Never forget: Social Media isn’t as well known or accepted yet outside “our walls.” Our job is to teach, not to look down. – Peter Shankman, Twitter Post, 11/2/2009.
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune raised a few eyebrows in the social media community and among public relations professionals because it seemed to indicate that the senior executives at Edelman had no clue about how to use social media tools and had turned over the asylum to the junior executives and interns. Gini Dietrich said as much in her post last week, which led to this reply by Shel Holtz. Of course, the article never said that Edelman’s senior executives didn’t know anything about social media. It only said a large number of junior and senior executives – roughly 95 percent – had been linked up in a mentoring program.
I only bring it up because I want to consider the whole dust up in the big picture realm of communication strategy. I love talking about this stuff and I think this is an excellent opportunity to once again explain that tools are only an end to a means; the thought and consideration of the objective must come from experience about audiences, influence and reach. Strategy is the big picture stuff based on experience, research and understanding. Tools are tools and social media tools are no different.
I think that is where the junior executives come in at Edelman. They are hungry, they have plenty of extra personal time to noodle around with Social Media and they want to impress. So why not attach them to a senior executive for some reverse mentoring on social media tools? Or, is it really that the senior executives are doing some mentoring of their own? You see, strategic thinking takes time and experience to develop. Much of that experience and understanding can be handed down and passed on only by interacting with the most impressive junior executives. It’s an opportunity for each to share experiences and meet in the middle.
Semaphore Flag Chart
Now I understand how social media tools work. And that experience is useful when I need to tap into a particular audience or understand a trend. I am grateful I have slogged through the forest. However, even I can’t keep up with all of the various new tools being developed or offered in Social Media. I am concerned about results and my strategy is developed from that frame of mind. As I am often heard to say, “If semaphore flags were all the rage, I’d be using them if they achieve my communication strategies.”
There is still a lot of experimentation going on and new ideas are shopped daily. So, while I may not be able to point out the latest and greatest tool (toy) I can explain what I want done; I let others pick the tools and evaluate their success. Of course, I understand that Facebook may serve me better in one situation and Twitter might be better in another and so on. Far from me to dismiss a tool just because I don’t know about it, but if it doesn’t fit into my overall objective or meet my goals, then why should I use it? That understanding of strategy is superior to just using a social media tool because it is cool.
Or as Rick Murray weighed in, “Some can talk, think and sell it; some can talk and do it; and some can talk it, but neither think, nor do it well or with scale.” Strategy then is factor that trumps everything, even an understanding of the latest and greatest social media toy. And can that be taught? Certainly, just as learning how to send a Tweet for the first time can be taught. Young and old meeting in the middle. That’s a good thing.
