative approach to your business by integrating experience + innovation – taking care that the former doesn’t overshadow the new.
Have you had experience in social media training? What are some of the best approaches to organizational learning you’ve tried?
