Social Networking - Is it really all it is cracked up to be?

Questions you might be asking yourself about social networking -

Have you been asking yourself why you would put time, energy and potentially even funding towards social networking when you are have your hands full just keeping your core technology operational? Or, have you jumped on the band wagon, have your Facebook page up and have begun to tweet but are not seeing the results that you were expecting?

To address the first question – Why even start? – social networking is the “new” communication medium and is used extensively by people crossing many of the boundaries that exist for other media – age, gender, culture, education, etc. Social networking is simply a new tool and methodology for communication. Like any other business critical system, if there is an upgrade available that provides greater functionality, it is in the best interest of your organization to determine if the benefits of that upgrade are worth the related cost.

To engage your community in your mission, efforts have traditionally been focused on producing print, TV and radio advertising materials, providing content on your web site, and more recently many organizations have moved into email marketing/communication. Each of these methods of communication brings with it different costs and benefits, and reaches a potentially different audience. They all have two things in common – you are “pushing” information in one direction – out, and there is limited if any “ripple effect” from your messaging. The concept of social networking is simply that information is pushed out and/or conversations are started, and they are spread via your constituents’ personal and professional networks. The unique characteristic of social networking is that your potential benefit increases exponentially with a single piece of communication, and without increasing the cost of production.

Addressing the second question raised above – Why am I not getting the results I had hoped for?

There are a couple of questions below, and your answers will guide you to the correct action…

1 - Has an assessment been completed including the following items?

  • Assess your audience
  • Determine the appropriate framework for your message - Twitter allows 140 characters, Facebook has virtually unlimited capacity, and in both, you need to continue to actively message to stay “above the fold”.
  • Identify the appropriate tools to deliver the message – blog, Twitter, Facebook, Ning, Flickr, and so many more exist. Each has different qualities and drawbacks.

2 – Have you defined a strategy including the following items?

  • Training on selected tools and best practices in their use
  • Implementation plans
  • Schedule for content updates
  • Staffing for writing content and ongoing maintenance
  • Definition of evaluation methods – what are your metrics for determining if your efforts are successful?

A few closing thoughts to help you design a successful social networking strategy – Your planning for entering this new medium of communication should be as thoughtful as the planning for a new education or marketing campaign in any other medium to realize the maximum benefit. You must remember that this is a new medium, and like all new communication efforts, it takes some trial and error to find the best fit for your organization in terms of tools, frequency and substance of content. Know what you are evaluating for and do the analysis necessary to determine if your efforts are paying off. Finally, if you are not sure where to start – there are resources available, both freely accessible information on the web and consulting expertise.