Social Media – Conversation or Bullhorn?
[by Charles Gupton]
For more than a year now, I’ve been wading into and through the murky waters of social media (SM). I have found the process challenging at best with a lot of frustrations in the process. All though I’ve learned a tremendous amount along the way, I still have a long way to go.
However, as I’ve slogged through, I’ve had more than a few “Aha” moments I’d like to share. Because all of the SM platforms are simply tools, each person using them is going to shape something different that fits his/her particular needs. I would love to have your feedback as to how you’re using these tools to shape your business and add value to the community.
First, I’ve come to see that all social media is either about conversation or the process of laying the groundwork for relationships so that one can have a conversation. Although many folks use SM as a bullhorn to shout their message, I believe we’ve reached such a level of noise that most people are just tuning most of it out. When I started exploring, I signed on to more than a dozen sites trying to figure out what the “buzz” was about. All I got was overwhelmed.
My second “Aha” came when I decided to pick one area at a time and explore it before moving to the next. Trying to get a better understanding of what other people used, how they used them and why, I forced myself to stop, reassess and develop a plan. I chose to begin with my blog.
Many people don’t see blogging as social media, per se. But I see it as a public commitment to have a voice and to contribute value to my community as it develops. Because I started with no readers, it was a means of developing my voice to prepare me for deeper involvement in public conversation. A successful blog requires consistency and if I was going to show a conversational partner that I was committed to being at the table, it seemed a good place to start with my own contribution. Now it’s up to my readers to decided if I’m giving enough return on their attention to come back and talk.
Although there are countless resources for what and how to blog to gain a large number of readers, the first question I asked is “What do I hope to accomplish? ” I doubt that my thoughts will ever attract a large following. However, I decided early on that my desire is to be more relational with people I already have a connection with while also allowing for potential clients to get a feel for who they might be investing their time with.
Because most of us serve different roles in various social and business circles, I saw my blog as a means of presenting my thoughts as I connected with people in the ones I’m involved with. I don’t receive many comments on my blog but get a surprising amount of feedback when I see folks at community activities or meetings. That’s where the conversation occurs.
2 Responses to 'Social Media – Conversation or Bullhorn?'
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You certainly asked the right question. “What do I hope to accomplish?”
I have also found the path is different for everyone based on goals. Numbers mean very little if they are uncaring.
I believe we would all be amazed at who is actually listening.
Rosh
Charles,
I found your post to be quite interesting in that it in many ways echoes my own thoughts which I shared in a blog post of just less than a week ago. http://bit.ly/8dKpUJ
My personal case study is an observation of Twitter users I dubbed as either “Megaphone” or “Hearing Aid” Twitter users, a parallel to your reference to conversation of bullhorn use of SM.
For me and my business I see SM as a way to share with an audience of unknown scale but also as an outlet for messages and information I hope others may find useful. It seems a challenge when at times feedback in these forums is sparse, but the personal outlet alone still provides some level of satisfaction for me at least.
Thanks for the great post!