I started this blog about six months ago with the idea that I would share what I know about marketing and communications for nonprofit organizations and small businesses, two areas in which I have some degree of expertise. (You may be asking yourself, “Shouldn’t he be done by now?” Sorry, I’m long-winded. It’s going to take awhile longer.)
And while I have written some on communications strategy and planning, copywriting, visual communication and other fairly traditional issues, what really draws me to the keyboard is the subject of social media and how best to integrate these new tools and technologies into our communication efforts.
On this subject I don’t claim to be an expert, guru, idiot savant or anything else; I’m learning as I go, just like the other 99 percent out there who are figuring it out. That’s the great thing about being around at the birth of something … we all get to make mistakes together and maybe stumble onto something amazing.
I will say that as someone who has spent many years working in communications and who (I hope) has a pretty good handle on it, I think I’ve got a pretty good foundation for developing a certain level of expertise in social media. This blog has in fact been my greatest teacher, and as I’ve added my involvement in Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks, I think I’m getting the hang of it.
There are many individuals out there who are light years ahead of me, and I thank them for their unending generosity in sharing what they’ve learned. You’ll find many of them in my Twitter stream. I’m not stupid; if you have an opportunity to shadow the best at something, do it.
And then there are those who, for all their self-proclaimed “expertise” in social media, seem to have built it on shaky ground. Knowing how to game Twitter or work Facebook doesn’t make you expert in crafting a communications strategy that helps to achieve mission objectives. Trust me, anyone who’s spent any time doing it can spot the fake.
So where am I going with this? As I said earlier, I find myself most drawn to social media, its implications for nonprofits and small businesses, and how we might put it to work in achieving mission or business objectives. Is this where I should focus my writing, or should I continue to share what I’ve learned through my experience with traditional marketing tools and tactics?
If a review of what I’ve done thus far is any indication, it seems like I’m already headed in the former direction. I discovered this by playing with Wordle.
Wordle is a neat little website where you can generate a word “cloud” from a list of words. Better yet, you can plug in the RSS feed from your blog and generate a cloud from your deathless prose there. Words that appear more frequently are given greater prominence in the cloud.
The image you see above is the result of plugging Poke the Beehive into Wordle. Seems to me I’m already writing pretty extensively about social media. Again, my question to you: What would you like to see more of, social media or a broader look at communications and writing strategies? If I don’t get any feedback, I’ll assume that the 10 or 20 people who don’t have anything better to do than to come to this blog have finally found something better to do and I’m just having a conversation with myself.
That’s OK. I don’t mind talking to myself. But if you’re reading this, a little feedback please. How can I be of service to you as my reader?
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{ 2 comments }
Hi Dan,
I love your blog…and I’ve also had fun using Wordle (tip: it’s great to create a word cloud as a birthday present for mom, too!) As long as you’re asking for input, I’d love to hear more about using traditional PR or communications mixed with social media tools. I haven’t worked as a traditional communications professional, but I think that’s what you bring to this discussion. When should a business or nonprofit use traditional media sources to seed news? When does news feed off of social media? Is marcom dead? Etc. I’m sure there is much more to this topic.
Look forward to reading the posts, and continuing the conversation.
Debra
Thanks Debra, I appreciate the feedback. I’m leaning in the direction you suggest. As with other communication tactics, it’s important to constantly remind people that whether or how they use a particular tool must be a reflection of a well-thought-out communications strategy. It applies whether you’re talking about print or media relations or advertising or social media.
I sometimes think I sound like a broken record, but once more with feeling: goals and objectives first, strategy next, then tools and tactics.
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