Chris S. Cornell
Speaking to Twitter devotees about the virtues of this free micro-blogging tool is one of the easiest tasks I can imagine. After all, those who are actively using Twitter are the ones who already understand it. On the other hand, one of the most challenging speaking assignments I’ve had is trying to convince those who have never used Twitter that the 140-character blogging platform can produce tangible benefits for their business or organization.
Over the past seven months, I’ve gained a great deal of experience speaking before both types of groups. Wednesday at 5 pm (October 28, 2009) I will be speaking at a Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce meeting, and I suspect the group will be primarily comprised of those who have never used Twitter.
The Challenge: How do I sell the benefits of Twitter to people who are most likely doubtful of its value? How do I get past the glazed expressions? How do I explain something that is so easy to understand by someone who uses it, but so foreign to someone who never has?
The Objective: It occurred to me that I should take a step back, and take a look at the bigger picture. What is the underlying objective in all of this social media stuff? It really has to do with telling an audience a story — the story of a business or organization. And, even more importantly, listening to the responses you get.
The Answer: The answer has more to do with content than anything else. If I can get a business or organization to realize they have a story they need to tell, we’re on the right track. There’s no need to sell a tool like Twitter until there’s recognition that there is a story that needs to be told.
What is Your Story?: What is the message you’d like to communicate to you audience? When it comes to your business, you are the expert. No one knows your business better than you. If you had the attention of your target audience, what would you say? These are questions every business should have had answers to, long before Twitter and Facebook arrived on the scene. Now that these free social media tools are available, businesses can leverage their content to achieve even greater results.
Once a business or organization has a coherent story to tell, taking steps to tell that story will come naturally. If a business posts its articles on a blog regularly, the prospect of using Twitter or Facebook (or other forms of social media) to promote it will make perfect sense. Just make sure to listen to the feedback, respond to it thoughtfully, and let the dialogue begin.
Twitter Professor is not affiliated with Twitter.com. Chris S. Cornell is not actually a professor, but he is helping build local Twitter communities. Follow Chris on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/ContentHarvest. If you have questions or need help with Twitter, give Chris a call at (914) 960-1533. Feel free to add constructive comments, questions or criticisms in the comments section of this blog.
As you know, @KatonahGreen and I (@bewildia) are trying to make this in-road with the Bedford Chamber of Commerce, and we’ve actually had two good events. For the skeptics, a couple of issues recur: what are the demographics of users for various social media platforms; who in our community is using them; and, how on earth can I find the time to add this to my day? It seems these — along with the glazed-eye, “this is soooo overwhelming” reaction — are the big impediments here. People actually want to do it, they’re just afraid.
The demographic question can be answered with research, and the “how do I physically/literally do this” question can be answered with “let us help!” It seems to me the next big piece of the puzzle is enlisting the local government and community to support getting social media penetration deeper into the consciousness of the citizenry. (“It’s free!” “It’s informative!” “Special offers!”) So that the interactive element can truly be fulfilled, at least at the hyper local level.
None of that is to counter your excellent point: that having a coherent, meaningful narrative is the key foundation of any successful social media practice. These are just additional tangents that we’re facing here…
Good luck!
Christopher… @bewildia
First, Thank you for taking the time to make such logical, coherent comments on this blog. That is much appreciated. Second, I am very interested in learning more about the progress you are making on the social media front in the communities of Katonah and Bedford.
The only thing you wrote that I am skeptical about is the prospect of “enlisting the local government” to help in this effort. Based on what I’ve seen and experienced, it seems more likely that the local governments and organizations would benefit from our help in this area. I’m interested in hearing about your challenges and solutions as you progress.
Hopefully, you will consider attending one of our TweetUps. Look for the #WestchesterTweet hashtag.
If you ever want to exchange ideas in the future, feel free to send e-mail to Chris AT Twitterprofessor DOT com.
By the way, are you following @BeckyMcCray or reading her site http://www.smallbizsurvival.com? She’s doing good work in this social-media-for-small-business-and-small-towns arena, based in Oklahoma.
Fair point. Our hope is not that the local government will expend (much) money or personnel on getting the community more engaged with social media, but that they will endorse our private efforts through actions (getting all the distinct town agencies online and the town leaders using personal/professional accounts), through statements (letters to the editor and use of the town’s fairly well-maintained email lists) and through events (such as the Chamber-sponsored tweet-up and a small presence at this past weekend’s Halloween Parade.)
But, of course, the effort will fall on us and it will be really, really hard, for the reasons you describe. Some days, I feel like if I have to answer the “why do I care what somebody had for breakfast… ?” question again, I might implode!
Again, thanks for the comments. It’s becoming more and more evident to me, that the way to build community through social media is to reach out to others who are involved and looking to move forward. Prove that something can work, and you’ll have a line of people asking you to help them get involved. On the other hand, if we spend too much time trying to “sell” social media to the uninterested, the ROI (and I’m not necessarily measuring in dollars) will be small. If we are trying to expand local participation, find ways to reward those who have displayed an interest (feature them on your blog, RT their updates, recommend their business, post links to their blog, etc). If we help our fellow businesses and organizations succeed, they will spread the word and help bring in the next group of participants. Yes, government will get involved at some point — but in Pleasantville the attitude seems to be “prove to me that it works, and then I might consider signing on.”
If you find things that yield success in Katonah or Bedford, please share. And thanks for the follower recommendation and link on your previous comment. Both were worthwhile and helpful.