It’s All In the Way We Gather

Any of us working in the world of Social Media have heard many times from business clients “I just don’t get it.” Many of us have chimed in that Social Media isn’t just “marketing” it’s communications. What I often find that we forget is that Social Media is simply an extension of human behaviour in the real-world.

Social Media or the Social Web, is about people forming into groups, sometimes for a long time, other times simply for a brief conversation. We might form a community on Ning, such as many educators have done. Likely these are teachers of various types, but some of them may also belong to a local sports community on Ning, or even a knitting community. In real-life these people teach at a school, play on a local footsie team or knit for R&R. They form into groups to connect about what matters, to share ideas and knowledge…to grow. Sometimes groups form around a cause and create online petitions.

We’ve often found the most success with clients on Social Media strategies when we look at how groups form, why they form and what keeps them going. This may sound simple, but it’s not. Especially if you hope to rally a group around a product, this is very hard. It is an artful blend of the right value/promise, tools and how the “rules” of the group are developed and governed…then we can drill down into group tensions and frictions…and on.

But essentially, if you look at the groups you belong to in the physical world, translate that to how you can communicate on the Web – the knowledge component of footsie (as in rules discussions) or knitting (as in discussing techniques) and you’re on your way.

(Author: G. Crouch, Principal)