Just another tool

I have the opportunity to work with professionals across the state and help them build better programs for delivering service and engaging their community. I can guarantee you there is always a part of the discussion that comes down to social media. And, I can also guarantee you there is one person in the group who says "I don't get what the big deal is!?" or "So you 'like' something and all of a sudden that makes a difference?!"

Working with the group to develop an understanding  of social media being a tool, just like anything else we use in our organizations, can be difficult. In these types of conversations it is very obvious to me there is a divide separating people who use social media and those who don't. This is not a judgement of right or wrong, it just simply is. What I have seen happen in conversations similar to this one, is for that divide to get wider. This increasing technology gap does not help anyone. The professional feels more out of touch, maybe behind the times and the community they are serving is at a potential loss because they are not able to access supports, services and information through new portals.

I can empathize with the professional who does not see the point. We have a frantic culture, leaping onto the next big craze. New media platforms, apps and ideas on how to use these tools are developing rapidly. My suggestions are as follows:

1. Slow down. Don't worry if you are not on every social media platform that exists.
2. Start with one. Take a look at a social media tool and do some research on it. Join Facebook and explore how other organizations use their page as a tool. (And by the way there are about a billion blog posts on this subject so take a look around)
3. Don't use social media just because you feel you have too. This sentiment doesn't help anyone.
4. Make a plan and a strategy.
5. And execute that plan.

Five steps to get you started. As you develop your social media tool you will find that many organizations are in a similar position to you when it comes to measuring the impact, creating meaningful content and expanding the use of it. Because of this there are wonderful conferences, workshops and bloggers who dedicate a bunch of their time to helping people just like you use social media to the best of its ability.