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5 Reasons Why a ‘Social Media Approach’ is Critical

Working for a large trade organization, I am challenged by the typical mix of technology early-adopters, agnostics, and, of course, those who just don’t understand what the big deal is when it comes to Social Media – so they would rather not. Trying to explain why this is important critical is often difficult and frustrating – at best. Nine times out of ten, I walk away trying to remember why I am in this line of work in the first place.

So I came up with the ‘elevator speech’ version of why adopting a social media approach is so important for any organization:

  1. Gives you a voice, makes you personal & approachable
    Blogs and other social networks have a different tone, they are informal yet informative. Inspired, passionate blog posts and conversations allow your audience to connect with you on a whole new level.
  2. Increases understanding through conversation
    The old school of communications was a one-way street. No matter how good your content, messages, and imagery, its ability to really impact the level of understanding is minimal compared to the world of social media. Because messages and content are being discussed, or used in a context that makes sense to the audience, it immediately increases understanding. It’s all about messages within the ‘human context’.
  3. Increases Discoverability – so people can find you and learn about the good works that you do
    There is a ton of data behind this – the fact is, if you adopt a social media approach, Google (and other search engines) will love you. And there is no love like Google love.
  4. Broadens your reach
    Having a presence on existing social networking sites works for you while you are sleeping. Using sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and Delicious gives you a exposes you to communities that you would have never found otherwise.
  5. If you don’t participate in existing online conversations and activities, they will happen without you
    The world of social media is crazy and out of control – and makes many organizations feel uncomfortable. All the more reason to pick a few insightful networks, blogs, and sites and join in. Do this–and start a few of your own–then earn the respect of your existing audience as well as develop new relationships along the way. Don’t get left out.
     

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David Weinberger on the Digital Future, “blogs and knowledge”

David Weinberger is one of the few voices in the web world who makes sense. He is an inspired, dynamic speaker, and has the unique ability to take complex concepts and turn them into easy-to-understand examples.

A few years ago, he did a presentation for the Library of Congress Series: Managing Knowledge and Creativity in a Digital Context, and it is my absolute favorite. Although it is is dated – the core concepts are still very relevant, especially if you are trying to understand more about social media, or teach others core ideas and concepts.

It is a bit long and is available both in video (below) and audio format (you can also subscribe to this series on itunes). It’s a great companion during a long commute.

I highly recommend listening or watching – he helps me to better understand concepts around knowledge/information organization, concepts around voice & authority, content in the human context, and brings it all together with real examples of blogging, social networking, social tagging and more.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0xJrEGNFmc]