Tag Archives: social media

Best practices in social media

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Thanks to all who’ve responded the last few days. It’s been very helpful. I’ll share some of my views on yesterday’s question about tech savvy vs. people savvy.

I think that you need a moderate amount of technical competence to be successful in social media. I would say an average amount, but you have to set averages by generation. What’s average tech knowledge for a 19 year old is above average for a 65 year old. To be honest, the most important thing you need to know about technical things is how to find the information you need. There are wonderful step-by-step guides on the Web for just about everything.

What’s more important, and more difficult to come by, is people competence. Communication skills. Diplomacy. Understanding of what people want.

  • Above all, you’ve got to have something to offer. If you’re a superstar athlete or famous actor, the mere chance to interact with you may be enough. Doesn’t work for most of us. For many, it’s knowledge. Information. Either you have learning to offer from your own experience, or you are very good at identifying and evaluating sources of information. Content is king.
  • We have to remember that social media is a two-way street. It’s hard for many of us to get out of the mindset of traditional media, which was largely one directional. Social media is about giving the recipient a voice. They can comment. They can submit videos. They can do something that helps them feel a part of what is going on.
  • Beyond merely being a two-way street, social media comes to focus on the recipient. That seems obvious, but so many people want to spend their time talking about themselves and their projects. That’s all right, but it needs to be made relevant to the audience. On Twitter, people “follow” one another, choosing to receive the information the other is producing. It’s common to “follow back,” to follow someone who starts following you. Many businesses and individuals seek to use this to their advantage. They follow others, then when the other follows back, they send them an advertisement. “Hi, thanks for following. Visit my website at www.timothyarcher.com.” Major mistake in my view. The best are those who say, “Thanks for following. I’m really interested in hearing your views.” The guy who commented on the name of my blog was a superstar in this regard.

OK, those are a few “best practices.” Want to add to the list?

Social media savvy

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I was asking yesterday about social media. For some people, all of the changes in social media are exciting, creating new opportunities for sharing and learning.

For others, it’s a frustrating experience. The cutting edge website that they spent a fortune on five years ago now looks out of date. They’ve created a Facebook page that no one visits and have a Twitter feed that no one wants to read. What makes it even more frustrating is that it’s hard to find two “experts” who give the same advice.

Doesn’t help that the social media landscape is ever changing. I went to a Christian Internet conference a few years ago. Lots of different ideas and projects were discussed, but there was one service that dominated the conversation: MySpace. It was feared and revered.Debates raged about whether the goal should be to create a Christian alternative to MySpace or use MySpace itself for outreach. The answer is obvious now: MySpace didn’t deserve all the attention it was getting.

Or take the example of the “social media expert” who sat in my office a couple of months ago, trying to explain to me the secrets to optimizing your Google results. I tried to smile and look attentive as he explained that all that mattered now for Google was ____. If he hadn’t been lecturing me as the expert he believed himself to be, I would have pointed out that Google is constantly modifying their algorithms and any attempt to identify one element as THE element is futile. Like the rest of the social media landscape, Google is a constantly moving target.

It’s my theory that, while there are some basic principles to using social media, much of what makes for good social media usage is the same as what makes for good communication: awareness of audience, interest in audience, authenticity, etc. The technical details will shift over time; the core of what makes for good interaction will remain the same.

What do you think? Is using social media effectively more dependent on tech savvy or people savvy? Or do you need a combination of both?

Social media & missions

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I’ve been asked to give a class on the use of social media in missions. I’ve got lots of ideas, more than I would have time to share in one class period. However, I’m slowly learning that my cyber-friends are much wiser than I. So I’m appealing to you. Help me out with some thoughts on this topic. To make it easier, let’s keep it broad. Rather than focusing merely on missions, let’s think about non-profits in general and religious groups in particular.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on things like…

  • What are some non-profits that do an especially good job with social media?
  • Who are some individuals who excel in the use of social media?
  • How have you seen Facebook used effectively by religious groups or individuals?
  • How have you seen Twitter used effectively by religious groups or individuals?
  • How have you seen blogs used effectively by religious groups or individuals?
  • What about some of the other social media, like Google+, LinkedIn, etc.? How do you see them being used well?
  • What are some “best practices” that would span all social media?

Is that enough to get some thoughts rolling? Can you see how I’m not worried about having enough to talk about?

Thanks for any input you can give.