Adding Social Media Means Editing Well
Let’s assume for a moment that you’re already in the “yes, we need to incorporate social media” place. You’re thinking:
How on earth are we going to add social media to the mix of things we’re already doing?
How are we going to make time for this?
Great design (and writing) is achieved through careful editing, not rampant addition. Removing the elements that don’t work or retooling them slightly in favor of a more harmonious whole.
Social communication design is the same thing. We run into scale issues when we constantly think in terms of “and”. But we need to be looking at our communication ecosystem with a critical eye. If the bandwidth is the same, it becomes a matter not of addition, but of editing and refining.
• Instead of voicemail, we rely on email. It’s more portable and linear.
• Instead of email, we rely on text message or IM. It’s real-time and streamlined.
• Instead of IM, we use Twitter. It’s many-to-many instead of one-to-one.
• Instead of a newsletter, we have a blog. It allows for a self-sustaining conversation.
• Instead of direct mail campaigns, we produce downloadable and sharable content bites. It encourages sharing and continuing a cycle of communication instead of being an endpoint.
• Instead of expensive corporate promo videos, we shoot customer interviews with Flip cameras and post them on the blog for comment. We shine the spotlight on others and give them a voice.
More isn’t always better. We know this, but we keep piling on. Why? Can you audit what you’re doing and find where there’s redundancies? Maybe things that could be tweaked or scaled back in order to accommodate new communications? What about things that just aren’t working that it might be time to ditch?
Are you editing your communication practices to socialize and maximize them, or are you just
adding on?
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Great post, Amber – one can’t ignore the butter-to-toast ratio in implementing new communication channels. And it’s better to make strategic decisions about where one will and won’t invest than to let the butter get stretched too thin.
Russ Somerss last blog post..It’s Just Information
Thanks Amber. You’re so right. We can’t have everything at once(or it will look a bit like all the coats piled on a bed during a winter-time party).
Two words come to mind:
- Choice
- Brevity
Martin Waxmans last blog post..Rupert Pupkin lives
Funny, I heard this objection (among others) just yesterday. I think clients who don’t use SM themselves view it as “just another tool” versus a significant reshaping of their approach to communication. Your post is in the very large category of “things I wish I had written”, and I plan to share it with them (with due credit to you of course). Thanks for the constant stream of insight!
Outstanding, Amber. We try to ignore constraints at our peril. Far better to do *less* and do it *better*.
Tim Walkers last blog post..SXSW produces huge jumble of beautiful ideas. Film at 11.
Great post!
Karri Wellss last blog post..Anya Marina Covers “Whatever You Like”
Well said…I love the “instead of” list! Though as someone who works with employer-employee communication all the time, there seems to still be a need for short-term “and” lists before we get to the “instead.” But how cool are the possibilities?!?
I really appreciated this post. When I first started experimenting with Social media, I fell into the temptation to join everything new and exciting. I rapidly learned that this can be a huge time sink. So I killed a lot of accounts and streamlined down to Twitter, FaceBook and FriendFeed.
These still can almost be too much. The idea that more is better just doesn’t fly if you want to build quality in your on line relationships.
You analogy of writing vs. editing is quite appropriate and a good guideline for anyone who is just starting to experiment with Social Media. Thanks for a great post.
Dave Pancosts last blog post..What’s Your Approach to Life?