It's a sunny day outside while I sit here typing away from my home office. Things are good - the birds are chirping and I am tweeting away myself...adding my voice to the ever present online buzz.
It is time for reflection and realizing that I am not a great writer, I am going to do this post as a list - a list of thoughts I'm having at this time about social media and associations.
1. Confession: I still haven't found the "sweet spot" for explaining social media and how to use it to association colleagues.
I stumble between the "What is Twitter?" folks and the "Could we use this as a widget?" people when they are in the same audience...which is every time I speak about this stuff. I feel energized and at the same time I feel like a failure. It's like explaining the telephone to people before they had ever used it for business...you know how important and incredible the possibilities are, but it is hard to show people as a group how they can apply social media tools to their work in an association to make it exceptional.
I am embarrassed at this and feel like I should be better at navigating a room by now...better at explaining these tools. I am trying to think on this and I need to employ better communication methods in order to get my point across.
2. I'll still use the overused word "authentic" when talking about how associations need to aim for transparency.
I do agree that it should already be a given, an expectation, but I am not sure all associations are really there yet. There is definitely a divide, though it seems to be narrowing. The need for less marketing speak and more of a "human" voice is growing as we rely on more and more new methods to reach out to members. Promotional materials still need to exist. We just need to be sure the copy on our promotional material doesn't get copy and pasted into the wrong areas where honesty and tact is expected.
3. I'm still having fun. I'm still enjoying trying new applications and platforms...still reading up on social media all the time. But I can admit I am sometimes internally rolling my eyes when I hear someone explain for the billionth time what a hashtag is, or shared bookmarks, or tags, or the importance of using filters on Facebook.
I know these are legitimate questions that I have no qualms about explaining to someone...but to listen to someone else explain the same things to a group is hard. Is that elitist or rude?
4. Finally, my God, how much has my life been enhanced professionally by social media!?! I have friends I have never met face-to-face and to think what my job would be like without the benefit of social media's tools is crazy...
There. How's that for a pre-Independence Day post? I feel like I just wrote in my diary. If anyone at all reads this half-abandoned blog of mine, I hope you enjoyed this post and feel free to comment as you see fit.
Hi, Kiki. Interesting post, as always!
ReplyDeleteHere's a few suggestions based on what I have learned over the years:
1) when explaining things to an audience, find something they already understand and relate your explanation to that. Understanding comes much more quickly!
Example: when I worked with the otolaryngologists association, I traveled around and taught marketing to doctors. When I suggested they should give talks to local groups like the Chamber of Commerce, they said "Oh, I can't do public speaking!" I would reply, "Well you do Grand Rounds, don't you?" I loved seeing the light go on in their eyes : )
2) It's great you recognize that you overuse words. My particular unfavorite overused word is "awesome." I mean really, is a hot dog AWESOME??
Create your own vocabulary and add new words on a regular basis. Talk like Kiki, not everyone else. I always avoid using the phrase and word of the moment and I think that is why people remember what I say.
3) Your stance in item 3 is neither elitist or rude; it is perfectly normal. Why should anyone have to listen to something you already know? However, in seminar situations we have to wait for everyone to catch up. If you are getting bored, listen to the explanation and make notes about how you will improve your presentation in the future!
4) Social media is a powerful tool for connecting; that's why I call it online community building. I have also made friends I have never "met" yet feel I have gotten to know from sharing posts.
Keep up the blogging -- your writing is good because it is YOU.