How much social media is too much social media?
One of the first things I’ve learned about social media is that you have to do it to get it. You can’t develop strategies, create communities, counsel clients or conceive ideas if you don’t do it yourself. You have to try new technologies, experiment with platforms and live in the space if you’re to have any sense of what’s possible.
It helps to blog, be active on Twitter, answer questions on Linked In, build your own Facebook groups and gather communities on Ning. And yes, create at least one Posterous, maybe two. You’ll also want to start a few LiveFyres, and of course join Foursquare, Plancast and Brightkite. While you’re at it, you might as well get familiar with Kachingle, as it could actually offer genuine insights to what kind of content consumers actually value.
If it all gets to be too much you could embrace Ping so you don’t have to update all your different accounts. Then again, maybe not, since your Facebook friends who are probably different from your Twitter followers may not want 15 updates a day or have any interest in the links you share on your Twitter stream.
And finally, you’ve got to get on top of the Wave, for despite some of its shortcomings it has some great capabilities for sharing content and collaborating that you won’t find elsewhere. Except maybe on Ning.
Oh and don’t forget to bookmark everything, using clear, logical tags so you can keep track of all the great stuff you’ve discovered along your social media journey and make it accessible to all those who’ve come to depend on you.
Did I mention I get 400 emails a day? Of course that’s just my business email. I have three other email accounts that I can remember. Plus my Facebook email.
Finally, whatever you do, make sure you reply to all the comments on your blog, which ideally you update regularly.
I can tell you it works for me. I’ve learned so much by embracing all things social that I now know what really matters. I’ve shared it with my clients and I’ll share it with you, too. No matter how many platforms, networks, sites or accounts you have, use the same password.
What about you? How social can you get before you get overwhelmed and crawl into the fetal position?
Photo: Courtesy of helloturkeytoe (great images, check them out.)
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So far I'm hanging. It feels like kind of natural to communicate this way - *while* expanding networks, capabilities, resources and gaining valuable insight and education - concurrently. Not so overwhelming if you're disciplined and organized.
.-= Jim Mitchemu00c2u00b4s last blog ..Lying Like a Rug - Don't Read This Post =-.
Key is disciplined and organized. Maybe someone will invent the software that does that. They'll make a killing.
I've learned that there's a big difference in reading about the tools and actually using them. I just started a New Media Marketing class at UCLA Extension and the e-textbook was useless in extending a client into the social media space.
The learning come from getting under the hood to discover what's possible and when to look for a web reference or call for help.
Just to add to the degree of difficulty, we are experimenting with collaborating on Google Wave.
This should all be fun. Right?
.-= Mark Harmelu00c2u00b4s last blog ..why all this talk about diabetes & whatu00e2u0080u0099s a knol? =-.
My thoughts on Google Wave are it works best as a "bulletin board," a long term collaboration and sharing tool. Find a few people around a subject and just let it live for a few weeks. Some people will use it more than others, but its potential for extended sharing, collaboration and capturing content, all savable and findable, is cool.
It's never ending, overwhelming, and becomes mind numbing at times. I feel like I'm constantly trying to learn how to use new platforms, networks, sites...and it never ends because a new one pops up every few months. However, I love it. Love learning, love sharing, and love discovering new and effective ways to use social media. Just wish it would relax and take a break once in a while :).
Not sure that will happen. You'll have to be the one who takes a break.
As the founder of a small business I've seen great value using social media. Twitter is my main tool and I'm working to improve my blog.
Despite the benefits, it can be tough to keep on top of all the new tools, that's why I stick to a few. Running a biz solo is hard work anyway but having to get on top of social media, work out how it can be useful, it all requires so much time investment. With so many tools out there it can be overwhelming.
I think we all have to work out whats best for us through trial and error. There's no way I can be on them all, but I'll do my best in one or two channels and focus on them.
Makes perfect sense. You may want to take a look at Brian Halligan's new book, Inbound Marketing. As a small business owner you might find useful advice for getting found and driving traffic.
I agree with Ben (damn, he's smart). Distinct tools will emerge as clear leaders, but different cultures will have different norms in their social media usage and tools. My 11 year old daughter is a Ning fanatic, yet I have no reason to be there. And yes, luckily for us we get to explore the space as part of our paying jobs.
I hear often that social is a waste of time from clients and some colleagues, but I've yet to find how it wastes time. The hyper- connnectivity and speed of knowledge increases our ability to find information, proof points, inspiration -- quicker. Time is compressed. I often feel like Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind standing in front of that blackboard scribbling insanely with the flood of opportunity and thought streaming through these social tools. Ultimately, defining different social lexicons for brands seems to be where we are going as marketers. It's bespoke social, where the tools are defined by the culture.
Yes, Ben is smart. Interesting that your daughter is so into NIng. I guess it's a more robust Facebook group, or club and tribe that she can create there. Interestingly every user and user community determines what works best for themselves. Think about it. Twitter was not created for the way it's now used. Apple never thought of podcasts. It is often the user who creates the best applications. Way of saying that you just gotta find what works for you, both as an individual or a marketer.
I got in the fetal position just reading this, Edward. Okay, so I've tinkered with most of these. But unless it's your job to do so, how do you stay active with all of them?
I guess that's the point. More and more with each passing day, it IS becoming our job.
