For all the interest in social media today, I wonder if a few of the subtleties that really make it work are getting lost in some of the newcomers. When social media is done well, it is a nice combination of both awareness and engagement.
Engagement feels like you're doing something because you're blogging or Tweeting, but awareness feels like you're just watching and listening (which you are) but it doesn't give you that same "I did something today" kind of feeling. If that's you, I have three words of advice: Get over it!
Why Understanding Social Media Culture Is Critical
An organization that's excited to jump into social media may be blogging their brains out, Tweeting their thumbs off, and Facebooking their faces off, but if they don't understand the world of social media, they may be doing it all wrong which will only come back to hurt them.
Social media is not just technology. It's a culture of the new way to engage and interact with people online. You really only learn that through observation and personal, experimental participation. That's where awareness comes in. Awareness is what keeps you grounded in all of the engaging. It's what let's you know where the boundaries are.
The Bad Facebook Profile
Last week I was working with some clients and we were reviewing Facebook profiles of people in their particular industry. We found one lady, in particular, who quite obviously didn't understand the culture or protocol of Facebook. As interesting a discovery as that was, the more interesting thing to me was the reaction of individuals in the room. A few of them saw the problems with her profile right off the bat. They were aware of the Facebook culture. The rest of the room didn't see what the big deal was. They, as you might suspect, haven't spent much time in Facebook and therefore don't understand the culture. How could they? They haven't lived there yet. I can only tell them so much as their consultant. They have to experience it for themselves to fully understand it.
It seems a lot of the social media discussions focus on the engagement side. Heck, I'm even guilty of leaning that way myself sometimes. That's where it feels like all the action is. It's great to know how to Tweet better, blog smarter, position your YouTube video for viral success, and Facebook like a rockstar. I'm all for that, just don't miss the value of taking the proper time to become aware of the culture.
I recommend people experiment personally before they do anything from a business standpoint. You have a lot of freedom and autonomy as an individual, but once you start that corporate profile for your business, you're going to feel the pressure to do something whether it's what you should do or not...and doing can sometimes be the worst thing to do. Take the time to be aware of how the world works before you set up your own camp.