I read an article today on Fast Company and it was quite eye-opening. I’m sure many of you know that social media is exploding, but I wonder if you realize to what degree. In the article, Ellen Stone, Bravo senior VP of marketing for Bravo, said the following in regards to social media:
“Social isn’t anyone’s job; it’s everyone’s job, starting the conversation is easy. What’s hard is the daily doing.“
Over the last couple of weeks, this is becoming more and more apparent to me. Live tweeting the Vice-Presidential debate and the 2nd Presidential debate really served to underscore Stone’s statement. I was able to see first hand what many don’t grasp. The conversation was indeed easy to start. Sustaining the conversation on a daily basis is very hard.
Which is why many businesses fail at it. It’s why many brands can’t keep the interest of the consumer. It’s why I hear the sigh in boardrooms when social media is mentioned. Yet, just today, we learned of another media icon biting the dust. Newsweek magazine is stopping its print division after 80 years of business. How many companies will have to fail before CEO’s and business owners “get it”.
Today’s consumer wants ENGAGEMENT. Whether Instagram for photos, Pinterest as an exchange, Facebook for developing longer term relationships, or the utilization of Twitter for more real-time connections, there is no denying the growing impact of social media on our lives. I won’t even mention the phenomenon of YouTube.
Lately, I’ve been conversing with some people like Jonathan Mildenhall of Coca-Cola ( @Mildenhall ), who developed the concept of “liquid and linked” content and the image of where things are headed is becoming much clearer. When you can interact with literally millions of people during a debate and have hundreds of comments directed at you, you realize the sheer power and potential of the firehose.
So what am I getting at. While I know that a social media policy and program needs to come from the top down in most organizations, I also know that a lateral outreach is quite meaningful as well. Taking care of the internal integration within my own company is easy.
The hard part is developing a legion of people who want to collectively engage and grow their individual social profiles.
You see, what I’ve learned is that a group of people tweeting, commenting, re-tweeting, and just discussing issues will make us all stronger. That collective voice can be quite powerful in promoting our own profiles as well as being a vehicle for voicing our collective opinion on everything from movies to customer service. (Don’t get me started about Sears… #nightmare)
Here’s my idea. I’d like to bring some Twitter followers together. If you’re on Twitter I want to follow you and I want you to follow me. (by the way if you’re not on Twitter…why aren’t you?). Better than an email list, let’s follow each other. Let’s have meaningful conversations.
We might not always agree but that’s the idea. Let’s bring people together who are respectful of one another and have something of value to add to the conversation. Let’s work to crowdsource some interesting content. I’m up for just about anything.
I want to develop a Twitter Army. If you add the hashtag #jzarmy when you tweet something to the group, we’ll all be able to see it and respond. I really want to see where this goes. If people respond we can have regular Tweetchats and maybe even some Tweetups.
So if you want to connect and be part of a Twitter group, let me know. Just leave your twitter handle in the comments and I’ll follow you. Or better yet, follow me on Twitter at @jzspeaks and Tweet me a message with the hashtag #jzarmy.
This can be as big as we want it to be. Let me know what you think. You can start by following me on Twitter by clicking the link below!
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