.-= Erik Proulxu00c2u00b4s last blog ..The Eight Irresistable Principles Of Fun =-.
For me, personally, I max out with my blog, email Twitter and Facebook, with Twitter being the least important to me. My social media usage will change, however, once I finally finish my album. I'm looking forward to really putting this stuff to the test, but I'm also dreading it. Time is so tight as is!
Jeff
.-= Jeff Shattucku00c2u00b4s last blog ..Interlude: a song revisited after more than 20 years. =-.
Oh, I almost forgot. YouTube and iTunes podcasts. As a performer perhaps you should incorporate those, too.
Maybe yes.
But isn't it strange, Edward, that we need to play with 100 different tools to learn how to connect with people in an amplified relational network way?
I seem to recall that in the early days of electricity and railroads there were dozens of formats, all of which conflicted with each other, created train wrecks and fires, until a few standards settled out. Some strange things emerged -- hey, like the Brits and the Yanks driving on opposite sides of the road -- but standards and sanity finally prevailed. I suspect we're going through that same immature adolescence now, playing with new ways to type at one another, until the systems finally become secondary to the message that unites people at scale.
Let me know when you find the common social media interface, thanks.
.-= Ben Kunzu00c2u00b4s last blog ..Google's cell phone move No. 348: Local QR codes =-.
Ben, you make a great point. While I truly appreciate the new avenues that Social Media tools have opened for me, they all still lead to me in the end solidifying relationships in person. These tools are just new channels but they can't fully replace face to face communication. That's my common social media interface. :)
.-= Manau00c2u00b4s last blog ..to hash tag or not to hash tag, and where and how =-.
Oh sure, you show up with your voice of reason and logic and solve the entire problem in a comment. Damn. Obviously, my post is no "Shouts and Murmurs," but was, of course, meant to convey something between seriousness and absurdity. I could have written a piece about a few people I know who are slaves to the stream, unable to sign off, shut down, or turn their back for even a moment for fear they'll miss a message, fail to respond, or God forbid see a diminishing trend in blog traffic or the loss of a follower or two. I spent my weekend making pancakes, reading fiction, watching my kids play basketball, and enjoying long, leisurely dinners with real conversation. Oh yeah, and trying to recover forgotten passwords. ;-)
There is such a thing as too much Farmville but never too much social media. I do think that those who haven't tried it think that social media is like farmville - addictive, spam-generating gaming, created to make money for someone else.
I gained lots from social medial, mostly info but also connections with real people who are interested, open and curious. Yes, some are interested in selling something, but many are smart interesting people. There's never too much of that.
Could not agree more. I have connected with so many smart, interesting, inspiring people via social. If you find the right people to engage, it can be like going back to school.
I don't do nearly enough and would like to increase my socialization more but how I would get any paying work done I really don't know. I do get better at it and more efficient the longer I've been it but am glad to hear that you don't think everyone should get the same message in all the separate spaces. We don't have a huge social network going for the business yet but I decided that I wanted each place to maintain some uniqueness. I'm sure automation would help me but could turn off our connections. Reading your posts has help me quite a bit. Thanks!
Glad to be of help. I am a bit fortunate in that it has become part of my job to learn, play and experiment in the new spaces. But it's more than a full time job just keeping up, never mind actually using it all. I think the key is to find the one or two things that work for you (blog and twitter for me) and learn to use them wisely, expanding your tribe, finding people to learn from, and identifying ways in which you can be creative in the spaces. Some of us use it personally, some to build individual brands, and some to figure out how to make it work for our companies or our clients' brands. Thanks for stopping by.
Edward - That's the key, I think. You have a general awareness of whats on the horizon and keep up with it as much as you can. But you pick what platforms are best for you, and then dedicate yourself to them. Swiss Army knives don't do anything well, they just do a lot of stuff sorta kinda piss poor. People focus on the platforms WAAAAAY to much. It's not about a platform, it's about engaging. Or selling cars. Or promoting a movie. Or whatever. But its definitely not about a platform.
Oh, I've given up trying to keep up. I need a life too! And I figure if I can't do it as a marketing person, then your average "non marketing joe/josephine" can't either.
.-= Sarah Montagueu00c2u00b4s last blog ..u00e2u0080u009cNo one here wears shoes.u00e2u0080u009d Shift perspective and create opportunity. =-.
I can't imagine what someone not in marketing or social media would do with most of this stuff. Look around an ordinary place -- church, the grocery store, the fans at your kids soccer game -- 90 percent of them still aren't on Twitter. They've never heard of Ning, or Foursquare. It is still a small -- though growing, vocal and influential -- group who have embraced all of it, and a smaller group still that are among the early adopters. No one I know has ever heard of Kachingle.
My experience has been to pick those that work best for your interest and work flow and do the best job you can with it. I can't imagine spreading myself any thinner and still pay attention to my core business activities.
FYI - Mine are Blogging, Facebook (personal + blog's fan page), twitter, Posterous and linked-IN - but all of the professional information emanates from the blog with video hosting on Vimeo (YouTube soon too). Most of my blog traffic comes in as "direct" but second place goes to Facebook then Twitter which is significant - linked-In seems to be picking up speed now that Twitter and My Blog are embedded.
.-= Bruce DeBoeru00c2u00b4s last blog ..Creative Denial, Anger, Bargaining, & Acceptance =-.
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