‘I don’t get social media.’
‘So, I got a Twitter account but I didn’t know what to say.’
‘We tried Facebook and Twitter and shared a few pictures on Instagram but it didn’t seem to work.’
‘Social media may be better for other industries. Ours is not very progressive with technology.’

Have you ever said any of the above?  If you’re a digital/social pro, have your clients or friends ever said something similar to you? It happens to me all the time. All four of the above responses actually came up last week in various meetings.

I’ve learned that trying to explain Twitter and other social platforms in technical terms isn’t helpful for those who are still on the steep learning curve of tech. For example, for a person that still loves to hold and read a printed newspaper, explaining RSS as ‘the curation of various blogs into one application that can seamlessly be synced cross platform and device’ or Twitter as ‘a 140 character based micro-blogging social media platform’ is like someone explaining the inner-workings of a car engine TO ME.

I’m a tech and social guy, not a mechanic. I put gas in the car, have the oil changed, and drive.  Thus, we should not expect new converts to digital communication technologies to grasp first the ‘what’ but rather the ‘HOW and WHY’

So, instead of first explaining the WHAT (functions, features, definitions for RT, @reply, +1, Like, @handlename,  . . . ), I suggest you first go with the HOW of social and short form communication and to understand the WHY.

HOW can you use social media for both customer and employee communication?

External customer social communication:

Every wonder why people take pictures of their food and post to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Well, eating is a social experience. Food and beverage are social connecting points.  Those connecting points existed long before technology and mobile / social platforms. The HOW of social is to talk WITH people. The more you talk WITH, the stronger human relationships become.

To explain ‘Twitter’ well to those new to the tech and short form communication age, think campfire conversations. [see image for long string of @ replies]. This is what it looks like to talk WITH people on social platforms. Moreover, I don’t think it’s by accident that Google Plus is a social platform focusing on ‘Circles’ and ‘Communities’. Campfires and dinner tables tend toward circles and have always been unique community communication experiences.

Internal communication with employees and partners:

To grasp the HOW of internal short form and social communication, think like a sports team. What happens DURING the game and when there is a time-out or break?

During the game, the team huddles to communicate, strategize, and quickly resolve issues and problems that just happened. There isn’t time to wait until the end of the game to communicate or find out that strategy isn’t working. Quick changes requires fast, short, and concise communication.  What happens during a time out in a game? The coach(es) provides instruction, encouragement and sometimes the needed motivation to push through to victory. The key though is that the coach and players are in the game together (that’s the social part). Both are striving, focusing, and constantly communicating back and forth.

WHY is short form communication important?

The hard truth is that utilizing short form communication isn’t easy and takes effort; yet, it’s the only path to a team victory.

Patrick Goodman
Red e App Product and Engagement Director

Recently I met with a new business friend, Stefani Tucker, to discuss her forthcoming dissertation. She connected with me on LinkedIn (and wisely didn’t use the standard ‘I’d like to connect with you . . . ‘) and asked for some collaboration about her topic. Her LinkedIn invite mentioned she was planning to research how social media engages employees. When I got the invite I of course smiled.

Harnessing the power of social media for engagement is a topic I like to think about and discuss often. In fact, helping companies effectively use digital and mobile communication for social engagement is what we focus on at Red e App. Needless to say, I was grateful for the invite to collaborate.

As Stefani and I talked, we quickly discovered several broad issues that face most companies today as they begin to utilize the various social media platforms. Some of those issues are:

Necessary human resources and time to engage and communicate actively on social media platforms

Often a limited understanding and use of social media in general from executive leadership; thus, unsure of the benefit of using social media. Yes, email is a “social channel” but the use and response time of email is vastly different to the reach and speed of Facebook, Twitter or Google +.

Limited overall strategy for social media which is often disconnected from traditional marketing efforts

Narrow view of how to use social effectively as an extension of a business’s website, which in digital marketing terms, is best viewed as the hub of a wheel. Social sites are the external spokes that – when used in coordination with active participation on social sites – can help direct web traffic back to the hub. [Note: I'm not recommending that social media sites be used for only dropping links to company blog posts. Remember, the most powerful feature on any social site is the 'Reply button'.]

One of the last comments Stefani made in our meeting though stuck with me. She said that what many businesses face right now is not even knowing where and how to start with social media and the various platforms.

I recommended that she focus on the term ‘social business’ moving forward – especially pertaining to her dissertation. The reason is that social media platforms are simply the means to allow people to be social and do what they are innately wired to do. That is to share news, tell stories, be social and yes, even gripe and complain.

The goal for a business is not to become an expert at social media per se; rather, it’s to understand that the communication methodology of the future for BOTH consumers and employees is going to be heavily tilted toward digital communication.

The human behavior to be social isn’t new. The means and mediums of communication have simply evolved and changed and THAT is what a business must realize and adopt to in order to earn the title of a social business.

Now and in the future, consumers and employees will be the ones to determine whether or not a business is truly effective at social media / digital communication engagement. They will determine that by how they vote with their wallets, how they influence their friends and family toward buying products and services, and even career loyalties to a company that values providing a voice to every employee.

Being social is not only smart, it’s the future of business – or as Michael Brito has keenly written: Smart Business is Social Business.

Patrick Goodman
Red e App Product and Engagement Director

The rise and rapid expansion of the internet over the past two decades is nothing short of incredible. The digital revolution brings with it great opportunity yet causes some to fear rapid change of entering the free and openly connected online web.

Some of those fears are legitimate. How secure is the online world? What about proprietary information being leaked outside an organization? What about the privacy of personal data?  The list of questions grows daily.

The newly released book by Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen, The New Digital Age, is a good prediction of what’s coming as the digital revolution continues to spread virally across the globe. Schmidt and Cohen outline the legitimate digital reality that is coming for everyone – governments, corporations, small businesses and every connected individual. The aim of the book isn’t to foster a state of fear of a connected globe.

Both authors acknowledge the risks involved of a globally connected world, but they emphasize the significant good that such a world provides. Oppressive regimes can’t hide, deceive, and repress a well-informed population for long. Deadly diseases can be isolated faster and cures found quicker by global collaboration of medical research experts. And even examples of fisherwomen who can use a mobile device to receive orders to bring fish to market while still on the water so that customers buy a fresher product and conversely limit the possibility of illness due to spoilage.

The driving force behind the new digital age will be mobile devices and Schmidt and Cohen predict the unbelievable adoption rate of mobile that is coming. By 2025, the majority of the world’s population will, in one generation, have gone from having virtually no access to unfiltered information to accessing all of the world’s information through a device that fits in the palm of the hand.

For some it seems ‘too fast.’ Others will remain stagnant and dream nostalgically of ‘the good ‘ole days’ (whatever that means). The wise and progressive next generation of civic leaders, educators, business professionals, and company employees will do well to not only embrace the new digital age but also help shape and lead it forward for the good of everyone.

I, for one, hope to in some small way be in the later group.  How about you? Share you comments below.

Chat more soon!

Patrick Goodman
Red e App Product and Engagement Director