Welcome to the Melcrum Social Media Newsletter.

While compiling our forthcoming report on social media, five fundamental themes emerged, summarized in the points below.

Bear these in mind when developing a social-media strategy for your organization:

1. Make sure you know what social media is about
There are an awful lot of people who are very excited about social media, but still have no real idea what it's about. It’s vital to understand that, "these tools are not about push, they're not about driving. The very point of them is bottom-up control,” says Ross Chestney, head of communication services at BT. As a communicator, you provide, you shape, you set guidance and you enable. That's it. The audience then decides what's useful and what's not.”

2. Don’t push it
While there’s no harm in making sure your new blog or wiki initiative is visible, don’t wade in with a widespread, heavy-duty marketing campaign and don’t try to force people into using these new tools. “The very success of social tools on the internet is down to individuals using a site, liking it, recommending it and growing it themselves in the way they want to,” adds Chestney. “They won't be forced into using it, because the nature of social media is how well they hook people into wanting to come back of their own free will. If you try to impose your will on it, it will fail.”

3. Have realistic expectations
When you’re wrapped up in social media, it’s easy to forget that even though many people are aware of social-media tools, the vast majority still don’t have a blog, aren’t familiar with how wikis work and have never actually listened to a podcast. "Social media is not a ‘solution' and it doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” says Helen Love, formerly an internal communication manager at Microsoft UK and now working as an independent consultant. “It’s complementary to traditional communication channels – another tool in the armory.”

4. Stay ahead of the hype
It’s also wise to stay ahead of the general hype on social media. “New media won’t suit every person or every organization in the same way that traditional media aren’t fit for everyone,” says Helen Love. “In all the hype about social tools, it’s easy to lose sight of that. It’s not the be all and end all.”

5. Do it on the cheap
Think big and start small. “The main benefit of these [social] tools is that they’re cheap to use and cheap to run,” says Ross Chestney from BT.


Best wishes,

Alex Manchester,
Editor
alex.manchester@melcrum.com

This week's Melcrum headlines:

"Crackberry" addicts tread a dangerous path
- The Hub - 24 Apr 2007

Dilbert on Blogs
- Black Belt Dojo - 27 Apr 2007

It's who you know... isn't it?
- Black Belt Dojo - 23 Apr 2007