By John O'Dwyer
"You can't have your entire view of social media as a place for marketing and one-off campaigns," warned Peter Waldheim, senior strategist for The Social Media Business Council.
Waldheim led an Oct. 1 panel discussion on how communications pros can integrate tools like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs into an overall communications strategy at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
"It is not just an alternative channel, but a whole new way of engaging with people and organizations that don't get that will fail and fail spectacularly because the whole thing about getting involved in social media is you need to develop an army of advocates, can't just view it as a selling channel even though that's good and can be a part of it," Waldheim said.
BP was presented as a case study of a company that suffered considerably because of a lack of involvement in social media prior to the April 20 Gulf oil spill.
Allyson Toolan, account executive from Adfero Group, noted how BP tried to jump in during the middle of the crisis by starting up Facebook and Twitter accounts, but unfortunately there was already a parody Twitter accounts running in full force with three-times the following of BP's own feed.
BP's Facebook strategy mirrored their traditional media efforts in that they were just pushing information out instead of interacting with followers, Toolan explained.
Not Just Delivering, But Listening
An important thing to consider is that not all social media tools work in every situation, according to Toolan. She said that you have to figure out where people are talking about you and then try to engage that audience.
James Sneeringer, director of web content for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, added a "forward to a friend" feature for articles on the Chamber's site along with a "reader comment" function. By doing this he was able to track which articles were being shared and see what the audience agreed and disagreed with.
"We were being social but not using Facebook or Twitter," Sneeringer said.
Sneeringer waited months to start using the Chamber's Facebook and Twitter accounts, preferring to spend some time joining other Facebook pages and following Twitter feeds before engaging. He explained that he wanted to get a handle on what was going on and being said in social media before pushing out his own information.
"Often the focus is on how to deliver a message, but you must also be prepared to listen to what is going on in social media," Sneerinerg said.
Sneeringer has used ads on Facebook itself to build up followers for the Chamber.
"It's an easier way to get people's contact info and then you can communicate with them rather than running a typical web banner which directs a person to your website but then you still have to get them to give you their e-mail address," Sneeringer said.
Handling Critics, Rumors
The panelists acknowledged that social media is a breeding ground for critics as well as fans.
Sneeringer said the Chamber was attacked on its Facebook page, but apart from removing profane comments the conversation was allowed to proceed between legitimate posters and those just attacking the Chamber.
Toolan noted that it's better to have these conversations happen on your own blog or Facebook page because then you can take part.
"If you've built up a good community, let it police itself, " said Alan Rosenblatt, associate director for online advocacy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
If you need to push back, the focus should not be on convincing the attacker but convincing the unbiased trying to participate in the discussion, Rosenblatt explained.
"You want to show logically that the argument is factually incorrect or unsound and promote the work or research you've done that counters the charges or what's being said," Rosenblatt said.
Mark Drapeau, director of innovative social engagement for Microsoft, admitted that sometimes there are issues that aren't worth engaging. He continued that because Microsoft is so well known and many already have a preconceived notion of what the company is all about such as Apple fans, there's no need to get into the trenches even with influential bloggers.
"People say the cold war is done, but not when it comes to Apple vs. PC," Drapeau said.
Rosenblatt stressed that you must engage those where they choose to engage you whether it's on a blog or Facebook or you won't be effective and you'll encourage backlash.
"Consumers determine the channels of distribution, not the producers," Rosenblatt said.
David Faggard, executive officer to the director of the U.S. Air Force Office of Public Affairs, has dealt with the rash of misinformation that often pervades the web.
He told of an incident where someone tweeted that an Air Force C17 cargo plane the length of a football field had crashed when in reality it was just doing low-level training. CNN picked up the story and ran with it on air without contacting the Air Force. The Air Force then tweeted a denial of the rumor but had to wait half a day for CNN to issue a retraction.
"Things happen so quickly in the world of social media, you don't have a whole lot of time to make a decision and implement it," Faggard said.
Faggard explained that the Air Force has acknowledged the importance of educating the lowest common denominator engaging in social media within an organization and how valuable the local perspective can be.
"You can trust an 18-year-old with the power of a nuclear weapon but you can't trust them to use Twitter or Facebook?" Faggard said.
"Ambient Intimacy"
Darren Krape, senior new media specialist in the Office of Innovative Engagement at the State Department, used the term "ambient intimacy" to describe how a State Department staffer connected with the students she was going to visit through Twitter prior to her trip so that when she met them in person they all felt like they knew her already.
"It was an enhanced relationship," Krape noted.
"Social media is defined as the interaction among people, not between businesses, robots, etc. It is essential that your Twitter feed has a human element," Rosenblatt said.
People will follow you what you're sending out in the world of social media if it's valuable, but they'll remember it only if it's interesting and each organization approaches this differently, Faggard noted.
The event was part of a series of half-day conferences and seminars sponsored by Washington, D.C.-based Adfero Group. A seminar focusing on the new age of media monitoring is planned for late October.
|