3 Cases Where Social Media is Worth Your Time
Over at grundyhome.com, I wrote a series of posts that revolved around a seemingly anti-social media sentiment. The crux is that it’s important to have a marketing strategy and that social media is just a tactic (among many others).
At least a few of the comments that came back included questions like “then why do you have a blog?” and “is there any good use of Twitter?”
The answer, of course, is that social media has its uses. Here are three of my favorite examples of how social media can be used effectively. Note that this list is NOT exhaustive, there are many other creative uses as well.
Customer Service
One of the most obvious and commonly cited examples of businesses in social media is that of Comcast and @comcastcares. But it’s much broader than that. The higher ed audiences are certainly on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms. Is there an appropriate way to support them there? Comcast established that channel as one of many ways to get customer service, and it worked for them.
Crisis Management and Public Relations
If you find your organization the center of the universe because of a scandal, a tragedy, or a major controversy, good luck. Social media makes it easy to spread rumors, for unconfirmed info to leak, and for detractors to rally many others against you. Often, the worst thing you can do is to ignore it all. Use the tools to correct misinformation and redirect the conversation toward something productive. Don’t feed the trolls, but don’t ignore the damage they can have on everyone else.
Personal Branding
I owe some of my success in this industry to the fact that I’m actively blogging and contributing to conversations on Twitter, LinkedIn, and other networks. I seek out colleagues at other organizations and have built relationships with a number of very cool people. So when I’ve gone to conferences or needed help with something, I’ve been able to capitalize on that social media investment.
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