I've spoken with many communicators who share my awareness and understanding that a sea change is taking place in our industry. The advent of social media and networks coinciding with the historic dismantling of traditional media models are tectonic shifts pushing out this sea change.
Where I see a problem at this juncture is the disconnect between communicators and those that they counsel.
Too many clients and prospects remain anchored to the communication practices of the past and are unable to see or accept what's coming at them on the horizon. What's worse, they disregard the advice of the people who watch that horizon for a living! Yes, this lends itself to a macabre business analogy wherein we fail to recognize the peril we're in until it's right on top of us.
The five primary objections are that (1) social networks are time wasters, (2) social media is too time consuming, (3) these tools are only for teens and twenty-somethings, (4) they are fringe communications activities and are not useful for reaching customers, media or influencers, or (5) they are filled with irrelevant drivel.
All are dead wrong.
If you're a decision-maker with an organization who's realizing a little late that it's time to act, my best advice is that you hire someone who knows what you don't--a communications team with a range of personnel who has invested in understanding these tools, developing best practices and formulating policies that account for a Web 2.0 world.
Take decisive action and get to the social media high ground swiftly; avoid wallowing around trying to find your own way; and recognize that the cost of waiting or going it alone will far outweigh the cost of getting it done right and quickly.
3 comments:
I completely agree and am happy that some communicators are recognizing this. I'm doing some social media training this week for a small, boutique PR firm that wants to get a handle on this. There are a lot of objections to overcome among those who are refusing to come to terms with the new world we're in -- but they will have to come around. The question is, will they be distinguishing themselves from the competition in the near future or waiting to be dragged in because their clients' expectations aren't being met.
Additionally, if you expect to be able to service your clients through social media techniques, you'd better be engaged in them yourself so you understand the challenges your clients face and how to address them.
I'd really like to know to what extent clients are requesting campaigns incorporating social media.
I can add one data point in that I've been hired by a startup (Mendeley) to be a "community liaison" between Mendeley and the community of online scientists on twitter and friendfeed.
These guys are totally savvy, as you might expect, but has their been any kind of data collection about the question Caron poses on a larger scale?
I just spoke to another Canadian colleague in the PR world who said she feels too many people are too quick to jump on the social media bandwagon without assessing whether they can make it work and how. Interesting point.
Many companies are sending their employees to workshops to get the training needed. And anecdotally I am being asked to present internal workshops.
As far as data goes, here's a link to a survey which is the second in a series and contains great information on trends from a client and agency perspective. The survey contains both good and bad news about how agencies are approaching social media and how clients expect it. Clients want ROI which some respondents get and some don't:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/feeds/?p=1144
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