Last week we provided the first twelve of twenty-five questions you should be able to answer regarding social media in your organization. Included below are the last thirteen. While a guide and not necessarily a script, we believe this set of Q&A will prepare any program manager, communication expert or policy maker interested in instituting or sustaining a social media presence to respond to management's skeptical but inevitable questions.
13. The public are not on government social networks/don’t use social
media; Not our target market
a. This is just a bad excuse. You
will be surprised to see how many of the public are using social media.
You know what they say about assumptions right? The most useful social
networking sites are meant for the general audience.
14. It’s too complicated; we don’t know the first thing about social media
a. There are many tutorials available
on the web that will help you get started in the world of social media.
15. We can’t control our employees using it
a. Believe it or not, your employees
are using social media. So no, you can’t control whether your employees
use it outside of work. What you can control, however, is allowing your
employees to use social media in the workplace and setting strict guidelines
for writing about the company’s products, service, clients, etc. If you
are concerned about employee usage, I recommend that you develop a social media
policy that outlines usage terms and responsibilities of using social media.
16. Don’t want to acknowledge negatives
a. With the global acceptance of social
media across all types of agencies and organizations, negative comments will
happen whether you want it to or not. The power of social media is in the
public, i.e., the users. It gives your customers and potential customers
a voice they didn’t have before. Negative comments are inevitable, so
instead of ignoring them, embrace this opportunity to reach out as needed.
The missed opportunity is to let it happen behind your back. You will be
surprised to find out that many negative comments are based on inaccurate
information. In addition, this type of feedback can lead to improved
business processes or product/service enhancements. The power to
influence is extremely powerful. You don’t have to respond to every
negative mention, but at least follow the conversation.
17. Don’t have time to adapt to the technology
a. If you don’t adapt to new
technology, you will become obsolete or fall behind your competitors to the
point of extinction. Embracing social media is viewed as an innovative
new approach to marketing, PR, customer service, R&D, etc.
18. There is too much meaningless discussions online; no trust
a. Very true, but luckily there is a
filter for all that noise. You can monitor from whom you want to listen
and what you want to listen to whether it is your brand, related keywords,
competitors or a select group of followers. The great thing about social
media is the ability to engage with your audience.
19. Lack of expertise
a. Social media continues to develop
and everyone is still learning. My advice is to experience social
media yourself because nothing beats experience. You can read all the
articles you want and listen to all these “experts” talk about social media,
but these should be used as guidelines only. Your own experience will
determine how you use and benefit from social media, no one else.
20. We already do social networking, we have a Facebook fan page.
a. That’s a great 5th step, but what
are you doing with that fan page? Social media not just about setting up
a fan page or setting up an account; it is so much more than that.
Develop a social media strategy to understand your goals, objectives, and how
you are going to measure your success. You can’t just create a fan page
or Twitter account, snap your fingers, and poof, you do social
networking. In order to really “do social networking”, provide
useful links to industry related articles, don’t sell your product/service,
engage and participate in conversations, don’t sell, offer any help whether
they are your current clients or prospects, and listen.
21. We tried it and it didn’t work.
a. Trying is good until I ask these
type of questions: how long did you “try” social media? Did you
have a strategy in place? What did the strategy consist of? How did
you measure success? What were your goals and objectives? What gave you
the conclusion that social media did not work? What results from social
media would you have considered a success? What process did you go
through when participating in social media?
22. It doesn’t fit the agency’s brand.
a. The most useful social networking
sites are meant for the general public with no preference to the government.
Social media is not a fad and is starting to become a best practice for government
agencies. What is important to consider is your agency
culture. I truly believe that your agency culture is reflected in
whatever social media participation you do. Whether you’re in a bland
industry or not, your brand will come out shining.
23. We can’t convince upper management/management doesn’t support it
a. If it comes time to present your
case to upper management, you will likely encounter more than a couple of these
objections.
24. I suffer from information overload so I don’t need anymore.
a. Social media can certainly be
overwhelming at first especially if you believe in any of these
objections. Don’t just jump into social media and think you are
ready. Take it in stride. Set goals and monthly expectations.
Information overload will only continue to grow and you do not want to fall
behind. It’s also inevitable. Technology continues to change and
improve the way we obtain information.
25. We’ll stick with traditional media
a. Traditional media outlets are also
using social media. In early 2009, CNN purchased a Twitter account that had nearly 1 million followers
at that time (it now has almost tripled that amount of followers).
For more informative guidelines and insight into social media in your organization, please check with us each week for practical social media methods, practices and information.
