Jul/091
Want To Understand Social Media? Don’t Stop Using It At 5 P.M.
This is something I’ve noticed with a number of marketers who have had difficulty in understanding social media, whether that means getting a grip on its value, or simply how to use it beyond what they read on random marketing blogs like this one. The key to truly understanding and getting a handle on social media is very simple: Don’t stop using it when you punch out for the day.
Don’t treat your work in social media like you treat your work on a TV spot. They’re not the same. In many ways, social media is a living, breathing creature. If you really want to “get it,” incorporate it into your everyday life. Don’t just keep a “business account” on Facebook. Really dive in. Put yourself out there. Make a personal account and share videos of your family, or photos from poker night with your real friends. Stare awkwardly into your mirror with your camera phone in an attempt to capture your next profile photo. Get on Twitter and find your friends and co-workers. Trust me, you’ll look cooler for doing so.
The reason why my generation has taken to social media like a fish to water while you flounder on the shore, isn’t because we’re cleverer than you. Not by any means whatsoever. It’s because it’s not a side-dish in our lives. We don’t see it as a obligation because Seth Godin says we should be doing it, or because it’s what our clients want. It has become the centerpiece of our social experience, for better or worse. We keep in touch with our family, friends, and acquaintances through these mediums. We’re on them all the time because they’ve become instrumental in facilitating our relationships with one another.
If you want to understand social media, beyond what you read online and in books, adopt it the way we have. If you want to understand social media, you have to EXPERIENCE it. Don’t just read about it and fumble trying to apply what you’ve read to practice.
It’s a lot easier than it sounds. You can start by friending me: