Social Business: Analysis – Part 4B: Communication and Engaged Related Myths

The Fundamentals series continues the analysis phase with a mini-series on assessing the value and effectiveness of social business. This mini-series will cover the following aspects:

• Reasons to participate in social business (covered in parts A, B and C)
• Internal considerations (covered in parts A and B)
• Debunking myths
• Social business in B2B environments

I’ve divided social media myths into three categories:

1. Adoption and Diffusion related myths
2. Engagement-related myths
3. Business-related myths

Today, we’ll look at social media myths related to communication and engagement.

A great number of myths and misconceptions circulate around social media. Here’s my attempt at clearing the air to show where we truly stand:

• Social media is for broadcasting messages If this was true, it wouldn’t be social. This doesn’t mean that you can’t broadcast if it’s relevant to your network.
• Social media is about conversations It can be about conversations, just like it can be about broadcasting. The “social” in social media relates more to the content than the method of transmission.
• Consumer engagement is always the right thing to do There’s difference between doing something that can’t hurt and something that’s right. It can’t hurt to engage with your consumers, but is it worth it? If they’re wondering where they can buy your product, do you reply by chit-chatting about the weather? Be conscious about what you’re using social media for and you’re not using social media for.
• Social media is informal Twitter might come across as glorified text messaging, but not all social media is informal. There are bulletin boards, professional networks (like LinkedIn), and blogs that require more formal behavior and communication. In addition, the tone with which you communicate in social media shouldn’t deviate too much from the tone with which you communicate in your current endeavors (e.g. website, brochures, emails).
• It’s impossible to build relationships online I’ll admit that social media has changed the definition of “friend” to a certain degree, I don’t think it’s impossible to build quality relationships. On the contrary, social media enables you to build relationships with people you wouldn’t otherwise get in touch with in the first place!
• Set it and forget it You can’t create a Twitter account and expect people to come to you immediately. It’s like moving into a new house, telling nobody the address and expecting people to drop by. Fact remains that you need to put your presence out there.
• Social media is about quick wins While it’s possible to make a big splash quickly, there are many more long-term benefits. Social media is more about rolling a snowball down a hill than about making a big splash in the pool.
• Content is king I love this one. How many great books do you not know about? Probably plenty, right? How do you know they’re great if no-one tells you? My point is that content isn’t everything, it’s just the start. Distribution is the bridge with your audience that will make your efforts successful. Put your efforts into both content and distribution.
• Viral marketing is king This is a fun one too. Here the focus is on distribution but it’s always hard to predict virality. How do you exactly create a viral video? You don’t; the community decides whether your content goes viral, not you. Yes, there are factors that give you a better chance at success—and we’ll discuss some of them later this year—but there’s no such thing as off-the-shelf viral content.

If you know any other myths related to communication and engagement, I’d love to hear them in the comments! Next week, we’ll look at business-related social media myths, see you then!